REVIEWER IN EARTH SCIENCE
Minerals, Rocks, Energy Resources,
Water Resources
I. MINERALS
Properties of Minerals
1. Color- is one of the most obvious
properties of a mineral but it is often of
limited diagnostic value, especially in
minerals that are not opaque.
•Idiochromatic (self-coloring) - minerals
that have inherent coloration.
•Allochromatic - minerals that exhibit a
variety of colors or exotic coloration.
2. Luster - describes the appearance of
a mineral when light is reflected from its
surface. Metallic, Vitreous, Waxy,
Earthy.
3. Streak- refers to the color of the
mineral in its powdered form, which
may or may not be the same color as
the mineral.
4. Hardness - is the resistance of a
mineral to scratching or abrasion by
other materials. Hardness is determined
by scratching the surface of the sample
with another mineral or material of
known hardness.
Mohs Hardness Scale - standard
hardness scale. Consists of ten minerals
ranked in ascending order of hardness
with diamond, the hardest known
substance, assigned the number 10.
5. Cleavage- refers to the
characteristics tendency of many
minerals to split or separate easily along
planes of weak bonding.
- Cleavage planes, as flat surfaces, are
easily spotted by turning a sample in
your hand until you see a single flash of
reflected light from across the mineral
surface.
II. ROCKS
Rock - is a consolidated aggregate of
various types of minerals or a
consolidated aggregate of multiple
individual pieces of the same kind of
minerals.
Three Types of Rocks
A. Igneous Rock - Form by
crystallization and solidification of
molten rock (magma or lava)
-Usually found near volcanoes
-The composition of igneous rocks
varies with silica content.
Three factors affecting the texture
of Igneous Rocks
a. The rate at which magma cools
b. The amount of silica present
c. The amount of dissolved gases in
the magma
Two major categories of Igneous Rock
1. Extrusive Rock (Volcanic Rock) -
molten material that solidifies at Earth’s
surface.
Examples: Basalt, andesite, rhyolite and
obsidian. (Fine grains)
2. Intrusive Rock (Plutonic Rock) -
molten material that solidifies beneath
Earth’s surface.
Examples: dunite, gabbro, diorite, and
granite. (Large grains)
B. Sedimentary Rocks
- Product of weathering of pre-existing
rocks, erosion and transport of
sediments followed lithification.
(Compaction and Cementation)
-Usually found in seas, deserts,
estuaries
-Comprised of mineral fragments and
organic materials (fossils)
-Plays an important role in the history of
the planet
Weathering - the physical
disintegration and chemical
decomposition of rock, by which rocks
are changed upon exposure to physical,
chemical and biological processes.
Erosion - Sediments is removed
(transported) from its place of origin by
running water, winds, and glaciers.
Chemical Sedimentary - rocks are
precipitated from a solution as a result
of changing physical conditions.
Biochemical Sedimentary Rocks -
involve the actions of living organisms
that cause minerals to be precipitated
from a solution or are composed of the
remains of dead organisms.
C. Metamorphic Rocks
Protolith – parent rock
-Metamorphism represents the changes
in the composition and texture of a rock
that occurs in solid rocks as a result of
increasing pressure and temperature.
-Metamorphism occurs when a rock
changes because of changing physical
conditions (Temperature and Pressure).
Contact metamorphism - occurs in
relatively narrow zones around heat
sources.
Regional metamorphism -occurs
over large areas in association with the
formation of mountain belts.
Foliation - layered or banded texture in
metamorphic rocks brought about by
pressure.
Two Major Categories of
Metamorphic Rocks
a. Non-foliated- metamorphic rocks
without layering, banding or alignment
Example: Marble and Quartzite
b. Foliated- metamorphic rocks with
layering, wavy bands or alignment due
enough heat and pressure.
Example: Slate, Phyllite, Schist,
Amphibolite, Gneiss
Mining
-Refers to a set of processes in which
useful resources are withdrawn from a
stock of any non-renewable resource.
• Ore is rock that contains economic
concentrations of metallic minerals.
• Gangue are noneconomic minerals
associated with ores
• Concentration factor is the increase in
concentration of a mineral required to
form an ore.
Types of Mining
1.) Surface Mining- shallow mineral
deposits are removed; materials lying
over a deposit are removed to expose
