An Introduction to Geology

 Earth is a complex, integrated system

of related parts, components, or sub-
systems that interact in an organized
fashion, affecting one another in
various ways.

 Earth System Science is the study of

how the four spheres of the Earth
system interact continually, each
affecting the others.

The principal spheres/systems of the Earth are the:

 Atmosphere
 Biosphere
 Hydrosphere
 Geosphere
 What is geology?
 Geology is the study of the Earth.
 Physical geology is concerned with the
materials and processes which compose and
operate on the surface of, and within, Earth.
 Historical geology is concerned with the origin
and evolution of Earth's continents, oceans,
atmosphere, and life.
Geologists are employed in diverse occupations.
Principal occupations include:
 Mineral and energy resource
exploration
 Solving environmental problems
 Predicting natural disasters
How does the study of geology benefit us?
 Understanding how the Earth’s subsystems
work will help ensure the survival of the human
species.
 It will help us to understand how our actions
affect the delicate balance between these
systems.
How does geology affect our daily lives?
 Natural Events
 Economics and Politics
 Our Role as Decision makers
 Consumers and Citizens
 Sustainable Development
What is a theory?
 It is arrived at through the scientific method,
which involves
 gathering and analyzing facts
 formulating hypotheses to explain the
phenomenon
 testing the hypotheses
 and finally proposing a theory.
 The hypotheses is a tentative explanation.
 A scientific theory is a testable explanation for
some natural phenomenon, that is supported
by a large body of evidence.
Origin of the Universe
Evidence for the Big Bang:
 the universe is expanding from a
central point.
 The entire universe has a pervasive and
constant background radiation,
thought to be the faint afterglow of the
Big Bang.
Earth
 Its Place in Our Solar System
 Earth formed from a swirling eddy of
nebular material 4.6 billion years ago,
accreting as a solid body and soon
thereafter differentiated into a layered
planet during a period of internal
heating.
 Earth is composed of 3 concentric layers.
 Core
 Mantle
 Crust
 The Core
The core consists of:
 a small, solid inner region
 a larger, liquid, outer portion
Composed of iron and a small amount of nickel.
 The Mantle
The mantle surrounds the core and is divided
into:
 A solid lower mantle, an asthenosphere that
behaves plastically and flows slowly
 A solid upper mantle. Composed primarily of
peridotite, an igneous rock made of olivine.
The Lithosphere
 The crust and upper mantle make up the
lithosphere which forms the solid outer layers
of the Earth.
The Asthenosphere
 Surrounds the lower mantle
 Behaves plastically and slowly flows
 Partial melting in the asthenosphere generates
magma (molten rock) that rises to the earth’s
surface.
 The Rock Cycle  Sedimentary Rocks are typically deposited in
layers formed from:
 The rock cycle illustrates the interactions  rock/mineral fragments
between Earth’s internal and external  precipitation of minerals from solution
processes and how the three rock groups are  the compaction of plant and animal remains.
interrelated.
 A rock is a solid aggregate of one or more
minerals, as well as non-crystalline
matter such as natural glass or organic material
like coal.
 There are three major groups of rocks
 Igneous
 Sedimentary
Conglomerate
 Metamorphic Limestone
Forms from river
Precipitation from
gravels
seawater
 Igneous Rocks form from the crystallization of
magma as it cools or the consolidation of  Metamorphic Rocks form from the
volcanic ejecta. transformation of pre-existing rocks, usually by:
 Intrusive igneous rock crystallizes  Heat
beneath the earth’s surface.  Pressure
 Extrusive igneous rock crystallizes and  Chemically active fluids
cools at the earth’s surface. At times it
cools so fast that it forms a glass or ash.

