WEEK 2 LESSON 3 PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS. Physical Properties Include habit, luster, cleavage and fracture, hardness, color and streak Crystal habit Refers to the overall shape or growth pattern of the mineral. It can be described as equant, elongate, and platy Equant Three dimensions of the mineral have about the same length, ike that of a cube or sphere (ei. Garnet) Elongate Forms prismatic or prism-lke crystals that are thicker than the needle asin a pencil (ei. Indicolite) Platy Looks lke a flattened and thin crystal (ike plate) (Ei. Waulfenite) Luster Describes the apperance of a mineral when lights reflected from its surface. Itcan be described as opaque, transparent, dull or shiny Metallic luster Opaque and very reflective ike gold and silver Nonmetallic luster Dull, silky, greasy and pearly like silicates Cleavage and fracture Refers to the tendency of minerals to break along very smooth, flat and shiny surfaces. A mineral fracture, if it breaks along random, irregular surfaces. Some minerals break only by fracturing, while others both cleave and fracture: Hardness Isa measure of the mineral’ resistance to scratching. Harder minerals will scratch softer minerals. Friedrich Mohs in 1812ranked minerals according to ther hardness as shown in the table below. Scale Mineral 1 Tale 2 Gypsum 25 Fingernail 3 Calcite 35 Copper penn 4 Fluorite Apatite 55 Steel knife blade/qlass plate Orthoclase feldspar Quartz Topaz icy Corundum (ruby) 10 Diamond Color ‘One of the most obvious properties of a mineral but not reliable alone. Some minerals come in just one color, while other come in many colors and varieties Quartz Varies widely in color, due to minor (parts per billion) impurities and even defects in its crystalline structure Streak ~ _ Refers to the color of the mineral in its powdered form, which may or may not be the same color as the mineral = Can be obtained by scratching the mineral on an unpolished piece of white porcelain called a streak plate = More reliable property than color because it shows the true color of minerals Streak plate Unpolished piece of white porcelain where a mineral is scratched to obtain streak Magnetism = Additional property of a mineral~ To testa mineral for magnetism, just put the magnet and mineral together and see if they are attracted Magnetite (Only common mineral that is always strongly magnetic Reaction with acid ~ Some minerals, especially carbonate minerals react visibly with acid - Whena drop of dilute hydrochloric aid (Hcl) is places on calcite, it readily bubbles or effervesces, releasing carbon dioxide Dilute hydrochloric acid (HCI) Usually used to test reaction of minerals with acid Striations Presence of very thin, parallel gloves Specific gravity Weight of that mineral divided by the weight of an equal volume of water 1.0 Specific gravity of water, by definition 26to34 Specific gravities of most silicate or rock-forming minerals 5to8 Specific gravities of ore minerals Taste, order, feel Some minerals have a distinctive taste (halite is salt, and tastes like it), distincitive odor (powder of some sulfide minerals such as sphalerite, a zinc sulfide, smells like rotten eggs) and some have a distinctive feel (talc feels slippery) Chemical properties ‘Show the presence and arrangement of atoms in minerals, Dana system Divides minerals into eight basic classes Native elements ~ Minerals are naturally occuring in nature in an uncombined form with a distinct mineral structure, = Can be classified as metals, semimetals, and non-metals Silicates = Largest group of mineraks ~ Contains silicon and oxygen, with some aluminum, magnesium, iron and calcium Oxides ~ Formed from the combination of a metal with oxygen. This group ranges from dull ores like bauxite to gems like rubbies and sapphires. Sulfides — Made of compounds of sulfur usually with a metal = _Tend to be heavy and brittle Sulfates = Made of compounds of sulfure combined with metals and oxygen = _ Large group of minerals that tend to be soft and translucent Halides ~ Form from halogen elements like chlorine, bromine, fluorine, and iodine combined with metallic Carbonates Group of minerals made of carbon, oxygen, and a metallic element Phsophate ~~ Often formed when other minerals are broken down by weathering = _ Often brightly colored Mineraloid Term used for those substances that do not fit neatly into one of those eight classes Rock Naturally occuring solid aggregate of minerals sometime with nonmineral solid particles Igneous rocks/magmatic rocks ~ Formedthrough the cooling and solidification of magma or lava - Can be classified into intrusive or extrusive Intrusive igneous rocks = Type of igneous rock formed from solidification of magma below the surface = Have large crystals of minerals that formed overtime through slow process of crystallization in a magma = Examples are granite, diorite, gabbro, pegmatite, and periodite Extrusive igneous rocks = Type of roke formed through faster rate of solidification of lava on the surface of Earth‘Can become glassy in appearance due to less crystallization or vesicular like Scoria, due to the air trapped inside when they solidifed and formed ‘on the surface of the earth Examples are andesite, dacite, obsidian, pumice, rhyolite, and tuff Sedimentary rock Formed by the deposition of mineral or organic particles on the floor of oceans and other bodies of water at the Earth surface Can be classified into clastic, chemical and organic Clastic sedimentary rock formed from the mechanicla weathering debris of rocks Examples are breccia, conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, and shale Chemical sedimentary rock Formed when dissolved materials precipitate from solution Examples are rock salt, iron ore, chert, flint, some dolomites Organic sedimentary rock Formed from the build-up of plant or animal debris Metamorphic rock Forms from existing rock types called “parent tock” in the process called metamorphism, which means change in form The original rock which can be igneous, sedimentary or another metamorphic rock is subjected to heat and pressure, causing a profounf chemical or physical change Can be classified into foliated or nonfoliated Foliated metamorphic rocks Formed through pressure due to compression of rocks that create bands called foliation Examples are gneiss, phyllite, schist, and slate Nonfoliated metamorphic rocks Has no foliation or bands Examples are hornfels, quartzite, and nonvaculite