mineralogist

Everyday

A scientist who studies minerals — the natural solid materials such as quartz, salt and gold that make up rocks. tree →

In the lessons

Used in science lessons about rocks and crystals and in careers talk. A mineralogist tests a mineral's hardness, colour, streak and crystal shape. Related words: mineral, mineralogy (the science), geologist (who studies rocks and the Earth as a whole).

Examples

• A mineralogist looked at the shiny crystal under a lens. tree →
• My aunt is a mineralogist at the museum. tree →
• The mineralogist said the «gold» was really fool's gold. tree →
• Mineralogists use a scale of hardness from 1 to 10. tree →
• I want to be a mineralogist when I grow up. tree →
• The mineralogist scratched the rock to test it. tree →

Note

Say «min-er-AL-o-jist» (the stress moves from MIN-eral). Spelling: mineral + -ogist (not «minerologist»). A geologist studies the whole Earth; a mineralogist studies minerals.