OBJECTIVE:

•Identify common rock-forming minerals

using their physical and chemical
properties.
What is Mineral?

Rocks are composed of

minerals. A mineral is a
naturally occurring substance
which is usually solid,
crystalline, stable at room
temperature and inorganic.
What is Mineral?
Minerals themselves are made up of
one or a number of chemical elements
with a definite chemical composition.
Minerals cannot be broken down into
smaller units with different chemical
compositions in the way that rocks can.
Physical properties of minerals?
1. Luster 2. Hardness 3. Crystal form/Habit

4. Color 5. Streak 6. Cleavage

7. Fracture 8. Specific gravity

9. Others – magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid, etc.

1.Luster
refers to how light is reflected from the
surface of a mineral.
Metallic - generally
opaque and exit a
resplendent shine similar
to a polished metal
Minerals exhibiting
metallic luster look like
metal, such as a silvery
appearance or that of a
flat piece of steel.
1.Luster
refers to how light is reflected from the
surface of a mineral.
Non-metallic - vitreous
(glassy), adamantine
(brilliant/diamond-
like), resinous, silky,
pearly, dull (earthy),
greasy, among others.
Physical properties of minerals?
1. Luster 2. Hardness 3. Crystal form/Habit

4. Color 5. Streak 6. Cleavage

7. Fracture 8. Specific gravity

9. Others – magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid, etc.

2. Hardness
It is the ability of mineral to resist
scratching.
QUESTION:
What is the most hardest mineral?
Softest mineral?
Friedrich Mohs, a German mineralogist, developed a
hardness scale over 100 years ago. The hardest mineral
known, diamond, was assigned the number 10. It is called
the Mohs Hardness Scale. It ranks the order of hardness of
minerals and some common objects.
Physical properties of minerals?
1. Luster 2. Hardness 3. Crystal form/Habit

4. Color 5. Streak 6. Cleavage

7. Fracture 8. Specific gravity

9. Others – magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid, etc.

3. Crystal form/Habit
refers to the characteristic shape of a
mineral unit (either an individual crystal or a
group of crystal).
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. A mineral that do not have
a crystal structure is described as amorphous.
Physical properties of minerals?
1. Luster 2. Hardness 3. Crystal form/Habit

4. Color 5. Streak 6. Cleavage

7. Fracture 8. Specific gravity

9. Others – magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid, etc.

4. Color
one of the most obvious characteristic of a
mineral, but generally not the most useful
diagnostic feature. Minerals are colored
because certain wave lengths of light are
absorbed, and the color results from a
combination of those wave lengths that
reach the eye.
Physical properties of minerals?
1. Luster 2. Hardness 3. Crystal form/Habit

4. Color 5. Streak 6. Cleavage

7. Fracture 8. Specific gravity

9. Others – magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid, etc.

5. Streak
is the mineral’s color in powdered form. It
can be useful for identifying metallic and
earthy minerals. Non-metallic minerals
usually give a white streak because they are
very light-colored. Other minerals may have
very distinctive streaks.
Physical properties of minerals?
1. Luster 2. Hardness 3. Crystal form/Habit

4. Color 5. Streak 6. Cleavage

7. Fracture 8. Specific gravity

9. Others – magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid, etc.

6. Cleavage
It is the ability of a mineral to break
along preferred planes.
Physical properties of minerals?
1. Luster 2. Hardness 3. Crystal form/Habit

4. Color 5. Streak 6. Cleavage

7. Fracture 8. Specific gravity

9. Others – magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid, etc.

7. Fracture
Some minerals may not have
cleavages but exhibit broken
surfaces that are irregular and non-
planar.
Physical properties of minerals?
1. Luster 2. Hardness 3. Crystal form/Habit

4. Color 5. Streak 6. Cleavage

7. Fracture 8. Specific gravity

9. Others – magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid, etc.

8. Specific gravity

is the "heaviness" of a mineral. It is

defined as a number that expresses the
ratio between the weight of a mineral
and the weight of an equal volume of
water. Water has a specific gravity of
“1.”
Physical properties of minerals?
1. Luster 2. Hardness 3. Crystal form/Habit

4. Color 5. Streak 6. Cleavage

7. Fracture 8. Specific gravity

9. Others – magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid, etc.

9. Others – magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid, etc.

For example, magnetite is strongly

magnetic; sulfur has distinctive smell;
halite is salty; calcite fizzes with acid as
with dolomite but in powdered form;
etc.
What are the chemical properties of minerals?
Chemical properties of minerals show the
presence and arrangement of atoms in
minerals.
Using their chemical properties, minerals
are identified by how they react to certain
substances.
MINERAL GROUPS
What are the common rock-
forming minerals using their
physical and chemical
properties?
1. Quartz
• It is pure or nearly pure silica
and is hard and glassy mineral.
• It is transparent to translucent
in nature and its color varies
from white and grey to smokey.
• It does not have a cleavage and
thus does not break into
regular flat faces.
• Hardness = 7, Specific gravity =
2.66
2. Feldspar
• It is silicates of alumina, with alkaline substances like potassium, sodium
and calcium.
• Its appearance is not so glassy as that of Quartz and is dull to opaque with
a porcelain-like appearance.
• A stone readily meets the decay if it contains large proportions of feldspar
mixed with other minerals.
• Hardness = 6, Specific gravity = 2.5 to 2.7
3. Mica
• It contains silicates of
aluminum with
potassium.
• It is soft and readily
affected by atmosphere
and chemicals.
• It has perfect cleavage,
causing it to easily break
into thin sheets.
• Hardness = 2.5 and
Specific gravity = 3.
4. Hornblende
•Complex silicate with
hardness = 5.5 and
specific gravity = 3.2.
•Dark colored mineral
found in many types
of igneous and
metamorphic rocks.
5. Calcite
•Leading
constituent of
limestone and
marble.
•Hardness = 3 and
specific gravity =
2.7.
6. Dolomite
• It is Magnesium carbonate
with chemical composition
as CaMg(CO3)2.
• Metamorphic rocks like
dolomitic marble and few
sedimentary rocks have
dolomite as the major
constituent.
• It has three directions of
perfect cleavage.
• Moh’s hardness is 3.5 to 4,
specific gravity is 2.8 to 2.9.