Iolite (Cordierite) MCQs

 

Iolite (Cordierite): Interactive MCQ Quiz

Choose one answer for each question, then select Submit Quiz. Your score and explanations will appear below.

1. Which color and alternate name does the book give for iolite?

Pink-red; rubellite
Green; peridot
Violet-blue; cordierite
Yellow; sherry topaz

2. Why has iolite been called “water sapphire”?

It can resemble blue sapphire when cut
It occurs only in water
It is chemically the same as sapphire
It is a blue variety of corundum

3. What property gives iolite its other name, “dichroite”?

Its high density
Its cat’s-eye effect
Its perfect cleavage
Its strong pleochroism

4. Does the book say equipment is needed to see iolite’s pleochroism?

Yes, a microscope is required
No, it can be seen without equipment
Yes, but only under ultraviolet light
The book says it has no pleochroism

5. From which direction is the best blue color seen in iolite crystals?

Across the width of the prism
Only from the crystal’s end face
Down the length of the prism
Only after the crystal is powdered

6. How may iolite appear when viewed across a prismatic crystal?

Colorless
Bright red
Metallic black
Pink and green in bands

7. How does gem-quality iolite commonly occur in alluvial deposits?

As large, opaque cubes
As fibrous layers in limestone
As metallic sheets in lead mines
As small, transparent, waterworn pebbles

8. Which country is listed for gem-quality iolite pebbles?

England
Madagascar
Austria
Canada

9. Where does the book say iolite crystals are found?

Brazil, Tanzania, and Namibia
Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and India
Germany, Norway, and Finland
Italy, Spain, and France

10. Which set of properties matches iolite in the book’s table?

Orthorhombic, magnesium aluminum silicate, hardness 7
Orthorhombic, iron magnesium silicate, hardness 5½
Orthorhombic, aluminum silicate, hardness 7½
Trigonal, complex borosilicate, hardness 7½