earth science

Ulvöspinel

Ulvöspinel is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ulvöspinel rather than just read about it. In short: Ulvöspinel or ulvite is an iron titanium oxide mineral with formula Fe2TiO4 or TiFe2+2O4. It forms brown to black metallic isometric crystals with a Mohs hardness of 5.5 to 6.

Key takeaways

Ulvöspinel belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ulvöspinel to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ulvöspinel from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ulvöspinel or ulvite is an iron titanium oxide mineral with formula Fe2TiO4 or TiFe2+2O4. It forms brown to black metallic isometric crystals with a Mohs hardness of 5.5 to 6. It belongs to the spinel group of minerals, as does magnetite, Fe3O4. Ulvöspinel forms as solid solutions with magnetite at high temperatures and reducing conditions, and grains crystallized from some basalt-gabbro magmas are rich in the ulvöspinel component. The ulvöspinel component tends to oxidize to magnetite plus ilmenite during subsolidus cooling of the host rocks, and the ilmenite so produced may form apparent exsolution (trellis type) laminae in magnetite. The texture was once interpreted as indicating solid solution between ilmenite and magnetite, until the oxidation reaction and resultant textures were reproduced in laboratory experiments first described by Buddington and Lindsley (1964, Journal of Petrology 5, p. 310–357). The results are important to plate tectonics because magnetite is an important recorder of rock magnetism. Ulvöspinel was first described by Fredrik Mogensen (1904–1978) from a dolerite layered intrusion in the Ulvö Islands, Ångermanland, Sweden in 1943. The locality is an iron, titanium and vanadium mining area that has been active since the 17th century. It is common in titaniferous magnetite iron ore deposits. It also occurs in kimberlites, in some reduced iron-bearing basalts and is common in lunar basalts.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ulvöspinel

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ulvöspinel claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ulvöspinel before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ulvöspinel ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ulvöspinel

In research: Ulvöspinel appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ulvöspinel in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ulvöspinel is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cubic minerals, Minerals described in 1943, Minerals in space group 227, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ulvöspinel outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Ulvöspinel” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Ulvöspinel in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ulvöspinel means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ulvöspinel out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ulvöspinel in simple terms?

Ulvöspinel or ulvite is an iron titanium oxide mineral with formula Fe2TiO4 or TiFe2+2O4. It forms brown to black metallic isometric crystals with a Mohs hardness of 5.5 to 6.

Why does Ulvöspinel matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ulvöspinel?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ulvöspinel.