Granite -Intrusive Igneous

Rock

Gneiss Quartzite

Basalt - Extrusive
Igneous Rock
 HISTORICAL GEOLOGY
 Distinguish Earth History from Earth Dynamics
 Geology is the science of the Earth.
 Geology studies the composition, structure,
origin, life forms, physical and chemical
processes affecting it, and its history.
• deals with the history of the earth its changing
face and structures and the changing forms of
living things whose remains & traces are found
as fossils in the rocks.
• deals with the historical evolution of the
earth’s crust
How do scientists/geologists study Earth?
 The Scientific Method is a scientific
investigation involving an iterative process of
empirical observation, hypothesis building
(with a predictive or retrodictive component),
and testing.
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
 A scientific theory is a unifying idea that
incorporates a number of provisionally
accepted hypotheses.
 Knowledge based on many hypotheses and
theories can be used to create a scientific
model — a precise representation of how a
natural system is built or should behave.
HISTORICAL GEOLOGY
o The theories of plate tectonics and
biological evolution : two important
scientific theories are central to an
understanding of Earth history.
o Plate tectonics theory is the great
unifying idea of geology. It states that
the Earth’s outer shell (the
lithosphere), which consists of the crust
and upper mantle, is cracked and
composed of pieces that float on a hot,
deformable asthenosphere.
o Evolutionary theory is the great
unifying idea of biology. It is the
process by which biological species give
rise to other species by way of genetic
changes.
THE ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE
Cosmology is the study of the origins,
creation, and changes of the planets,
Sun, and Universe.
Several Hypotheses that explain for the
origin of the Solar System:
1. Nebular Hypothesis (one star hypothesis, by
Kant & La Place)
2. Planetisimal Hypothesis (2 star hypothesis, by
Chamberlin & Moulton)
3. Tidal Hypothesis (by James Jean & Harold
Jeffries)
4. Dust Cloud Hypothesis (by Fred L. Whipple)
THE BIG BANG THEORY
• Currently the dominant theory
• The theory is supported by the most
comprehensive and accurate explanations from
current scientific evidence and observation.
• According to the best available measurements
as of 2010, the initial conditions occurred
around 13.3 to 13.9 billion years ago.
• Georges Lemaître proposed what became
known as the Big Bang theory of the origin of
the Universe, although he called it his
"hypothesis of the primeval atom".
• Edwin Hubble discovered in 1929 that the
distances to far away galaxies were generally
proportional to their redshifts, as suggested by
Lemaître in 1927.
TECTONICS
 Tectonics (from the Greek tekton,
meaning "builder")— the general term
used to describe mountain building,
volcanism, and other processes that
construct geologic features on Earth's
surface.
 The lithosphere—Earth's strong, rigid
outer shell of rock—is broken into
about a dozen plates, which slide by,
converge with, or separate from each
other as they move over the weaker,
ductile asthenosphere.
PLATE TECTONICS THEORY
The theory of plate tectonics describes the movement
of plates and the forces acting between them.
CONTINENTAL DRIFT
• The concept of continental drift — large-scale
movements of continents over the globe — has
been around for a long time.
• Late sixteenth century and in the seventeenth
century - jigsaw-puzzle fit of the coasts on both
sides of the Atlantic, as if the Americas, Europe,
and Africa
• By the close of the nineteenth century, the
Austrian geologist Eduard Suess had put
together some of the pieces of the puzzle, once
formed a single giant continent called
Gondwanaland (or Gondwana).
• In 1915, Alfred Wegener, a German
meteorologist wrote a book (The Origin of
Continents and Oceans)on the breakup and
drift of continents.
• In it, he laid out the remarkable similarity of
rocks, geologic structures, and fossils on
opposite sides of the Atlantic.
• He postulated a supercontinent, which he called
Pangaea (Greek for "all lands"), that broke up
into the continents as we know them today.
EVIDENCES OF CONTINENTAL DRIFT
• Apparent Fit of the Continents
• Similarity of Rock Sequences and Mountain
Ranges
• Paleoclimate Data
• Fossil Correlation
SEAFLOOR SPREADING
• In 1928, the British geologist Arthur Holmes
proposed that convection currents "dragged
the two halves of the original continent apart,
with consequent mountain building in the front
where the currents are descending, and the
ocean floor development on the site of the gap,
where the currents are ascending."
• During the 1950s, Harry Hess of Princeton
University proposed, in a 1962 landmark paper,
the theory of seafloor spreading to account for
continental movement.
• He suggested that continents do not move
through oceanic crust but rather that the
continents and oceanic crust move together as
a single unit.
• Harry Hess and Robert Dietz of the Scripps
Institution of Oceanography proposed that the
crust separates along the rifts in mid-ocean
ridges and that new seafloor forms by
upwelling of hot new crust into these cracks.
• The process that continually adds new material
to the ocean floor while pushing older rocks
away from the ridge.
PLATE BOUNDARIES
• Geologists recognize three major types of plate
boundaries: divergent, convergent, and
transform
DIVERGENT BOUNDARIES
• Divergent plate boundaries or spreading ridges
occur where plates are separating and new
oceanic lithosphere is forming.
• Divergent boundaries are places where the
crust is extended, thinned, and fractured as
magma, derived from the partial melting of the
mantle, rises to the surface.
• Divergent boundaries most commonly occur
along the crests of oceanic ridges—for
example, the Mid- Atlantic Ridge.
• Divergent boundaries are also present under
continents during the early stages of
continental breakup. The East African Rift
Valley is an excellent example of continental
breakup at this stage.
CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES
• Convergent boundaries where two plates
collide and the leading edge of one plate is
subducted beneath the margin of the other
plate and eventually incorporated into the
asthenosphere.
• A dipping plane of earthquake foci, called a
Benioff zone, defines subduction zones
Three types of convergent plate boundaries are
recognized: oceanic–oceanic, oceanic continental,
and continental–continental.
• Transform faults “transform” or
change one type of motion
between plates into another type of motion.
• One of the best-known transform faults is the
San Andreas fault in California.
• It separates the Pacific plate from the North
American plate and connects spreading ridges
in the Gulf of California with the Juan de Fuca
and Pacific plates off the coast of northern
California.

