EARTH MATERIALS, SURFACE FEATURES AND

PROCESS

 Mineral - inorganic solid, chemical composition,crystalline

structure
 Earth crust --- 88 minerals
 98% crust – O2 , Si , Al , Fe , Ca , Mg , K , Na
 Out of total 108 ---- 88 natural & 20 produced in nuclear
reactors
 Diameter of avg atom --- 10−10 m
 Minerals --- electrically neutral
 Quartz ---- 1 Si + 2 O2
 88 minerals combined to form 3500 minerals
 Earth crust rocks ---- olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, mica, clay
minerals, quartz, feldspar, calcite, dolomite

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES :

 Minerals – hardness , color , cleavage , fracture , density

 Geologists --- crystal habit , cleavage , hardness

 Crystal habit --- characteristics shape of mineral and the manner

the aggregates of crystal glows.if crystal glows freely then the
shape is controlled by atoms

 Cleavage --- how a crystal breaks when subject to stress on a

particular plane.
 If crystal breaks --- retains smooth plane or crystal shape –
cleavage
 If crystal breaks --- no crystallized fragments --- no cleavage
 Mica & Graphite --- same parallel cleavage planes
 Excellent cleavage --- mica minerals

 Fracture --- pattern in which the mineral break

 Conchoidal fracture --- smooth & curved surfaces – quartz &
olivine

 Hardness --- resistance of the mineral to scratching

 Mohs Scale – 1 -talc,2 - gypsum,3 - calcite,4 - fluorite,5 -
apatite,
6 -orthoclase,7 - quartz,8 - topaz,9 - corundum,10 – diamond

 Specific Gravity -- weight of substance relative to an equal vol

of H20
 Most common minerals --- SG about 2.7
 Highest SG --- Gold --- 19
 Lead – 11.3 , Silver – 10.5 , Copper – 8.9

 Color ---- can alter when small chemical impurities are added
 Corundum ( Al203) – cloudy , translucent , brown or blue color
 Corundum + chromium == clear , red gem called Ruby color
 Corundum + Iron or Titanium == striking blue gem called
Sapphire

 Streak – color of a fine powder of a mineral

 White porceline plate ---- streak plate
 When mineral is rubbed across streak plate leaves a powder of
distinctive color

 Luster ---- appearance of mineral surface under reflected light

 Luster of nonmetallic mineral --- glassy, pearly, earthy, resinous

 Rock forming minerals – olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, mica,

clay, feldspar, quartz, calcite, dolomite

 Ore minerals --- minerals from which metals or elements can be

recoverable
 Cu + S = Chalcopyrite
 Pb + S = Galena
 Zn + S = Sphalerite

 Industrial minerals -- mined for purpose other than extracting

metals
 Halite --- table salt
 Gypsum --- raw material for plaster & sheetrock
 Apatite & phosporous minerals --- phosphate fertilizers
 Limestone ---- cement

 Native elements --- mined in their pure forms

 Ex : gold , silver , platinum , copper
 Metallic iron --- common in meteorites
 Native iron & nickel --- Earth core
 Native sulfur – volcanic crater -
H2So4,fertilizer,rubber,insecticides