Pencil

Salt
Car
Road
cellphone
We are using these products made from
minerals daily. Graphite is the mineral
used in wooden pencil. Halite is the
mineral found in salt. Your cell phone is
made up of different minerals. The cars
that we drive, the roads that we travel,
the building that we live in, are some
examples of products derived from
minerals
 Most Essential
Learning Competency
Identify common rock-forming
minerals using their physical
and chemical properties.
 What is a Mineral?
 It is the building blocks of rock.
 It is a naturally occurring inorganic
solids with definite chemical composition
and regular atomic structure.
 Naturally-formed solid substance with a
crystal structure
What do all minerals have in
common?
All:
1. Are formed by natural processes.
2. Are NOT alive and NEVER were alive
3. Have a definite volume and shape
4. Are elements or compounds with a unique
chemical makeup
5. Are made up of particles that are arranged in
a pattern that is repeated over and over
(called a CRYSTAL)
 How do minerals form?
 Cooling of magma (hot, liquid rock
and minerals inside the earth (from
the mantle)

 Fast Cooling = No Crystals

 Medium Cooling = small crystals

 Slow Cooling = large crystals

 Physical Properties of Minerals
(can be used to identify the mineral)

1. Color
 may change depending on the surface.

 Can be misleading

 Can vary with the type of impurities

Examples of colour variation in Fluorite
Plagioclase feldspar Quartz Calcite

Barytes Fluorite Gypsum

All these minerals are grey or white in colour

 Physical Properties of Minerals
(can be used to identify the mineral)

2. Luster
 Surface reflection or how

light is reflected off a surface. Pyrite has a metallic

luster

a. metallic - shiny like metal

b. non-metallic - dull, non-
shiny surface

Calcite has a non-metallic luster

 Metallic Lustre
Malachite Galena
 Non metallic - Vitreous Lustre
Fluorite Dog-Tooth Calcite

The mineral reflects light like glass

Sometimes glassy lustre is used instead of vitreous
 Non metallic - Pearly Lustre
Biotite Mica Muscovite Mica
Non metallic - Silky Lustre
1cm

The lustre of silk

Occurs in minerals
with a fibrous
structure
Satin spar (a fibrous
form of gypsum)
shows this to good
effect
Gypsum (Satin Spar)
 Non metallic - Resinous Lustre

The lustre of resin

1c
m

The mineral has a

grainy appearance
Sphalerite, opal
and amber show
Sphalerite (Zinc Blende)
resinous lustre
 Dull or Earthy
Lustre
The mineral does not
reflect light and has the
same appearance as soil.
Minerals such as galena
have metallic lustres on
freshly broken surfaces
but they tarnish to dull
with prolonged exposure
1cm to the atmosphere

Limonite has a dull or earthy lustre

3. Streak
 The color of the powdered form of

the mineral
 The color of the streak can be
different than the mineral

 Minerals must be softer than the

streak plate
 Streak…can help identify quartz

http://www.childrensmuseum.org/geomysteries/cube/b3.html
 Streak Colors of Minerals

Malachite – pale green Haematite – cherry red Iron Pyrite – greenish

black

Galena – lead grey Sphalerite – pale brown Limonite – yellowish brown

Metallic Ore Minerals – Characteristic Streaks
4. Hardness
- How easily a mineral
scratches materials
 Mohs Hardness Scale
 Scale from 1 (softest) to 10 (hardest)

 Test by seeing if the mineral can

scratch different objects (like human
fingernail, copper, penny, glass, steel
file)
 Hardness
Measured on Moh’s scale from 1.0 (softest) to 10 (hardest)

Talc 1.0 Diamond 10.0

Scale was devised by measuring the amount of noise and powder
produced from rubbing a mineral on a metal file
 Moh’s Scale of Hardness

10. Diamond 9. Corundum 8. Topaz

*diamond is over 30 x harder than corundum

7. Quartz 6. Orthoclase Feldspar

5. Apatite 4. Fluorite 3. Calcite

2. Gypsum 1. Talc
 Moh’s Scale of
Hardness
Steel nail 5.5-6.0

Fingernail 2.5

Copper coin 3.0

Window glass 5.0

Everyday objects can be substituted for minerals on Moh’s scale

5. Cleavage & Fracture

 The way the mineral breaks

 Cleavage—minerals break along

smooth, flat surfaces and every
fragment has the same general shape.

 Fracture—minerals that break at

random with rough or jagged edges.
 Cleavage or Fracture?
1.
4.

3.
2.
6. . Tenacity
- describes the minerals reaction to stress.

 Brittleness- a mineral turns into

powder
 Malleability - a mineral can be flattened by pounding
with a hammer.
 Ductility - A mineral can be stretched
into wire.
 Flexible but inelastic-Minerals are
bent but they remain in the new
position.

 Flexible and elastic- Minerals are

bent, and they bring back to their
original position.