When two oceanic plates converge, one is subducted

beneath the other along an oceanic– oceanic plate
boundary.

• A good example of a back-arc basin associated

with an oceanic–oceanic plate boundary is the
Sea of Japan between the Asian continent and
the islands of Japan.

When an oceanic and a continental plate converge, the

denser oceanic plate is subducted under the
continental plate along an oceanic– continental plate
boundary.

• An excellent example is the Pacific Coast of

South America where the oceanic Nazca plate
is currently being subducted under South
America

Continental-continental plate boundary is when two

continental plates converge, neither is subducted
because of their great thickness and low and equal
densities. As the two continental plates collide, a
mountain range is formed in the interior of a new and
larger continent.

• The Himalayas in central Asia resulted from the

collision between India and Asia approximately
40 to 50 million years ago.

TRANSFORM BOUNDARIES

• The third type of plate boundary is a transform

plate boundary.

• These mostly occur along fractures in the

seafloor, known as transform faults, where
plates slide laterally past one another roughly
parallel to the direction of plate movement.
  Laurentia collides with Baltica and closes
Iapetus Sea.
 Coral reefs expand and land plants begin to
colonize barren land.
 First millipede fossils and sea scorpions
(Euryptides) found in this period

Proterozoic
 Earth initially formed 4.6 billion years ago
 Single-celled life appeared 3.8 billion years ago
 Cyanobacteria begins producing free oxygen
(photosynthesis)
 Land masses gathered to make up a continent
called “Rodinia”
Cambrian
 Explosion of life
 All existing phyla come
 Life forms in warm seas as oxygen levels rise Devonian (Age of Fish)
enough to support life
 Dominant animals: Marine invertebrates  Pre Pangea forms. Dominant animal: fish
(trilobites and brachiopods)  Oceans still freshwater and fish migrate from
 Supercontinent Gondwana forms near the southern hemisphere to North America.
South Pole (note position of present-day  Present day Arctic Canada was at the equator
Florida) and hardwoods began to grow.
Ordovician  Amphibians, evergreens and ferns appear The
 1st animals with bones appear Acadian Orogeny, leading to S.C.
 The beginning of construction of South Carolina metamorphism
 A very cold time in Earth’s history
 Four main continents: Gondwana, Baltica,
Siberia and Laurentia
Mississipian
Silurian
 First land plants appear and land animals follow  First seed plants appear
  Much of North America is covered by shallow  Hominids develop and the Grand Canyon forms
seas and sea life flourishes ( bryoza , brachipods (Pliocene)
, blastoids)
Quaternary
Pennsylvian
 Modern humans develop and ice sheets are
 Modern North America begins to form predominant-Ice age (Pleistocene)
 Ice covers the southern hemisphere and coal  Holocene Humans flourish (Holocene)
swamps formed along equator.
 Lizards and winged insects first appear.

