MINERALS

and

ROCKS
 MINERAL

- a homogenous, naturally
occurring substance
formed through geological
processes.

- chemical composition
- highly ordered atomic
structure
- specific physical
properties
Physical Properties
 CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
 Classified based on their crystal
structure.
 Describes the orderly geometric
spatial arrangement of atoms in
the internal structure of a mineral.
Mineral Name Halite (table salt)

Chemical composition NaCl

Luster Non-metallic-vitreous; transparent

to translucent

Hardness Soft (2-2.5)

Color White

Streak White

Crystal Form/Habit Cubic

Cleavage Perfect cubic

Specific Gravity Light (2.2)

Other Salty taste; very soluble; produces

reddish spark in flame
 The luster of a mineral is the way its
surface reflects light
glassy

metallic
LUSTER
adamantine

waxy
pearly dull
 LUSTER
Qualitative terms
➢ Metallic (galena and pyrite)
➢ Vitreous or glass (silicates)
➢ Pearly (talc)
➢ Dull (hematite)
➢ Greasy (halite)
➢ Silky (gypsum)
LUSTER
LUSTER
 HARDNESS
 Refersto the mineral resistance to
scratch.
 Thisproperty is dependent on the
chemical composition and the crystalline
structure of a mineral.
 Themost common scale of
measurement is Mohs’ scale.
 Mohs’ Scale
 Design by German Field Hardness Scale
geologist/mineralogist  This is done by
Friedrich Mohs in 1812
rubbing the mineral
 Described by ten against the fingers
indications.
or other tools.
 A mineral with a
higher index can
scratch those below
it.
 TheMohs scale of Hardness measures
the scratch resistance of various
minerals from a scale of 1 to 10, based
on the ability of a harder
material/mineral to scratch a softer
one.
 Mohs Scale
Pros Cons
 The test is easy  The scale is qualitative,
 The test can be done not quantitative
anywhere, anytime, as  The test cannot be used
long as there is sufficient to accurately test the
light to see scratches hardness of industrial
 The test is convenient for materials
field geologist with
scratch kits who want to
make a rough
identification of minerals
outside the lab
Field Hardness Guide
Scale Description

1 Can be rubbed off on a finger

2 Can be scratch with a finger nail.
3 Can be scratch with a coin.
4 Can be scratched with difficulty with a knife
5 Can be scratched with a knife blade
6 Can be scratched with a piece of glass
7 Can be scratched with a piece of quartz
8-10 Minerals too hard to be included in this scale.
 Hardness Mohs scale

1 talc 2 gypsum 3 calcite 4 fluorite 5 apatite

6 feldspar 7 quartz 8 topaz 9 corundum 10 diamond

CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
 CRYSTAL 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 & ions)
of the crystal (mineral)
 CRYSTAL HABIT
 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
 CRYSTAL HABIT
 Refers to the overall shape of
crystal.
 Common shape include
needlelike(acicular), plantlike
(dendritic), kidney shaped
(reniform), bladed, elongated, in
one direction (prismatic) and
tabular.
CRYSTAL HABIT
CRYSTAL HABIT
COLOR
 A lot of minerals can exhibit same or
similar colors. Individual minerals can also
display a variety of colors resulting from
impurities and also from some geologic
processes like weathering
 E.g. of coloring
quartz can be pink (rose quartz),
purple (amethyst), orange (citrine),
white (colorless quartz)
COLOR
STREAK

 Itis inherent in almost every

mineral, and is a more diagnostic
property compared to color. Note
that the color of a mineral can be
different from its streak.
 E.g.pyrite (FeS2) exhibits gold color
but has a black or dark gray streak
The color of a mineral when it is
powdered is called the
streak of the mineral.

Streak
CLEAVAGE
 The property of some minerals to break
along specific planes of weakness to form
smooth, flat surfaces
 These planes exist because the bonding of
atoms making up the mineral happens to
be weak in those areas
 When mineral break evenly in more than
one direction, cleavage is described by
the number of cleavage directions, the
angles at which they meet and the quality
of cleavage (e.g. cleavage in 2 directions
at 90º)
CLEAVAGE
 Cleavage is different from habit; the two
are distinct, unrelated properties. Both are
dictated by crystal structure, crystal habit
forms as the mineral is growing, relying on
how the atoms in the crystal come
together. Cleavage, is the weak plane
that developed after the crystal is formed
 cleavage

Cleavage is the way a mineral

breaks. It refers to the minerals
resistance to being broken.

1 direction - mica 2 directions - feldspar 3 directions - calcite

 fracture

Fracture is breakage that is not flat.

It is the texture and shape of a rocks
surface.

conchoidal
(shell-shaped)

uneven
 heft

how heavy a mineral feels in the

hand, an informal sense of density.

taste

definitive for halite (rock salt), of course,

but a few other evaporite minerals also have
distinctive tastes
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
 The ratio of the density of the
mineral and the density of water
 This parameter indicates how many
times more the mineral weighs
compared to an equal amount of
water (SG 1)
 E.g. a bucket of silver (SG 10)
would weigh ten times more than a
bucket of water
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
 Silicates
➢ minerals containing the two most 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 rock-forming minerals belong to
this group.
 Oxides
 minerals composed of oxygen anion
(O2 -) combined with one or more
metal ions
 Sulfates
➢ mineralscontaining sulfur and oxygen in
the form of the (SO4)- anion
 Sulfides
 minerals
containing sulfur and a metal;
some sulfides are sources of
economically important metals such as
copper, lead, and zinc.
Sulfides
 Carbonates
 mineralscontaining the carbonate
(CO3)2 - anion combined with other
elements
 Carbonates
 mineralscontaining the carbonate
(CO3)2 - anion combined with other
elements
 Native Elements
 Metals & Intermetals
minerals with high thermal and electrical
conductivity, typically with metallic luster,
low hardness (gold, lead)
 Semi-metals – minerals that are more
fragile than metals and have lower
conductivity (arsenic, bismuth)
 Nonmetals – nonconductive (sulfur,
diamond)
 Halides
 minerals
containing halogen elements
combined with one or more metals
 rock

A rock is a naturally occurring

aggregate of minerals and/or
other rock fragments
 Igneous rocks

- formed from molten rock material

 Igneous rocks

- Formed when magma

cools deep within the
Earth’s surface

- Cools very slowly as it is

in contact with molten
rock

- Produces course-grained
igneous rock. Intrusive Igneous Rock
 Igneous rocks

- Magma that cools

above the Earth’s
surface

- Produces fine-grained
igneous rocks

- This rapid cooling does

not allow time for
crystals to form Extrusive Igneous Rock
 sedimentary rocks

- formed from materials from previously

existing rocks

Sediments

- Weathered rock materials

- Dissolved rock materials
Compaction

Cementation
 metamorphic rocks

Rocks changed by heat, pressure, or hot

solutions due to:

- Movement of the Earth’s

crust
- Heat generated by
intrusion of hot magma
- Pressure can change
rock by flattening,
deforming, or realigning
mineral grains.
 ROCK CYCLE

Describes the continually changing

structure of rocks.
 Enrichment Activity

Arrange the terms below to illustrate the Rock Cycle in a

diagram.

-Intrusive Igneous Rock -Sedimentary Rock

-Extrusive Igneous Rock -Compaction and
-Magma cementation
-Magma from molten crust -Sedimentation
and mantle -Transport and deposition
-Melting -Weathering and erosion
-Metamorphic rock -Slow uplift to the surface
-Burial, high temperatures
and pressures