Minerals: Building

Blocks of Rocks
Prepared by Group 1
1. Estelito Amar
2. Harvy Agustin
3. Jeric Paul Arguelles
4. John Edward Aldiano
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
• Define the terms rocks and minerals,
• Determine the characteristics of Earth material in
order to be considered a mineral,
• Identify the properties of minerals and
• Identify the resources from rocks.
Introduction
Minerals
• Earth's crust is composed of various types of rocks
and mineral. A basic understanding of rocks
requires us to first consider minerals, which are the
building blocks of rocks.
Definition of Minerals and Rocks
• A mineral is an inorganic, naturally occurring,
crystalline substance represented by a specific
chemical formula.
• A rock is a consolidated aggregate of various types
of minerals or a consolidated aggregate of multiple
individual pieces(grains) of the same kind of
mineral
• Source: Earth and Life Sciences K-12 Philippine Edition
Definition of Rocks
• Rocks are naturally occuring mixtures of minerals,
mineraloids, glass or organic matter. There are three
main types of rock, classified by how they are sourced
and formed:
1. sedimentary
2. igneous
3. metamorphic

• Source: https://www.slideshare.net/duncanpatti/rocks-315663
 Characteristics of a Mineral
What are the 5 main characteristics that an earth material
must possess to be considered a mineral?
• Earth materials that are classified as minerals exhibit the
following characteristics:
1. Naturally occurring
2. Inorganic
3. Solid at room temperature
4. Regular crystal structure
5. Defined chemical composition
• Source: https://opengeology.org/textbook/3-minerals/#:~:text=In%20geology%2C%20the%20classic
%20definition,but%20are%20included%20by%20exception.
Elements: Building Blocks of
Minerals
• Minerals are made of atoms (tiny particles) from
different elements such as oxygen, carbon, lead and
silicon. The atoms form simple patterns that give
mineral cystals characteristic shapes.
• Elements are basic building blocks of minerals
• Atoms are smallest particle of matter and have all
the characteristics of an element
• Source: https://slideplayer.com/slide/15274188/
Elements of Minerals
About 98% of the total
crust is made up of eight
elements as oxygen,
silicon, aluminium, iron,
calcium, sodium,
potassium, and
magnesium.
Source: https://www.clearias.com/earths-crust-
elements-minerals-rocks/#:~:text=Elements%20in
%20the%20Earth's%20Crust,-The%20earth
%20is&text=About%2098%25%20of%20the
%20total,sodium%2C%20potassium%2C%20and
%20magnesium.
4 Ways Minerals form
• Crystallize from magma
• Precipitate out of water
• Form from other minerals
• Form from hydrothermal solution.

What are the most common rock-forming minerals?

