Minerals and

Rocks
OBJECTIVES

In this unit, the students should be able to

Identify common rock-forming minerals using
their physical and chemical properties;
Explain the origin and formational process of
different rock types; and
Classify rocks into igneous, sedimentary, and
metamorphic.

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 MINERALS
Minerals are naturally occurring, homogeneous,
solid ,with crystalline structure and definite chemic
al composition/formula.
Halite – NaCl

Biotite – K2(Mg,Fe2+)4 (Fe3+,Al,)2(Si6 Al2 O2

0)(OH,F)4

• Minerals usually form by inorganic proces

ses but some may be biogenic in origin
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individual crystals (rare)

Mass of small grains: each is a crystal,

but grown up against each 4other
Quartz: primary rock forming mineral, simple silicate

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Olivine: primary rock forming mineral, complex silicate

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Other Minerals: Pyrite, an iron sulphide

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Biogenic minerals: Modern shell debris composed of carbonate & silica
minerals

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Atomic Structure of Minerals
 NaCl - sodium chloride
Halite

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 Chemical Bonds: Ionic
 Electrical attraction between ions of
opposite charge
 Bond strength increases with the
electrical charges of the ions
 Bond strength decreases as the distance
between the ions increases
 Most minerals are this kind of compound

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ic Bonding example:
ite

on Anion
+
Cl-

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 Covalent Bonds:
 Electron sharing
 Generally forming giant covalent structure (e.g.,
diamond)

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 Crystallization of Minerals
 Need starting material with atoms that can come
together in the proper proportions
 Growth from a liquid or a gas

 Time and space for crystallization

 Appropriate temperature and pressure

 Examples
 Magma that has cooled below its melting point
 Supersaturated solution --> precipitation

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 Crystallization of Minerals

 Crystals begin as an initial “seed” - a microscopic

crystal
 Atoms keep being added in a 3D array, repeating the
basic arrangement
 Crystal faces are based on the array structure

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 Cations and Anions
 Anions are typically large

 Cations are relatively small

 Crystal structure is
determined largely by the
arrangement of the anions

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Common cations and anions

Radii given in 16
angstroms; 10-8 cm
 Ions can be compound
 So far, we’ve talked about individual atomic ions

 Many common minerals are silicates

SiO4 4-

Complex ions act

as a single
ion in
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 Cation Substitution

 Crystal structure determined by those large anions

 Various cations can substitute for each other in many

minerals
 Same crystal structure
 Different chemical composition

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 Polymorphs
 Minerals with the same composition, but different
crystal structure.

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 Silicates
 Most abundant minerals in the Earth's crust
 Silicate ion (tetrahedron), SiO44-

 Quartz (SiO2), K-feldspar (KAlSi3O8), olivine

((Mg, Fe)2SiO4), kaolinite
20 (Al2Si2O5(OH)4)
Quartz (SiO2)

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 Silicate structure
 Most of the most common rocks in the crust are silicates

 Silicate tetrahedra can combine in several ways to form

many common minerals
 Typical cations:

K+, Ca+, Na+, Mg2+, Al3+, Fe2+

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Different numbers of oxygen ions are 23shared among tetrahedra
 Carbonates

 Cations with carbonate ion (CO32-)

 Calcite (CaCO3), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2), siderite

(FeCO3), smithsonite (ZnCO3)

 Make up many common rocks including limestone and

marble

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ommon Rock-Forming Minerals
Minerals fall into a small number of related “families” based
mainly on the anion in them

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Calcite (CaCO3)

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CaCO3 + 2H+ = Ca2+ + CO2 + H2O
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Smithsonite (ZnCO
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3)
 Oxides

 Compounds of metallic cations and oxygen

 Important for many metal ores needed to make things

(e.g., iron, chromium, titanium)

 Ores are economically useful (i.e., possible to mine)

mineral deposits

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Hematite (Fe2O3)
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 Sulfides

 Metallic cations with sulfide (S2-) ion

 Important for ores of copper, zinc, nickel, lead, iron
 Pyrite (FeS2), galena (PbS)

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Galena (PbS)

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 Sulfates

 Minerals with sulfate ion (SO42-)

 Gypsum (CaSO4.H2O), anhydrite (CaSO4)

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Gypsum 35
Gypsum

Cave of the Crystals

• 1,000 feet depth in the

silver and lead Naica
Mine

• 150 degrees, with 100

% humidity

• 4-ft diameter columns

50 ft length
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 Physical properties

 Hardness
is the resistance of the minerals to scratching. It is measured
by scratching the mineral with another object of known
hardness.
For more accurate measurement, Mohs Scale of Hardness is
used which is composed of ten minerals, numbered from 1
to 10 (1 as the softest and 10 as the hardest). The Mohs
Scale is a relative scale, not qualitative, which means that
gypsum (H=2) is not twice as hard as talc (H=1), only that
gypsum is harder than talc.

