EARTH MATERIALS AND

PROCESSES
CHAPTER TWO
 OBJECTIVES

Having a deeper understanding of the materials and

processes that occur within the Earth (how they are
transformed and converted from one form to
another)
Having a closer look on the geologic phenomena that
reflects how the Earth is constantly changing itself,
why it happens and project these processes into the
future
 MINERALS AND ROCKS

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHAT ROCKS ARE

MADE OF?
THE ROCKS THAT YOU SEE ARE ACTUALLY MADE UP
OF CRYSTALLINE MATERIALS WE CALL MINERALS.
 MINERALS

Is a naturally occurring, inorganic, homogeneous solid

with definite chemical composition and ordered
internal/crystalline structure
Composed of one element only
 MINERALS

 Minerals are Naturally-Occurring

- Made by natural processes without the aid of any organism
- Are not made by artificial means
 A mineral is Inorganic
- No organic material (or what was once part of an organism) is a
mineral.
- Bones, shells, teeth (organic materials) are not minerals
 MINERALS

 A mineral is a homogenous solid

- Is uniform in appearance (or has the same color) and is in the
solid state of matter
 A mineral has a definite chemical composition
- should have definite chemical constituents
ex. 1 atom of iron + 2 atoms of sulfur = pyrite (FeS2)
(all pyrite minerals should be composed of iron and sulfur)
 MINERALS

- ex 2. Polymorphs – minerals that share a common chemical

composition
Graphite Diamond

They are both made up of Carbon. The only difference is how the
carbon atoms are arranged.
 MINERALS

A mineral has an ordered internal/crystalline structure

A crystalline material is something that has its
elemental components arranged in an ordered fashion.

(A way to identify if its crystalline or not is through X- Rays)

 MINERALOIDS

Any material which passes through most of the criteria

of being a mineral is a mineraloid
Mineraloids are naturally-occurring, inorganic,
homogenous solids with definite chemical
compositions but with no ordered internal structure.
Few of the examples would be volcanic glass and opal.
 EXAMPLES OF MINERALOIDS

OPAL OBSIDIAN

 Formed from precipitation  Formed from the rapid

of silica-rich solutions cooling of lava or magma
 Displays a play of color
called ‘iridescence’
 EXAMPLES OF MINERALOIDS

QUARTZ

May look like an opal

because they are both
made of silica
 MINERAL PROPERTIES

- The properties of minerals to help you identify them

Color
- the perceived wavelength of light that bounced off
from the material and is detected by your eyes
- there are instances when the color is diagnostic or
when the mineral exhibits a single color regardless
where it came from
- Most minerals show a wide range of colors
depending on the impurities that are present in it
 MINERAL PROPERTIES
 Streak
- the color of the mineral in powdered form
- minerals show color differently when ground into fine powder
the presence of smooth surfaces of compact crystals sometimes
reflects light differently compared to its powdered mass
- ex. Pyrite (Fool’s gold) looking exactly like Gold
but upon getting the streak, Pyrite will have a greenish black
color while gold will remain yellow in color
 MINERAL PROPERTIES

Luster
- is the behavior of light as it is reflected by the
surface of a mineral
- are characterized into two:
= metallic
= non-metallic
 LUSTER

METALLIC NON-METALLIC

 Reflects light similar to a  Uses descriptive terms

polished metal
 Does not necessarily mean it
has metallic components
including pearly (looks like a
surface of a pearl), waxy
(like the surface of a candle),
vitreous (like clear or stained
glass), silky (like silk cloth)
 MINERAL PROPERTIES

Hardness
- resistance of a mineral to scratching the surface
with a measurable amount of force
- using Moh’s Scale of Hardness to get the relative
hardness of a mineral
- using different minerals with an set of hardness (1-
10; 10 being the hardest)
MOH’S SCALE OF HARDNESS

MINERAL MOH’S HARDNESS

Talc 1
Gypsum 2
Calcite 3
Fluorite 4
Apatite 5
Feldspar 6
Quartz 7
Topaz 8
Corundum 9
Diamond 10
Moh’s Scale of Hardness on household items

MATERIAL HARDNESS

Fingernail 2.5

Copper Coin 3.5

Steel Knife 5.5

Streak Plate 6.5

 MINERAL PROPERTIES

Cleavage
- tendency of a mineral to break along particular
directions
- the breakage happens along the zones that is weak
on the crystal structure
- is described as Perfect, Good, Fair or Poor. It is
dependent on how sharp or defined the planes where
the mineral split
- Fracture is called to a mineral that doesn’t have an
observable planar cleavage
CLEAVAGE
 MINERAL PROPERTIES

 Other Properties
• Magnetism
- the tendency of a mineral to be attracted to a magnet
- an example of a magnetic mineral would be a Magnetite
• Fluorescence
- some minerals, when exposed to certain wavelengths of light
will glow
- the most common fluorescent mineral is Fluorite
Magnetite and Fluorite
 MINERAL PROPERTIES

• Reaction to chemicals
- because of its definite chemical compositions,
minerals will react at certain conditions to different
chemicals presented to them
- the most common test is called acid test wherein
dilute hydrochloric acid (HCI) is allowed to react
with a mineral
- ex. Calcite forms bubbles of carbon dioxide when
HCI is poured on its surface
The formation of gas bubbles from this reaction
is also called effervescence
 MINERAL PROPERTIES

• Taste
- some minerals will exhibit taste like sweet, salty or bitter
- however, a large portion of minerals are also not safe to eat
(hence, it is not always used for identifying minerals)
- ex. Halite (NaCl) or table salt
• Odor
- certain materials give off distinct smell similar to some spices
(e.g. garlic) or industrial materials (e.g. fireworks)
- however, some minerals may cause harmful effect once they
get into our bodies (by inhaling or tasting the substance)
- ex. Sulfur (S) smells like rotten eggs
 Other properties that will help identify

Piezoelectric property – producing current when

under pressure
Specific gravity – density of the mineral over the
density of water
However these other properties are often used to
segregate minerals when most of the properties
above are almost similar. Thus most of these other
properties are macroscopic.
Macroscopic – observations using the naked eye