 Sectility- ability of minerals to be sliced

by a knife.
 Other Physical Properties of Minerals
(can be used to identify the mineral)

 Specific gravity (*excellent clue to

mineral’s identity)
 Attraction to magnets
 Bending of light
 Reaction with hydrochloric acid
 Smell & taste
Classifying Minerals
 Mineral Group Characteristics Examples
Contain Quartz, mica
Silicates oxygen & silica
The most

abundant group
of minerals
MICA Quartz
 Mineral Group Characteristics Examples
Carbonates Carbon & Calcite (CaCO3)
oxygen and a
positive ion,
such as calcium

Calcite with Duftite inclusions

 Mineral Group Characteristics Examples
Oxides Metallic
ion Hematite
and oxygen (Fe2)O3
 Mineral Group Characteristics Examples
Sulfides Sulfur and a Galena (PbS)
metallic ion
 Mineral Group Characteristics Examples
Sulfates Metallicion, Barite (BaSO4)
Sulfur & oxygen

Barite
Barite on Calcite
BaSo4
BaSo4 / CaCO3
 Mineral Group Characteristics Examples
Native Single Gold (Au),
Elements elements Diamond (C),
Silver (Ag)
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION CHEMICAL
PROPERTIES SYMBOL/
NAME
NATIVE Single element
SILICATE Silicon & Oxygen SiO4
OXIDE Oxygen & metal O2

SULFATE Sulfur, oxygen & ions SO4

SULFIDE Sulfur & ion S
CARBONATE Carbonate & element CO3
HALIDES halogens F, Cl, Br, I, At

1. Quartz – SiO2
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION CHEMICAL
PROPERTIES SYMBOL/
NAME
NATIVE Single element
SILICATE Silicon & Oxygen SiO4
OXIDE Oxygen & metal O2

SULFATE Sulfur, oxygen & ions SO4

SULFIDE Sulfur & ion S
CARBONATE Carbonate & element CO3
HALIDES halogens F, Cl, Br, I, At

2. Olivine - ((MgFe)2SiO4)
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION CHEMICAL
PROPERTIES SYMBOL/
NAME
NATIVE Single element
SILICATE Silicon & Oxygen SiO4
OXIDE Oxygen & metal O2

SULFATE Sulfur, oxygen & ions SO4

SULFIDE Sulfur & ion S
CARBONATE Carbon, oxygen & CO3
element
HALIDES halogens F, Cl, Br, I, At

3. Calcite – CaCO3
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION CHEMICAL
PROPERTIES SYMBOL/
NAME
NATIVE Single element
SILICATE Silicon & Oxygen SiO4
OXIDE Oxygen & metal O2

SULFATE Sulfur, oxygen & ions SO4

SULFIDE Sulfur & ion S
CARBONATE Carbonate & element CO3
HALIDES halogens F, Cl, Br, I, At

4. Amazonite – KAlSi3O8
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION CHEMICAL
PROPERTIES SYMBOL/
NAME
NATIVE Single element
SILICATE Silicon & Oxygen SiO4
OXIDE Oxygen & metal O2

SULFATE Sulfur, oxygen & ions SO4

SULFIDE Sulfur & ion
CARBONATE Carbonate & element CO3
HALIDES halogens F, Cl, Br, I, At

5. Topaz – Al2SiO4(FOH)2
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION CHEMICAL
PROPERTIES SYMBOL/
NAME
NATIVE Single element
SILICATE Silicon & Oxygen SiO4
OXIDE Oxygen & metal O2

SULFATE Sulfur, oxygen & ions SO4

SULFIDE Sulfur & ion S
CARBONATE Carbonate & element CO3
HALIDES halogens F, Cl, Br, I, At

6. Amethyst – SiO2
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION CHEMICAL
PROPERTIES SYMBOL/
NAME
NATIVE Single element
SILICATE Silicon & Oxygen SiO4
OXIDE Oxygen & metal O2

SULFATE Sulfur, oxygen & ions SO4

SULFIDE Sulfur & ion S
CARBONATE Carbonate & element CO3
HALIDES halogens F, Cl, Br, I, At

7. Barite – BaSO4
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION CHEMICAL
PROPERTIES SYMBOL/
NAME
NATIVE Single element
SILICATE Silicon & Oxygen SiO4
OXIDE Oxygen & metal O2

SULFATE Sulfur, oxygen & ions SO4

SULFIDE Sulfur & ion S
CARBONATE Carbonate & element CO3
HALIDES halogens F, Cl, Br, I, At

8. Pyrite – FeS2
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION CHEMICAL
PROPERTIES SYMBOL/
NAME
NATIVE Single element
SILICATE Silicon & Oxygen SiO4
OXIDE Oxygen & metal O2

SULFATE Sulfur, oxygen & ions SO4

SULFIDE Sulfur & ion S
CARBONATE Carbonate & element CO3
HALIDES halogens F, Cl, Br, I, At

9. Gold - Au
 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION CHEMICAL
PROPERTIES SYMBOL/
NAME
NATIVE Single element
SILICATE Silicon & Oxygen SiO4
OXIDE Oxygen & metal O2

SULFATE Sulfur, oxygen & ions SO4

SULFIDE Sulfur & ion
CARBONATE Carbonate & element CO3
HALIDES halogens F, Cl, Br, I, At

10. Rhodochrosite – MnCO3

 CHEMICAL COMPOSITION CHEMICAL
PROPERTIES SYMBOL/
NAME

Mg2SiO4

Cu(UO2)(PO )
4

MgCl

(ZnCu)5(CO3)2(O