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 Physical properties
 Hardness

 Cleavage: tendency of minerals to break along flat

planar surfaces into geometries that are determined
by their crystal structure

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Cleavage in Mica

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Cleavage in calcite
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Halite (NaCl)
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 Physical properties

 Hardness

 Cleavage

 Fracture: tendency to break along other surfaces

(not cleavage planes)

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Conchoidal fractures
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 COLOR
certain wavelengths of light that are reflected by the material

Fig. 1 Sulfur (Hemmerlein, 2005)

Fig. 2 Malachite (J.J. Harrison, 2009)

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 IDIOCHROMATIC MINERALS​

 Self-colored minerals. Their color is distinct and depends on the 

elements that make up their chemical structure.  

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ALLOCHROMATICllochromatic

• minerals are often

weakly-colored or
colorless in their pure Fig. 3 Amethyst (Image credit: J.J. Harrison, 2009)
state, which allows
impurities to pervade
them with color.

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Fig. 4 Citrine (Image credit: Jarno, 2006)
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 P seudochromatic minerals
 are false-colored minerals. Their colors are due to light
diffraction.

Fig. 3. ​Pseudochromatic minerals. From left to right: bornite,

labradorite, and opal.
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 Fig. 5 A specimen of pyrite (left) produced a black streak while rhodochrosite
(right) produced a white streak (Raike, 2010)

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 LUSTER
• refers to the appearance of a mineral’s surface and is dependent on how it
reflects light..

• Common luster types are pearly, silky, dull, resinous, earthy,

adamantine,vitreous or glassy, and metallic.

Fig. 6 From left to right: Sphalerite (resinous); Feldspar (dull); Quartz (vitreous) and; Pyrite (metallic)
Image Credits: Rob Lavinsky, 2010; J.J. Harrison, 2009; C. Millan, 2009
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Fig. 6. ​Different crystal habits. From top left to bottom left: natrolite
(acicular);oligoclase (blocky); barite (tabular); okenite (fibrous); actinolite
(bladed); copper (dendritic); and indicolite (prismatic). 
 CLEAVAGE 

 tendency of some minerals to break along flat surfaces.

 Cleavage surfaces tend to occur repetitively as parallel planes at crystal

breaks, which constitute set,    or direction of cleavage.                        

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 FRACTURE

 thepattern in which the mineral breaks aside from its planes of cleavage.
This happens when the atomic bonds are of equal strength.   cleavage.
This happens when the atomic bonds are of equal strength.
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 SPECIFIC GRAVITY

Sratio of a minerals’ weight to the weight of an equal volume of water.

 the ratio of a minerals’ weight to the weight of an equal volume  of water.

Therefore, a specific gravity of 4 means that a certain substance is four  times heavier than water.
 Fracture is the pattern in which the mineral breaks aside
from its planes of cleavage. This happens when the atomic
bonds are of equal strength.
 Tenacity refers to the behavior of the mineral under
deformation or stress such as cutting, crushing, bending,
or hitting.
 Specific gravity is the ratio of a minerals’ weight to the
weight of an equal volume of water.

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 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
 Hardness

 Cleavage

 Fracture

 Luster (metallic, vitreous, resinous, earthy, etc.)

 Color (often a poor indicator; streak color is better)

 Specific gravity

 Crystal habit (shape)

 Other physical properties such as magnetism, fluorescence,

diaphaneity, and effervescence when in contact with acid may help in
identifying specific minerals.
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 CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

Solubility refers the ability of a substance to dissolve in a

solvent at a specified temperature.

For example, biotite, a mineral commonly found in igneous

rocks, is soluble in both acid and base solutions.
Melting point refers to the temperature at which solid turns
into liquid.