Permian

 Last period of the Paleozoic

 Pangea forms. Reptiles spread across
continents.
 The Appalachians rise
 90% of Earth’s species become extinct due to
volcanism in Siberia. This marks the end of
trilobites, ammonoids, blastoids, and most fish.

Triassic

 First dinosaurs appear

 First mammals-small rodents appear
 Life and fauna re-diversify
 Rocky Mountains form.
 First turtle fossil from this period
 Pangea breaks apart
Jurassic
 Pangea still breaking apart
 Dinosaurs flourish “Golden age of dinosaurs”
 First birds appear
 North America continues to rotate away from
Africa
Cretaceous
 T Rex develops
 First snakes and primates appear
 Deciduous trees and grasses common marine
life.
Tertiary

 First horses appear and tropical plants

dominate (Paleocene)
 Grasses spread and whales, rhinos, elephants
and other large mammals develop. Sea level
rises and limestone deposits form in S.C.
(Eocene)
 Dogs, cats, and apes appear (Oligocene)

 Horses, mastadons, camels, and tigers roam

free in S.C. (Miocene)
 Lecture 3
Earth’s Interior
Geosphere layers:
Compositional layers:
Based on chemical composition
 Crust
 Mantle
 Core
Mechanical layers:
Based on rigidity
 Lithosphere
 Asthenosphere
 Mesosphere
 Outer core
 Inner core

Crust
 Crust is the outer thin layer with a total
thickness normally between 30-50 km
 Oceanic crust is thinner (5-30 km thick) as
compared to the continental crust (50-70 km
thick).
 It forms 5-1.0 percent of the earth’s volume.
 Mohorovicic discontinuity (seismic
discontinuity)
 The outer covering of the crust is of
sedimentary material (granitic rocks) and
below that lie crystalline, igneous and
metamorphic rocks which are acidic in nature.
 The lower layer of the crust consists of basaltic
and ultra-basic rocks.
Mantle
 2885 km radius
 83% of earth’s volume
 Rich in MgO and FeO
 Guttenberg discontinuity
 The crust and the uppermost part of the mantle
are called lithosphere. Its thickness ranges from
10-200 km.
 The lower mantle extends beyond the
asthenosphere. It is in solid state.
 The density of mantle varies between 2.9 and
3.3
 The density ranges from 3.3 to 5.7 in the lower
part.
  It is composed of solid rock and magma. Why are there layers?
 The outer layer of the mantle is partly simatic
while the inner layer is composed of wholly  Earth’s formation
simatic ultra-basic rocks.  Varying densities
 Different temperatures and viscosities
Core

