DIFFERENT TYPES OF

ROCKS, AND THE PHYSICAL

AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
OF MINERALS
What is a rock?
Rock is a naturally
occurring solid mass
consisting of aggregate
minerals clumped
together with other
Earth materials through
natural processes.
 IGNEOUS ROCKS – derived from
the Latin word ignis meaning “fire”

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS – from

Classification of the root word sediments which
means “remaining particles”
Rocks
METAMORPHIC ROCKS – meta
means “change” and morph means
“form”
Rock
Formation
Minerals

Mineralogy is the study of minerals. Minerals

are the building blocks of rocks. They are
naturally formed, generally inorganic, crystalline
solid composed of an ordered array atoms
having a specific chemical composition.
Description of Minerals

 inorganic - formed by natural geological processes

 formed in nature
 solids - crystalline substance that are solid at certain temperature on the
Earth’s surface
 atoms have the same crystalline pattern and with specific chemical
composition
 crystalline atoms are arranged in an orderly repetitive manner, and
 can be represented by a chemical formula
Physical Properties of Minerals

luster Fracture
hardness color
streak specific gravity
cleavage crystal form
Luster

It refers to the way light is reflected from a

mineral’s surface. Some have a metallic surface
such as gold, silver, and copper. Others are
described as vitreous or glassy, pearly, silky,
resinous, and earthy or dull.
Hardness
It is the mineral’s resistance to being scratched.
The harder ones are difficult to scratch while the
others are less resistant to scratches. Frederich
Moh, a German mineralogist, prepared a scale of
hardness with numbers 1-10 in the increasing
hardness.
Streak
Streak is the color of the mineral in powder form. In
cases when the color of minerals appear different
because of trace particles inside them, scientists would
pulverize them to get their true color. In this case, the
color of the minerals become more visible and clearer.
However, pulverizing minerals is tedious and makes
the minerals lose their integrity.
Color

Color is one of the most obvious property of minerals, but it

is often of limited diagnostic value, especially in minerals
that are not opaque. While many metallic and earthy
minerals have distinctive colors, translucent or transparent
minerals can vary widely in color. Quartz, for example, can
vary from colorless to white to yellow to gray to pink to
purple to black.
Cleavage and Fracture

Cleavage is the tendency of minerals to break along planes

of weak bonding. It is described by the number of planes
exhibited and the angles at which they meet.
Fracture minerals do not exhibit cleavage but are said to
fracture when broken. Some break like glass, some into
splinters or fiber.
Specific Gravity
 The specific gravity of a mineral is the weight of that mineral divided by the
weight of an equal volume of water. The specific gravity of water equals 1.0,
by definition. Most silicate, or rock-forming, minerals have specific gravities
from 2.6 to 3.4; the ore minerals are usually heavier, with specific gravities
from 5 to 8. If you compare similar-sized samples of two different minerals,
the one with the higher specific gravity will feel the heaviest; it has a greater
heft. For most minerals, specific gravity is not a particularly noteworthy
feature, but for some, high specific gravity is distinctive (examples are barite
and galena).
Crystal Form
A crystal is a solid, homogeneous, orderly array of atoms
and may be nearly any size. The arrangement of atoms
within a mineral determines the external shape of its crystals.
Some crystals have smooth, planar faces and regular,
geometric shapes; these are what most people think of as
crystals. These crystals occur only rarely in nature, however,
in order to develop those beautifully shaped faces, the
mineral must have unlimited space in which to grow.
Physical Properties of Minerals

luster Fracture
hardness color
streak specific gravity
cleavage crystal form
Chemical Properties of Minerals

Minerals are classified according to their chemical

properties.
All minerals have a certain arrangement of elements
in their crystal structure. They can be represented by a
chemical formula which presents the proportions of
atoms that constitute them. Minerals are divided into
basic classes as follows.
Chemical properties of Minerals
Silicate Class

Silicate class is the largest and most

abundant group containing silicon and
oxygen with some aluminum, magnesium,
iron, and calcium.
Carbonate Class

Carbonate class is mostly deposited in

marine environments. Minerals belonging to
this group are formed from the shells of
dead plankton and other marine organisms.
Sulphate Class

Sulphate class forms in areas with high

evaporation rates and where salty waters slowly
evaporate. During this process, the formation of
sulphates and halides in water-sediment interface
occurs.
Halide Class

Halide class contains natural salts. Minerals

in this class have relatively low hardness,
may be transparent, have good cleavage,
have low specific gravities, and are poor
conductors.
Oxide Class

Oxide class is a diverse class. These minerals are

important as they carry histories of changes in Earth’s
magnetic field. They are formed as precipitates close
to Earth’s surface or as oxidation products of minerals
during the process of weathering.
Sulphide Class

Sulphide class has important metals such as

copper, lead, and silver which are considered
economically significant. These metals are found
in electric wires, industrial materials, and other
things that are needed in construction.
Phosphate Class

Phosphate class contains minerals with

phosphorus. The phosphate class is considered
an important biological mineral found in the
teeth and bones of many animals.
Native Element Class

Native element class contains intermetallic elements

(e.g., gold, silver, and copper), semimetals, non-metals
(e.g., antimony, bismuth, graphite, and sulphur) or
natural alloys, and constituents of a few rare
meteorites.
Uses of Some Common
Minerals
Quartz (Silica)

used in heat-ray lamps, prism and

spectrographic lenses. It is also used in
manufacturing glass, paints, abrasives,
refractory materials and precision
instrument.
Silver

 used in coins and medals, electrical and electronic devices, industrial applications, jewelry, silverware and
photography.
Aluminum

 The most abundant metal element in Earth’s crust. It is used in transportation (automobiles), packaging,
building/construction, electrical, machinery and other applications.
Copper

 Used in building construction; electric and electronic products (cables

and wires, switches, plumbing, heating); transportation equipment;
roofing; chemical and pharmaceutical machinery; and alloys (brass,
bronze and beryllium alloyed with copper are particularly vibration
resistant); alloy castings; electroplated protective coatings; and
undercoats for nickel, chromium, zinc, etc. More recently, copper is
being used in medical equipment due to its anti-microbial properties.
Gold

Used in jewelry and arts; dentistry and

medicine; medallions and coins; ingots as a store
of value; scientific and electronic instruments;
and as an electrolyte in the electroplating
industry.
Feldspar

A rock-forming mineral that is industrially important in

glass and ceramic industries, patter and enamelware,
soaps, bond for abrasive wheels, cements, insulating
compositions, fertilizer, tarred roofing materials, and as
a sizing, or filler, in textiles and paper. In pottery and
glass, feldspar functions as a flux.
Gypsum

processed and used as prefabricated

wallboard or an industrial or building
plaster; used in cement manufacturing;
agriculture and other uses.
Halite (sodium chloride salt)

Used in human and animal diet, both a seasoning and a

preservative. It is also used to prepare sodium hydroxide,
soda ash, caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, chlorine, metallic
sodium, ceramic glazes, metallurgy, curing of hides, mineral
waters, soap manufacturing, home water softeners, highway
de-icing, photography and in scientific equipment for optical
parts.
Lead
Used in lead-acid batteries, tanks, solders and seals or
bearings. It is also used in electrical and electronic
applications (TV tubes and glass), construction,
communications and protective coatings, ballast or
weights, ceramics or crystal glass, X-ray and gamma
radiation shielding, soundproofing material and
ammunition.
Vanadium

Its metallurgical use is primarily as an alloying

agent for iron and steel, accounting for about 94
percent of domestic vanadium consumption.