For example, quartz melts above 1670° C.

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 Wet chemical analysis involves dissolving a mineral in an acid and analyzing
the solution.
 Spectroscopic techniques test the sample’s interactions with
electromagnetic radiation to determine its structural and chemical
properties.
 TYPES OF SPECTROSCOPIC
TECHNIQUES TEST

A. Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) uses a controlled flame to separate the

components of a sample and monochrometer linked to a detector to search for
wavelengths of light that are absorbed by the sample.

B. Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) spectrometry uses a gas (Argon) to move the sample
vapor into a chamber under high vacuum where both the sample and the gas are heated for
the elements to give off a characteristic wavelength of light.

C. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) uses high voltage electrons toward a metal target to produces a
specific wavelength x-ray beam that hits the sample. Comparing the sample intensities to
that of the standard can be used to calculate for concentration of elements present in the
mineral.

D. X-ray diffractometry (XRD) is a technique that only applies to pure amorphous or

crystalline substances and is used to study the structure of the crystals. This process is
done by firing an x-ray beam at a finely-ground sample at different angles. Then reflected
or diffracted rays can be used to compute for the dimensions of the unit cell.
 Feldspar

 has a chemical composition of

XAl(1-2)Si(3-2)O8, where X is
potassium (K), calcium (Ca), or
sodium (Na). It is quite hard
with a Mohs hardness of 6. It is
a light-colored mineral, usually
white, but can also exist in Fig. 9 Plagioclase
lighter shades of red or green.
It has a glassy luster. In rocks,
feldspar forms rectangular
crystals that break along flat
faces.

Fig. 10 Potassium Feldspar (Image credit: Didier, Descouens, 2009)

 MICA
• group of hydrous
potassium
aluminum silicate
minerals.
• hardness ranging
from 2 to 2.5.

Fig. Mica (Image credit: Rob Lavinsky,

irocks.com, 2010)
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 Muscovite mica [KAl3AlSiO10)(OH)2] occurs as white,
shiny and silvery mineral. It has a pearly to vitreous luster,
white streak and often sheds into tiny flakes when
scratched.
 Biotite mica is black, dark green, or dark brown, shiny,and
often occurs in small-hexagonal crystals. It has a vitreous
luster, flaky habit and white to gray streak. Biotite sheets
are elastic when bent.

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 Pyroxene
 minerals have a general
composition of
XY(Al,Si)2O6 where X is
calcium (Ca) or magnesium
(Mg) and Y is either
magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe),
or aluminum (Al).

Augite is the most common

mineral of this group.

Fig. 12 Pyroxene (Image credit: Rob Lavinsky,

irocks.com, 2010)
 Amphibole

has a general formula of

W0-1X2Y5Z8O22(OH)2 has
a dark color with a Mohs
hardness ranging from 5 to
6. It is opaque and has a
glassy luster.

Hornblende is the most

common amphibole.

Fig. 13 Amphibole (Image credit: Rob Lavinsky,

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irocks.com, 2010)
 Olivine
 is a silicate mineral with a
general chemical
composition of
(Mg,Fe)2SiO4, but
calcium, manganese, and
nickel can be substituted
for magnesium and iron.
 Its sugary or sacharroidal
texture and olive-green
color makes it distinctive
from other rock-forming
minerals.
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Fig. 14 Olivine (Image credit: S. Kitahashi, 2006)
Below are the common rock-forming minerals in the
Philippines (Rock samples from Mines and Geosciences
Bureau).

Barite Biotite
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  Calcite

Calcite Chabazite
Dolomite Feldspar
Gypsum Pyrrite (Fool’s gold)
Zeolite
TASK SHEET 6 : MINERAL

 Research on the mineral(s) used to manufacture the

following products:
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. Using the definition of a mineral, which of the following materials can be
categorized as a mineral? Defend your answer.

a. ruby

b. gold nugget

c. coal

2. During an exercise, Josef’s teacher gave him the same mineral shown below:

a. How many cleavage directions are present? What are the approximate
cleavage angle directions?

b. After eliminating other minerals based on its properties, Josef concluded

that the assigned mineral is either amphibole or pyroxene. What are other
properties (aside from cleavage angle) he can use to correctly identify the
mineral?