the resource for processing.
• Open-Pit Mining – machines dig
very large holes and remove metal ores,
as well as sand, gravel, and stone.
• Strip Mining- this type of mining is
useful and economical for extracting
mineral deposit that lie in large
horizontal beds close to the earth’s
surface.
• Area- Strip Mining- it is used when
the terrain is fairly flat, a gigantic
earthmover strips away the overburden,
and a power shovel – removes the
mineral deposit . The resulting trench is
filled with overburden, and a new cut is
made parallel to the previous one.
• Contour-Strip Mining- it is used
mostly to mine coal on hilly or
mountainous terrain. Gigantic power
shovels and bulldozers cut a series of
terraces into the side of a hill. The, huge
earthmovers remove the overburden, a
power shovel extracts the coal.
• Mountaintop Removal- this form
of mining is commonly used, explosives,
earth movers, large power shovels, and
other machines with huge buckets,
called draglines, are used to remove the
top of a mountain and expose seams of
coal, which are then removed.
2.) Subsurface Mining- this method
is used to remove coal and metal ores
that are too deep to be extracted by
surface mining. Miners dig a deep,
vertical shaft, blast open subsurface
tunnels and chambers to reach the
deposit, and use machinery to remove
the resource and transport it to the
surface.
III. ENERGY RESOURCES
- are the opportunities an area offers to
generate electricity based on its natural
conditions and circumstances.
Two Categories of Energy Resource
1. Renewable
- From an energy resources that is
replaced by a natural process at a rate
that is equal to or faster than the rate at
which that resource is being consumed.
- Renewable energy sources get their
energy from existing flow of energy
from on-going natural processes
- Renewable energy technologies
produced sustainable, clean energy from
source
Examples of Renewable Energy: Wind,
Hydroelectric, Solar, Tidal, Geothermal,
2. Non-Renewable
- An energy that does not replenish at a
sufficient rate in human time scale;
limited
- Energy that is replaced very slowly or
not within man’s lifetime
Examples of Non-Renewable Energy:
Coal, Oil and Gas, Petroleum, Nuclear
Energy
IV. WATER RESOURCES
Water cycle - describes the process of
continuous movement of water on,
above, and below the surface of the
Earth.
Earth’s surface is covered by 71% water
Essential for life – can survive only a
few days without water
97% of all water on Earth is Saltwater.
3% of all water on Earth is Freshwater.
In the 3% (freshwater), only 1% is
readily available for consumption.
Hydrogeology - the field of Geology
that deals with the distribution,
availability, and flow of groundwater in
aquifers.
Flood- is a natural event wherein an
area that is usually dry is submerged
under water. Flood is also aggravated
by human activities
Surface Water – the freshwater from
precipitation and melted snow that flows
across the earth’s land surface and into
lakes, wetlands, streams, rivers,
estuaries and oceans.
Surface runoff – precipitation that
does not infiltrate the ground or return
to the atmosphere by evaporation
Watershed - describes the total area
contributing drainage to a stream or
river
Groundwater – precipitation that
seeps into the ground and percolates
downward through spaces into soil,
gravel and rock until an impenetrable
layer of rock stops.
Zone of saturation – spaces
underground that are completely filled
with water
Water table – top of zone of saturation
Aquifer – water saturated layers of
sand, gravel or bedrock through which
groundwater flows.
Use of Water
Humans directly or indirectly use about
54% of reliable runoff
Withdraw 34% of reliable runoff for:
Non-point source - pollution comes
from dispersed sources
Ex. agricultural runoff, street runoff
Types of Water Pollution
• Sediment - logging, road building,
erosion
• Oxygen - demanding wastes- human
waste, storm sewers, runoff from
agriculture, grazing and logging, many
others
• Disease-causing organisms - from
untreated sewage, runoff from feed lots
• Toxic chemicals- pesticides, fertilizers,
industrial chemicals
• Heavy metals - lead, mercury
• Acids Elevated temperatures =
Thermal Pollution

• Agriculture – 70%

• Industry – 20%

• Domestic – 10%

Pollution Source Terminology

Point source - pollution comes from

single, fixed, often large identifiable
sources
Ex. smoke stacks, discharge drains,
tanker spills