MINERALS

Naturally occurring substances that build up the

Earth’s crust
 Minerals
There are many types of minerals, but
they have some characteristics common
to each other. These characteristics
include the ff:
◦ Minerals are crystalline solids.
◦ Minerals are made of chemical elements
and compounds.
◦ Minerals have known chemical
compositions.
◦ Minerals are inorganic in nature.
CLASSIFICATION
OF MINERALS
 Minerals
Silicates
◦ Contain silicon and oxygen
◦ Classified into mafic silicates contain Fe and
Mg and are dark in color, and felsic silicates
contain K or Na, and Al are light in color.

Nonsilicates
◦ Minerals that do not contain silicon
 Minerals
Metallic
◦ Made up of heavy metallic elements. Cu, Fe, Au, Ag,
Cr, Ni are examples of metallic minerals.

Non Metallic
◦ Lack the properties of metallic minerals such as
bright metallic luster, hardness, density, and good
conduction of heat and electricity.

Gem
◦ Possess unique bright colors and commonly used for
jewelry. Examples are jade, sapphire, ruby, opal, and
garnet.
IDENTIFICATION
OF MINERALS
1. Crystal structure
- crystal structure describe the orderly geometric
spatial arrangement of atoms of a mineral.
- there are six crystal structures.
2. Crystal Habit
- refers to the overall shape of a minerals.
- common shapes includes needlelike (acicular), plantlike
(dendritic), kidney-shape (reniform), elongated in one
direction (prismatic), and broad and flat (tabular).
3. Hardness
- refers to the mineral’s
resistance to scratch.
- this property is
dependent on the
chemical composition and
the crystalline structure
of a mineral.
- the most common scale
of measurement is Mohs
scale. It is describe by ten
indicators.
- a minerals with a higher
index can scratch the
minerals below it.
- another way
to identify the
hardness is
through the
field hardness
scale. This is
done by
rubbing the
mineral against
the fingers or
other tools.
4. Color and Streak
- minerals come in different
colors especially gems.
 - minerals gems are rare and are
used to make jewelry.
 - examples of mineral gems
commonly referred to as
gemstones includes diamond,
emerald, sapphire, ruby, opal,
aquamarine, turquoise, jade,
peridot, topaz, garnet,
amethyst, sunstone etc.
 -the streak of the minerals refer
to the color of the minerals in
powdered form. You can do the
streak test plate (back side of a
porcelain tile). The streak may
or may not be the same as the
body color of the minerals.
5. Transparency and Luster
- a mineral is transparent (like muscovite) if it allows the
light to pass through and you can see objects through.
- it is opaque (like hematite) if light cannot pass through
and you cannot see objects through it. In between a
transparent and opaque is translucent. It allows some
light to pass through and objects cannot be clearly seen
through it. Example of translucent is jadeite.
- lustre indicates how light is reflected off a surface of a
mineral.
- there are qualitative terms to describe this property, such as
metallic (galena and pyrite), vitreous or glass (silicates), pearly
(talc), dull (hematite), greasy (halite) and silky (gymsum).
6. Cleavage
- refers to the mineral’s resistance to being broken.
- it describe how a minerals breaks along weakness plain.
- the quantity of cleavage can be described in how clearly or
easily the minerals breaks, like perfect, good, distinct, poor or
indistinct.
Other Properties
Carbonate minerals like calcite,
dolomite, azurite, and malachite react
with hydrochloric acid (HCl).
Minerals containing iron, like
magnetite and hematite, are attracted
by a magnet. Gold, silver and copper
minerals are good conductors of
electricity.
the
ROCKS
solid mineral material forming part of the surface of the
earth and other similar planets, exposed on the surface or
underlying the soil or oceans
Rock or stone is a natural substance, a solid aggregate of one
or more minerals or mineraloids. For example, granite, a
common rock, is a combination of the minerals quartz,
feldspar and biotite. The Earth's outer solid layer, the
lithosphere, is made of rock. Rock has been used by
humankind throughout history.
Rocks cycle
 As the magma cools and solidifies through the process of
crystallization which occur beneath the surface of the Earth or at the
surface by means of volcanic eruption rocked form igneous rocks.

 The igneous rocks undergo transportation through weathering the

eroded materials are deposited as sediments.

 The sediments now undergo lithification (conversion into rocks) to

become sedimentary rocks when compacted and cemented results to
sedimentary rocks.

 Ifthe sedimentary rocks are buried deep within the Earth that is
subjected to heat and pressure, changing them into metamorphic
rocks. Then if these metamorphic rocks undergo to a higher
temperature, they will melt and turn into magma.

