Rocks&&MINERALS

ROCKS Minerals
Minerals must be:
• Naturally occurring
made from non-
living things
(fossils & coal are made
from living
things that died so are
not considered
minerals)
Not man made
Minerals must be:

• Solid

– Have a fixed shape

and volume

– Never living-
inorganic
 Minerals must have:
• Have a definite
crystal structure

– particles line up in a
regular, repeating
pattern.

– flat sides called faces,

that meet at sharp
edges and corners.

http://vasichkominerals.com/
 Minerals must have:
• A definite
chemical
composition

– Always contains
certain elements in
the same proportion.

– Almost all minerals

are compounds, (two
or more different
http://www.eas.slu.edu/People/Students/woodhull/uraninite.html elements chemically
joined).
 Minerals Review
• All minerals
must:
– Occur naturally
in nature
– Inorganic solid
– Crystal structure
– Definite
chemical
composition

http://nature.ca/museum/press/2006/pr06-02-07_minstucson_e.cfm
 Properties of Minerals
• Hardness
A measure of how
easily a mineral can be
scratched.

http://www.info-diamond.co.uk
 Properties of Minerals
• Density
• Minerals will have a
certain density
regardless of the size of
the sample.
• Each mineral has its
own density called
specific gravity

http://www.astronomynotes.com/cosmolgy/
 Properties of Minerals
• Luster
• The way a mineral
reflects light.
• Can be metallic or
non-metallic.
• Shiny or dull.
• waxy, pearly, glassy.
This is a gem stone called
tourmaline it has a glassy
luster
 Properties of Minerals

• Streak
• The color of its
powder.
• Not always the same
as the color of the
mineral.

http://geology.csupomona.edu/alert/mineral/streak.htm
 Properties of Minerals
• Color
first thing noticed
about minerals

http://www.nmnh.si.edu/rtp/students/2004/virtualposters/poster
 Rocks classification
• Texture
• Grain
• Minerals
• Color
• Origin of rocks

http://geology.com/rock-tumbler/tumbling-rough.shtml
 Rock classification
• Texture is how a rock
looks and feels
• texture in rocks is
determined by the
size, shape, and
pattern of a rocks
grains.

ocal.wasp.uwa.edu.au/.../rock/rock16.jpeg
 Rock Classification
• Grain
– Size -- large, small
– Shape --smooth, rough,
round jagged
– Pattern – rows, waves,
swirls, beads or
random patterns

http://www.union.edu/PUBLIC/GEODEPT/COURSES/geo-10/metamorphic.htm
 Rock classification

• Mineral
composition
– Rocks are made of
more than one
mineral

blue.utb.edu/.../PHYS1417SPR00/Unit3Lec.html
 Rock classification
• Color rocks
come in all sorts
Rocks & Minerals
of colors
Rock Classification
• Origin of rocks
• How were the
rocks formed
- magma
- erosion and
layering
- heat and pressure
 Origin of rocks
• Igneous rocks are
formed from the
cooling of magma or
lava
– Lava is magma that
reaches the earth’s
surface

www.outreach.canterbury.ac.nz/.../igneous.jpg
 Origin of rocks
• Sedimentary rocks
are formed from other
rocks that are broken
into small particles
and moved by erosion
(wind or water)
• The particles are
squeezed or cemented
together
• Rocks are layered

www.energyinst.org.uk/education/glossary/
Origin of rocks
• Metamorphic rocks
are formed from other
rocks
• Rocks have been
pushed deep into the
earth’s crust
• Pressure from the
earth above and heat
from the mantle below
cause them to change
shape, color, grain and
crystal structure
 Rock cycle

http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/investigat
ions/es0602/es0602page02.cfm