“Kamusta kana??

tagal nating hindi nagkita

ahhh…”
 “Pagbibigyan kita, ngunit sundin mo muna
ang nais ko.”
“Ipaghiwa ko ang kutsilyo”
“Hindi mo dapat gawin yan, kasi masama yan!”
“Paano nagkaroon ng sun?”
 “Ang Jupiter ang pinakamalaking planeta sa
kalawakan.”
“Kung posporo ka at posporo din ako…
Edi MATCH tayo!”
1. Luster – it is the quality and intensity of reflected light exhibited by the mineral
a. Metallic – generally opaque and exhibit a resplendent shine similar to a polished metal
b. Non-metallic – vitreous (glassy), adamantine (brilliant/diamond-like), resinous, silky, pearly, dull
(earthy), greasy, etc.
2. Hardness – it is a measure of the resistance of a mineral (not specifically surface) to abrasion.
What are the pros and cons in using the Mohs scale of hardness?
3. Color and streak – Color maybe a unique identifying property of certain minerals (e.g. malachite –
green, azurite – blue). There are also lots of minerals that share similar or the same color/s. In
addition, some minerals can exhibit a range of colors. The mineral quartz for example, can be pink
(rose quartz), purple (amethyst), orange (citrine), white (colorless quartz) etc. Streak on the other
hand is the color of a mineral in powdered form. Note that the color of a mineral could be different
from the streak. For example, pyrite (FeS2) exhibits golden color (hence the other term of pyrite
which is Fool’s Gold) but has a black or dark gray streak. Streak is a better diagnostic property as
compared to color. Streak is inherent to almost every mineral. Color maybe unreliable for
identification as impurities within the minerals may give the minerals a different color.
4.Crystal Form/Habit –The external shape of a crystal or groups of crystals is displayed / observed as
these crystals grow in open spaces. The form reflects the supposedly internal structure (of atoms
and ions) of the crystal (mineral). It is the natural shape of the mineral before the development of
any cleavage or fracture. Examples include prismatic, tabular, bladed, platy, reniform and equant. A
mineral that do not have a crystal structure is described as amorphous.
The crystal form also define the relative growth of the crystal in 3 dimension which are its length,
width and height.
5. Cleavage – It is the property of some minerals to break along parallel repetitive planes of weakness
to form smooth, flat surfaces. These planes of weakness are inherent in the bonding of atoms that
makes up the mineral. These planes of weakness are parallel to the atomic planes and appear to
be repeating within the mineral. When minerals break evenly in more than one direction, cleavage
is described by the number of cleavage directions and the angle(s) between planes (e.g. cleavage
in 2 directions at 90 degrees to each other). 6. Fracture – Some minerals may not have cleavages but exhibit broken surfaces that are irregular
and non-planar. Quartz for example has an inherent weakness in the crystal structure that is not
planar. Examples of fracture are conchoidal, fibrous, hackly, and uneven among others.
7. Specific Gravity – It is the ratio of the weight of a mineral to the weight of an equal volume of
water. A bucket of silver (SG 10) would weigh 10 times more than a bucket of water (SG 1). It is a
measure to express the density (mass per unit volume) of a mineral. The specific gravity of a
mineral is numerically equal to density.
8. Others – There are certain unique properties of minerals that actually help in their identification
(e.g. magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid, etc.). Magnetite is strongly magnetic;
sulfur has distinctive smell; halite is salty; calcite fizzes with acid as with dolomite but in powdered
form.

1. Silicates – minerals containing 2 of the most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust, namely, silicon
and oxygen. When linked together, these two elements form the silicon oxygen tetrahedron - the
fundamental building block of silicate minerals. Over 90% of the rock-forming minerals belong to
this group. Aside from Si (46.6 % by wt.) and O (27.7%), the other most common elements that
make the earth’s crust are Al (8.1), Fe (5.0), Ca (3.6), Mg (3.1), Na (2.8) and K 2.6).
2. Oxides – minerals containing Oxygen anion (O2-) combined with one or more metal ions
3. Sulfates – minerals containing Sulfur and Oxygen anion (SO4)- combined with other ions
4. Sulfides – minerals containing sulfur anion (S2)- combined with one or more ions. Some sulfides are
sources of economically important metals such as copper, lead and zinc.
5. Carbonates – minerals containing the carbonate anion (CO3)2- combined with other elements
6. Native Elements – minerals that form as individual elementsa.
a. Metals and Inter-metals – minerals with high thermal and electrical conductivity, typically with
metallic luster, low hardness (gold, lead)b.
b. Semi-metals – minerals that are more fragile than metals and have lower conductivity (arsenic,
bismuth)c.
c. Nonmetals – nonconductive (sulfur, diamond)
7. Halides – minerals containing halogen elements combined with one or more elements