 3480 km radius
 Accounts 16% of earth’s volume Lecture 4
 It is composed of nickel and iron [nife]. Minerals
 A zone of mixed heavy metals + silicates A mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic,
separates the core from outer layers. solid, with a specific chemical composition and a
 Lehmann boundary definite crystalline structure.
 Outer core
o Liquid Naturally occurring and inorganic
o 2900 to 5150km  Formed by natural processes
o Generates earth’s magnetic field
 They are not alive and never were alive
 Inner core
Definite crystalline structure
o Solid
o 5150km to center of the earth  Atoms in minerals are arranged in regular
geometric patterns that are repeated.
Lithosphere  This regular pattern results in the formation of
 Brittle and rigid outer layer crystal.
 Crust and uppermost mantle  A crystal is a solid in which the atoms are
arranged in repeating patterns.
 100km depth
 Sometimes, a mineral will form in an open
 Oceanic and continental lithosphere
space and grow into one large crystal.
Asthenosphere  More commonly, the internal atomic
arrangement of a mineral is not apparent
 100km to 660km depth
because the mineral formed in a restricted
 Transition zone at 400km to 660km
space.
 Plastic layer
Solids with specific compositions
Mesosphere  Each type of mineral has a chemical
composition unique to that mineral.
 Lower mantle  This composition might be specific, or it might
 660km to 2900km vary within a set range of compositions.
 Stronger than asthenosphere  A few minerals, such as copper, silver, and
sulfur, are composed of single elements.
 The vast majority, however, are made from
Visualizing earth’s interior compounds.
 P wave Variations in composition
o Primary wave  In some minerals, chemical composition can
o Travels in solid and liquid vary within a certain range depending on the
 S wave temperature at which the mineral crystallizes.
o Secondary wave  For example, plagioclase feldspar ranges from
o Travels in solid only white albite to gray anorthite.
 This color difference is due to a slight change in
the mineral’s chemical composition from
sodium-rich to calcium-rich.
Rock Forming Minerals
 Although about 3000 minerals occur in Earth’s
crust, only about 30 of these are common.
 Eight to ten of these minerals are referred to as
rock-forming minerals because they make up
most of the rocks in Earth’s crust.
 They are primarily composed of the eight most
common elements in Earth’s crust.
 The most common rock-forming minerals:
o Silicates
o Carbonates
o Oxides
o Sulfides
o Sulfates
Silicates
 The most abundant minerals in Earth’s crust,
are composed of oxygen(O) and silicon (Si)
Carbonates
 Are minerals made of carbon and oxygen in the
form of the carbonate anion (C03 ²~) in
combination with calcium and magnesium.
Calcite (CaC03) is one such mineral.
Oxides
 Are compounds of the oxygen anion (02~) and
metallic cations; an example is the mineral
hematite (Fe203).
Sulfides
 Are compounds of the sulfide anion (S2~) and
metallic cations, a group that includes the
mineral pyrite (FeS2).
Sulfates
 Sulfates are compounds of the sulfate anion
(S04² ~) and metallic cations, a group that
includes the mineral anhydrite (CaS04).
The other chemical classes of minerals, including
native elements and halides, are not as common as the
rock-forming minerals.
Identifying Minerals
 Geologists rely on several simple tests to
identify minerals.
 These tests are based on a mineral’s physical
and chemical properties, which are crystal
form, crystal habit, luster, hardness, cleavage,
fracture, streak, color, texture, density, specific
gravity, and special properties.
Crystal form
 Some minerals form such distinct crystal shapes
that they are immediately recognizable.
 Halite always forms perfect cubes.
 Quartz crystals, with their double-pointed ends
and six-sided crystals, are also readily
recognized.
 Crystal Face: Each flat surface of a mineral
 Cryptocrystalline: Crystals too small to see with
the naked eye
 Amorphous: Non-crystalline, or lacking atomic
structure due to rapid cooling, glassy
appearance; example: opal
 Unit cell: smallest repetitive volume which
contains the complete lattice pattern of a
crystal.
 Crystal lattice: pattern of repeating unit called
“unit cell” is often observed.
 Bravais Lattice: they describe the geometric
arrangement of the lattice points, and thereby
the translational symmetry of the crystal.
 August Bravais (1848): mathematical
calculation
The six great crystal systems are: Crystal Habit
 Isometric crystal system  Used to categorize the appearance, shape, and
o Is characterized or referred to three size of a crystal, and identify its unique growth
axes of equal length that make right characteristics that result from its crystalline
angles with each other. structure and growth environment.
 Tetragonal crystal system  A particular mineral may exhibit several
