Engineering Geology

Group 1
Physical Properties of
Minerals
 What is Minerals?

• Minerals are solid substances that are present in nature and can be made of
one element or more elements combined together (chemical compounds).
Gold, Silver and carbon are elements that form minerals on their own.
 Physical Properties of Minerals
• The Physical properties of minerals are used by Mineralogists to help
determine the identity of a specimen. Some of the tests can be performed
easily in the field, while others require laboratory equipments.
 Color
• Most minerals have a distinctive color that can be used for identification. In
opaque minerals, the color tends to be more consistent, so learning the
colors associated with these minerals can be very helpful in identification.
Translucent to transparent minerals have a much more varied degree of color
due to the presence of trace minerals. Therefore, color alone is not reliable as
a single identifying characteristic.
 Streak
• Streak is the color of the mineral in powdered form. Streak shows the true
color of the mineral. In large solid form, trace minerals can change the color
appearance of a mineral by reflecting the light in a certain way. Trace
minerals have little influence on the reflection of the small powdery particles
of the streak.
• The streak of metallic minerals tends to appear dark because the small
particles of the streak absorb the light hitting them. Non-metallic particles
tend to reflect most of the light so they appear lighter in color or almost
white.
Hardness
• Hardness is one of the better properties of minerals to use for identifying a
mineral. Hardness is a measure of the mineral’s resistance to scratching. The
Mohs scale is a set of 10 minerals whose hardness is known. The softest
mineral, talc, has a Mohs scale rating of one. Diamond is the hardest mineral
and has a rating of ten. Softer minerals can be scratched by harder minerals
because the forces that hold the crystals together are weaker and can be
broken by the harder mineral.
The following is a listing of the minerals of the Mohs scale and
their rating:
Talc
Gypsum
Calcite
Fluorite
Apatite
Orthoclase Feldspar
Quartz
TopazCorundum
Diamond
 Cleavage & Fracture
Cleavage is defined using two sets of criteria.
• Cleavage is considered perfect if it is easily obtained and the cleavage planes
are easily distinguished.
• The names correspond to the shape formed by the cleavage surfaces: Cubic,
rhombohedral, octahedral, dodecahedral, basal or prismatic.
Crystalline Structure

Mineral crystals occur in various shapes and sizes. The particular

shape is determined by the arrangement of the atoms, molecules
or ions that make up the crystal and how they are joined. This is
called the crystal lattice. There are degrees of crystalline structure,
in which the fibers of the crystal become increasingly difficult or
impossible to see with the naked eye or the use of a hand lens.
Microcrystalline and cryptocrystalline structures can only be
viewed using high magnification. If there is no crystalline
structure, it is called amorphous.
 Transparency or Diaphaneity
• Diaphaneity is a mineral’s degree of transparency or ability to allow light to
pass through it. The degree of transparency may also depend on the
thickness of the mineral.
Tenacity
• Tenacity is the characteristic that describes how the particles of a mineral
hold together or resist separation. The chart below gives the list of terms
used to describe tenacity and a description of each term.
 Magnetism
• Magnetism is the characteristic that allows a mineral to attract or repel other
magnetic materials. It can be difficult to determine the differences between
the various types of magnetism, but it is worth knowing that there are
distinctions made.
 Luster
• Luster describes how a mineral appears to reflects light, and how brilliant or
dull the mineral is.
 Odor
• Most minerals have no odor unless they are acted upon in one of the
following ways: moistened, heated, breathed upon, or rubbed.
Taste
• Only soluble minerals have a taste, but it is very important that minerals not
be placed in the mouth or on the tongue. You should not test for this
property in the classroom.
Specific Gravity
• Specific Gravity of a mineral is a comparison or ratio of the weight of the
mineral to the weight of an equal amount of water. The weight of the equal
amount of water is found by finding the difference between the weight of
the mineral in air and the weight of the mineral in water.
Monoclinic System
What is a crystal system?
What are unit cells
What is Monoclinic System?
What is the essence of monoclinic System in construction
materials?
What is a crystal system?
Crystals are solids that possess long-range order.
The arrangement of the atoms at one point in a crystal is
identical, (excepting localized mistakes or defects that can arise
during crystal growth), to that in any other remote part of the
crystal.
Crystallography - is the experimental science of the
arrangement of atoms in solids
Crystal families : are sets of reference axes, which have a
direction as well as a magnitude, and hence are vectors
Anorthic, monoclinic, orthorhombic, tetragonal, hexagonal and
isometric.
 MATERIALS AND PACKING
Crystalline materials
atoms pack in periodic, 3D arrays
• typical of: • metals
• many ceramics
• some polymers
Non-crystalline materials crystalline SiO2
atoms have no periodic packing
• occurs for: • complex structures
• rapid cooling

Amorphous = Non-crystalline
Non-crystalline SiO2
 Crystal
Crystal faces

A CRYSTAL is any solid material in which the component atoms are

arranged in a definite patter and whose surface regularity reflects its
internal
CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC AXES
Refer to the axes in the order - a, b, c
The point of intersection of the three
axes is called the AXIAL CROSS.