 The magma solidify into igneous rocks and the cycle starts again.
 Types of rocks
Igneous rocks
Igneous rocks got their name from Latin “ignis” meaning “fire”.
These rocks are formed by volcanic activity.
Since beneath the surface of the Earth the core and mantle has
very high temperature resulting to melt the materials they
formed Magma.
 
Magma
isa molten rocks generated by partial melting of rocks in
Earth’s mantle.
consist of silicon, oxygen and lesser amounts of aluminum,
calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium and iron.
 Types of Igneous rocks
Extrusvie igneous rocks or volcanic rock
rocks formed when molten rock solidifies at the surface
(lava)
 
Intrusive igneous rocks or plutonic rokcs
igneous rocks that formed at depth
 
 Igneous rocks characterized by its texture and
composition.
 Texture describes the overall appearance of the igneous
rocks based on the size, shape, and arrangement of their
interlocking crystals.
Coarse- grained – grains
(crystals) can be seen with bare
eyes
Medium-grained – grains can
only be seen through a hand lens
Fine-grained- grains can only be
seen through the microscope
 A mineral’s composition is based
on the makeup of its parent magma.
Rocks may be divided according to
their coloration:
Light-colored - such as granite
and rhyolite; composed of feldspar
and quartz
Medium-colored – such as diorite
and andesite
 
Dark-colored - such as gabbro rocks and
basalt; composed mainly of pyroxene,
calcium-rich plagioclase feldspar
Igneous Rocks Classified by Composition
Texture/ Light Medium Dark
Color
Course- Granite Diorite Gabbro
grained
(intrusive
)

Fine- Rhyolite Andesite Basalt

grained
(extrusive
)
 Sedimentary rocks
rocks formed from the sediments
results from the uplift and weathering,
which is transported and deposited in
different area.
Lithification – is the process by
which the sediments are transformed
into solid sedimentary rocks.
Compaction and cementation
 Types of Sedimentary
Rocks
1. Detrimental sedimentary rocks –
the rocks came from weathered rocks
such as igneous rocks.
Chemical sedimentary rocks – these rocks
come from soluble materials produced
largely by chemical weathering. Based on
the chemical composition.
Classification of Sedimentary Rocks Based on Particle Size
Particle size Sediment Rock

Coarse Gravel (rounded Conglomerate

particles)

Gravel (angular Breccia

particles)

Medium sand sandstone

Fine mud siltstone

Very fine mud shale

Classification of Sedimentary Rocks Based on
Chemical Composition
Composition Rock name
  Limestone coquina
  Fossil ferrous
Calcite Biochemical limestone
Limestone
Chalk
  Chert (light-colored)
Quartz Flint (dark-colored)
Gypsum Rock gypsum
Halite Rack salt
Altered plant fragments Bituminous rock
 Metamorphic rocks
These came from preexisting rocks called
the parent rocks.
The preexisting rocks may undergo
changes in the mineralogy, texture (like
grain size), and chemical composition by
the action of heat, pressure (stress) and
chemical agents.
Metamorphism – the process of
transformation of parent rocks.
 Agent of metamorphism
 Heat (most important agent, comes from magma)
- Parent rock baked by magma
- Another source of heat is when rocks formed at the surface of the Earth are
transplanted to greater depth.
- As rock goes deeper, its temperature increases
- Heat causes chemical reactions that results in recrystallization of existing
minerals or formation of new materials.
 Pressure or stress
- Pressure increases with depth.
- Pressure causes the spaces between mineral grains in the buried rocks to
close, producing a more compact rock with higher density.
- Greater depth, minerals may recrystallize into new minerals that displays a
more compact structure.
 Chemically-active fluids
- Includes water, carbon dioxide, and other volatile materials
- They act as catalysts to promote crystallization by changing ion migrations
that may change the composition of the rock.
 Common Metamorphic Rocks

Rock name Description Parent rock

Slate Foliated; fine shale

grained
Gneiss Foliated; granite,
medium to volcanic rock
coarse- grained

Marble Nonfoliated; limestone

medium to
coarse-grained
Common metamorphic
rocks have economic value.
Slate is used for roof, floor
tile, chalkboard and
billiard tables.
Marble is a popular
building stone because of
its color (pink, gray, green,
black) and relative
softness.
White marble is used for
statues and monuments.
 Rock Identification
Igneous rocks
There is arrangement of minerals crystals;
there is no fossils and foliation
 Sedimentary rock
Has visible sedimentary layer; not foliated and
generally weak; may be broken by a hammer;
may contain fossils
Metamorphic rock
may be foliated; has no mineral crystals; no
layers and fossils