• The most common rock-forming minerals are silicates but
they also include oxides, hydroxides, sulfides, sulfates,
carbonates, phosphates, and halides
• Source:https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/0-387-30720-6_124#:~:text=The
%20most%20common%20rock%2Dforming,%2C%20and%20halides%20(see%20Vol.s
Properties of Minerals
Most minerals can be characterized and classified by their unique physical
properties:
1. Hardness
2. Luster
3. Color
4. Streak
5. Specific gravity
6. Cleavage
7. Fracture
8. Tenacity
Source: (Illinois State Geological Survey)
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fisgs.illinois.edu%2Foutreach%2Fgeology-resources%2Fusing-characteristics-
minerals-identify-them&h=AT0YZq3-O7g_HwVUsSOBAm3JQhQinmIS3_3XnIIV0mm0OG9SJCU-
LCEkfIRK5aFXWAMGuOyMRZlSKm63BqRcuDhvNJKY4_IpqZcKC7TWRWx715UC-VhI967vDYDzfUhO8kGIRzo3BOt2mGU9QFmW3aZ_N1sS
Properties of Minerals
• Hardness- the ability to resist being scratched—or
hardness—is one of the most useful properties for
identifying minerals. Hardness is determined by the
ability of one mineral to scratch another. Federick
Mohs, a German mineralogist, produced a hardness
scale using a set of ten standard minerals.
Properties of Minerals
The scale arranges the
minerals in order of
increasing hardness. Each
higher-numbered
(harder) mineral will
scratch any mineral with
a lower number (softer).
Properties of Minerals
• Luster is how a mineral reflects light. The terms
metallic and nonmetallic describe the basic types of
luster.
• Some minerals that don't exhibit luster are referred
to as "earthy," "chalky," or "dull."
Properties of Minerals
• Color- one of the most obvious properties of a
mineral is color. Color should be considered when
identifying a mineral, but should never be used as
the major identifying characteristic.
• Streak is the color of the powdered mineral, which
is usually more useful for identification than the
color of the whole mineral sample. Rubbing the
mineral on a streak plate will produce a streak.
Properties of Minerals
• Specific gravity is the ratio between the mass
(weight) of a mineral and the mass (weight) of an
equal volume of water. A mineral's specific gravity
(SG) can be determined by dividing its weight in air
by the weight of an equal volume of water.
• Cleavage- the way in which a mineral breaks along
smooth flat planes. These breaks occur along
planes of weakness in the mineral's structure.
However, if a mineral breaks along an irregular
surface, it does not have cleavage.
Properties of Minerals
• Fracture- when a mineral breaks irregularly, the
breaks are called fractures. The breaks can be
described as grainy, hackly (jagged), conchoidal
(curved), or splintery
• Tenacity- how well a mineral resists breakage is
known as tenacity.
Tenacity is described using these
terms:
• Brittle - Mineral crushes to angular fragments (quartz).
• Malleable - Mineral can be modified in shape without
breaking and can be flattened to a thin sheet (copper,
gold).
• Sectile - Mineral can be cut with a knife into thin
shavings (talc).
• Flexible - Mineral bends but doesn't regain its shape
once released (selenite, gypsum).
• Elastic - Mineral bends and regains its original shape
when released (muscovite and biotite mica).
Mineral resources
• Mineral resources can be divided into two major
categories - Metallic and Nonmetallic
• Metallic resources are things like Gold, Silver, Tin,
Copper, Lead, Zinc, Iron, Nickel, Chromium, and
Aluminum.
• Nonmetallic resources are things like sand, gravel,
gypsum, halite, Uranium, dimension stone
• Source: https://www2.tulane.edu/~sanelson/eens1110/minresources.htm#:~:text=Mineral
%20resources%20can%20be%20divided,halite%2C%20Uranium%2C%20dimension%20stone.
Sources of Mineral resources
• The sources of mineral resources are most
commonly magmatic, sedimentary or
hydrothermal. Examples of mineral resources are
iron, diamond, gold, silver, copper, aluminium,
granite, marble, clay, table salt, rare earth elements
or fossil fuel
• Source: https://www.studysmarter.us/explanations/environmental-science/physical-environment/
mineral-resources/#:~:text=The%20sources%20of%20mineral%20resources,earth%20elements%20or
%20fossil%20fuels.
Uses of rocks
Rocks are used for many purposes but some of them that we can
see in our daily life are cited below :
• Making Cement (Limestone) (Sedimentary Origin)
• Writing (Chalk) (Sedimentary Origin)
• Building Material (Sandstone) (Sedimentary Origin)
• Bath Scrub (Pumice) (Igneous Origin)
• Kerb Stone (Granite) (Igneous Origin)
• Roofing Material (Slate) (Metamorphic Origin)
• Statue/Ornaments/Decoration (Marble) (Metamorphic Origin)
• Valuable source of minerals (Gold, Diamond, Sapphire e.t.c)
• Some rocks acts as tourist attraction sites
Uses of Minerals
Minerals are all around us. They are used to make many of the
products we use everyday. Minerals provide us with the metals
that help us make cars, aircraft, jewelry and coins. Below is a
list of other items we use that are made of minerals:
• lead pencils (graphite)
• fertilizer (potassium, sodium, calcium)
• chalk (gypsum)
• flashbulb (zirconium)
• window glass/mirrors (silica)
• table salt (halite),etc.
Thank you!
Have a great day!