By using these crystallographic axes we can

define six large groups or crystal systems
that all crystal forms may be placed in
What are unit cells?
If the atoms or atom groups in the solid are represented by points and the points are
connected, the resulting lattice will consist of an orderly stacking of blocks

• Unit cell is the smallest unit of

volume that permits identical cells to
be stacked together to fill all space.
• By repeating the pattern of the unit
cell over and over in all directions, the
entire crystal lattice can be
constructed.
 Crystal Systems

• Unit cells need to be able to “Stack” them

to fill all space
• This puts restrictions on Unit Cell Shapes
• Cubes Work
• Pentagons Don’t

Different types of unit cell are possible,

and they are classified based on their level of symmetry
 Symmetry
Symmetry is a the set of mathematical rules that describe the shape
of an object.

Infinite planes of symmetry pass through its

center, infinite rotational axes are present, and no
matter how little or much you rotate it on any of
its infinite number of axes, it appears the same.
A sphere is the HOLY GRAIL of symmetry.

Sphere is the ONE object in the geometrical

universe with perfect symmetry.
What is Monoclinic System?
Three axes, all unequal in length, two of which (a and c) intersect at an oblique angle
(not 90 degrees), the third axis (b) is perpendicular to the other two axes.
a = b = c a = g= 90 = b
Three forms
3 symmetry classes:
2-fold axis of rotation
And/or mirror symmetry

Note: If a and c crossed at 90 degrees,

then we would be in the orthorhombic system.
 Monoclinic: Three unequal axes, two are
inclined with oblique angles, the third is
perpendicular.
• Orientation of a crystal has
few constraints – b is the
only axis fixed by symmetry.
• c is typically chosen on the
basis of habit and b
cleavage.
• α and γ = 90 °.
• There are some very rare cases where b
equals 90° giving a pseudo-
orthorhombic form.
• The unique symmetry operation in a monoclinic
system is 2/m – a twofold axis of rotation with a
mirror plane.
• b is the rotation, while a and c lie in the mirror
plane.
• Monoclinic crystals have two forms: pinacoids and
prisms.
• Common monoclinic rock-forming minerals include
clinopyroxene, mica, orthoclase and titanite.
 Materials applied in Monoclinic System
• Beta-sulfur, gypsum
• Borax
• Orthoclase
• Kaolin
• Muscovite
• Clinoamphibole
• Clinopyroxene
• Jadeite
• Azurites
• Podumene crystallize
Quartz Group
Quartz
Quartz is a chemical compound consisting of one part
silicon and two parts oxygen. It is silicon dioxide. It is the
most abundant mineral found at Earth's surface, and its
unique properties make it one of the most useful natural
substances.
1.Alpha Quartz
it is stable at atmospheric temperatures and up
to 573°C
2. Beta Quartz
It is stable from 573°C to 870°C.
There are three polymorphs of SiO2 existing in nature, as quartz, tridymite
and cristobalite and Their temperature ranges of stability are also varied.
Alpha-quartz- It is stable at atmospheric temperatures and upto 573°C.
Beta-quartz- it is stable from 573°C to 870°C.
Alpha - tridymite-it can exist at atmospheric temperatures and upto
117°C.
Beta -tridymite-it can exist above 163°C and is the stable form from 870°C
to 1470°C, above 1470°C it can exist but it is unstable; it melts at 1670°C.
Alpha-Cristobalite- it can exist at atmospheric temperatures and up to
200°C-275°C by is not the stable form in this range.
Beta-Cristobalite: it can exist above 200°C-275°C and is stable from
1470°C to its melting point, 1713°C.
A few substances that contain SiO2 are classified as
mineraloids. They are opal and a very rare pure silica glass
called lechatelierite.

Opal
The most important distinction between types of quartz is that
of macrocrystalline and the
microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline varieties,

Macrocrystalline varieties are transparent.

Example:

1. Amethyst
2. Milky quartz

3. Rose quartz
4. Rock Crystal

5. Aventurine Quartz
6. Citrine 8. Blue Quartz

7. Smoky Quartz
Microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline varieties are either
translucent or mostly opaque.

1. Agate
2. Chalcedony

3. Carnelian
4. Jasper 6. Tigers Eye

5. Onyx 7. Rutilated Quartz

8. Chrysoprase 10. Flint or Chert

9. Heliotrope
Uses of Quartz in Industry
•Glass Making
•Abrasive
•Foundry Sand
•Petroleum