o Is characterized or referred to three different habits, all of which are influenced by
axes at right angles to each other; two the following factors:
axes are horizontal and of equal lengths o Crystal Twinning (two individual
while the third axis is either shorter or crystals share some of the same crystal
longer than the other two. lattice points)
 Hexagonal crystal system o Growth Conditions (heat, pressure, and
o Is characterized or referred to four space)
axes, three of which are equal and lie in o Trace Impurities (present during crystal
a common horizontal plane; while the formation)
fourth axis, which is vertical is either  Most gemstone crystals are not found as a
shorter or longer than the three axes perfectly formed single crystal, but are found as
that lie in a common horizontal plane. aggregates of several crystals that have grown
 Orthorhombic crystal system together into a single mass.
o Is a characterized or referred to three  When one mineral replaces the void that is left
axes at right angles to each other and of behind from another mineral’s disintegration,
unequal lengths. while preserving that original mineral’s growth
 Monoclinic crystal system habit, it is referred to as a “pseudomorphous
o Is characterized or referred to three replacement.”
unequal axes; two axes are intersecting
at an oblique angle while the third is Crystal Habit: Habit Description: Mineral:
perpendicular to the plane of the other Acicular Needle like, Rutile(Quartz)
two. slender or tapered
 Triclinic crystal system Anhedral Poorly formed and Olivine
o Is characterized or referred to three distorted
unequal axes, all of the intersection Banded Narrow bands of Onyx, Agate
differing colors
angles are oblique.
Bladed Slender, flattened Tanzanite,
and blade-like Kyanite
Botroidal or Grape-like, Hematite,
Globular hemispherical Pyrite,
masses Malachite,
Adamite
Columnar Similar to fibrous Calcite, Gypsum
Coxcomb Aggregated flaky Barite,
or tabular crystals Marcasite
closely spaced
Cubic Cube shape Pyrite, Galena,
Halite
Dendritic Tree-like, multi- Opal, Agate
directional
Dodecahedral 12-sided Garnet,
Dodecahedron Diamond
Drusy Aggregate of Drusy (Quartz)
(Encrustation) minute crystals
Enantiomorphic Mirror-image habit Citrine, Quartz, Rosette or Platy, radiating Gypsum, Barite
and optical Amethyst lenticular rose-like aggregate
characteristics Striated Surface growth Alexandrite,
Equant Squashed, Zircon lines parallel or Tourmaline,
(Stubby) pinnacoids/prisms perpendicular to c- Striated
Euhedral Well-formed and Red Spinel axis Sapphire
undistorted Tabular Flat, tablet- Ruby, Calcite
Fibrous Extremely slender Serpentine (Lamellar) shaped, prominent
prisms group, pinnacoid
tremolite
Filiform or Hair-like or thread- Zeolites Luster
capillary like, extremely fine  The way that a mineral reflects light from its
Foliated Easily separated Mica surface
into plates  There are two types of luster:
Geode Rock cavities with Amethyst, o Metallic luster
internal crystals Quartz
o Nonmetallic luster
Granular Mass Anhedral crystals Peridot, Bornite
 Silver, gold, copper, and galena have shiny
in lumpy mass with
no crystal form surfaces that reflect light, like the chrome trim
Hopper crystals Cubic, but outer Halite, Calcite, on cars.
portions grow synthetic  Thus, they are said to have a metallic luster
faster than inner Bismuth  Not all that have metallic luster are metals
portions(concavity)  Sphalerite, for example, is a mineral with a
Mamillary Intersecting large Malachite, metallic luster that is not metal
rounded contours Chalcedony  Differences in luster are caused by differences
Massive or Shapeless with no Lapis Lazuli in the chemical compositions of minerals
compact distinct external  Using the luster to identify a mineral should
crystal shape
usually be used in combination with other
Octahedral Eight-sided Diamond,
physical characteristics
octahedron-two White spinel
pyramids, base to  Minerals with nonmetallic lusters, such as
base calcite, gypsum, sulfur, and quartz, do not shine
Pincoid Terminated by Emerald, Beryl, like metals
multiple pyramidal Aquamarine  Non-metallic luster of minerals are described in
faces terms of the following:
Prismatic Elongate and Tourmaline, o Silky – it looks like the appearance of
prism-like, all faces Topaz silk (asbestos, ulexite, satin spar)
are parallel to c- o Adamantine – having the brillian luster
axis of diamonds (cerussite and cubic
Pseudomor- Occuring in the Tiger’s eye zirconia)
phous shape of another o Earthy or dull – Resembles earthy
mineral materials like dirt, having no reflection
Radiating or Radiating outward Wavellite,
(kaolinite)
divergent from a central Pyrite suns
o Waxy – minerals have a lustre
point
resembling wax (jade, chalcedony)
Reniform or Similar to Hematite,
colloform botryoidal: Pyrolusite, o Vitreous – having the luster of a glass
intersecting kidney Greenockite (calcite, quartz, topaz, and beryl)
shaped masses o Resinous – having the appearance of
Reticulated Crystals forming Cerussite pearl (muscovite and stilbite)
net-like o Greasy – it looks as if covered with a
intergrowths thin layer of oil (opal and cordierite)
Hardness
 One of the most useful and reliable tests for
identifying minerals is hardness.
 Hardness is a measure of how easily a mineral
can be scratched
 The hardness of any mineral depends on the
strength of its chemical bonds: the stronger the
bonds, the harder the mineral
 Within groups of minerals having similar crystal
structures, increasing hardness is related to
other factors that also increase bond strength
o Charge: The larger the charge of ions,
the greater the attraction between
them and thus the stronger the bond
o Size: The smaller the atoms or ions, the
smaller the distance between them and
the greater the electrical attraction-and
thus the stronger the bond
o Packing of atoms or ions: The closer
the packing of atoms or ions, the
smaller the distance between them and
thus the stronger the bond.
 German geologist Friedrich Mohs developed a
scale by which an unknown mineral’s hardness
can be compared to the known hardness of ten
minerals.
Cleavage
 The tendency of a crystal to break along flat
planar surfaces.
 The term is also used to describe the geometric
pattern produced by such breakage.
 Cleavage varies inversely with bond strength:
high bond strength produces poor cleavage;
low bond strength produces good cleavage.
 Muscovite, a mica sheet silicate, breaks along
smooth, lustrous, flat, parallel surfaces,
forming transparent sheets less than a
millimeter thick.
 Mica's excellent cleavage results from
weakness of the bonds between the
sandwiched layers of cations and tetrahedral
silica sheets.
 Cleavage is classified according to two primary
sets of characteristics:
o The number of planes and pattern of
cleavage, and
o The quality of surfaces and ease of
cleaving
Number of Planes; Pattern of Cleavage
 The number of planes and patterns of cleavage
are identifying hallmarks of many rock-forming
minerals.
 Muscovite, for example, has only one plane of
cleavage, whereas calcite and dolomite that
give them a rhomboidal shape
Quality of Surfaces; Ease of Cleaving
 A mineral's cleavage is assessed as perfect,
good, or fair, according to the quality of
surfaces produced and the ease of cleaving.
 Muscovite can be cleaved easily, producing
extremely high quality, smooth surfaces; its
cleavage is perfect.
Fracture
 Is the tendency of a crystal to break along
irregular surfaces other than cleavage planes.
 Fracture is related to how bond strengths are
distributed in directions that cut across crystal
planes.
 Breakage of these bonds results in irregular
fractures.
 Fractures may be conchoidal, showing smooth,
curved surfaces like those of a thick piece of
broken glass.
 A common fracture surface with an appearance
like split wood is described as fibrous or
splintery.
 The shape and appearance of many kinds of
irregular fractures depend on the particular
structure and composition of the mineral.
Streak
 Is the color of a mineral when it is broken up
and powdered. The streak of a nonmetallic
mineral is usually white.
 A mineral rubbed across an unglazed porcelain
plate will sometimes leave a colored powdered
streak on the surface of the plate.
 The streak test can be used only on minerals
that are softer than a porcelain plate.
 Sometimes, a metallic mineral’s streak does not
match its external color
Color
 The color of a mineral is imparted by light—
either transmitted through or reflected by
crystals or irregular masses.
  Color is a complex and not yet fully understood
property of minerals. It is determined both by
the kinds of ions found in the pure mineral and
by trace impurities.
 Ions and Mineral Color
o The color of pure substances depends
on the presence of certain ions, such as
iron or chromium, which strongly
absorb portions of the light spectrum.
 Trace Impurities and Mineral Color
o Many of the gem varieties of minerals,
such as emerald (green beryl) and
sapphire (blue corundum), get their
color from trace impurities dissolved in
the solid crystal.
o Emerald derives its color from
chromium; the sources of sapphire's
blue color are iron and titanium.

Specific Gravity and Density

 Density depends on the atomic mass of a
mineral's ions and how closely they are packed
in its crystal structure.
 Increases in density caused by increases in
pressure affect the way minerals transmit light,
heat, and earthquake waves.

Special Properties
 Several special properties of minerals can also
be used for identification purposes.
 Some of these properties are magnetism,
double refraction, effervescence with
hydrochloric acid, and fluorescence.