IMMACULATE CONCEPTION POLYTECHNIC

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Marian Road, Poblacion, Sta.Maria, Bulacan

Earth and Life Science (Sci 100)

Module 7

Topic: Earth’s Minerals

Learning Competency/ies:

1. Identify the minerals important to society;

2. Describe how ore minerals are found, mined, and processed for human use;
3. Cite ways to prevent or lessen the environmental impact that result from the
exploitation, extraction, and use of mineral resources.

Lesson Content:

Geologists have a very specific definition for minerals. A material is characterized as a

mineral if it meets all of the following traits. 

A mineral is an inorganic, crystalline solid. A mineral is formed through natural

processes and has a definite chemical composition.

 Minerals can be identified by their characteristic physical properties such as crystalline

structure, hardness, streak, and cleavage.

Natural Processes

- Minerals are made by natural processes, those that occur in or on Earth. A diamond created
deep in Earth’s crust is a mineral.

Inorganic Substances

- Organic substances are the carbon-based compounds made by living creatures and include
proteins, carbohydrates, and oils. Inorganic substances have a structure that is not
characteristic of living bodies. 

Prepared by:
Mr. Richard R. Reodique
 IMMACULATE CONCEPTION POLYTECHNIC

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Marian Road, Poblacion, Sta.Maria, Bulacan

Chemical Composition

- Nearly all (98.5%) of Earth’s crust is made up of only eight elements – oxygen, silicon,

aluminum, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium – and these are the elements that
make up most minerals.
Humans cannot survive without minerals

- 16 minerals needed for humans to survive

.03% of what we eat but we would not survive without the minerals

Sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, phosphorous

Prepared by:
Mr. Richard R. Reodique
 IMMACULATE CONCEPTION POLYTECHNIC

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Marian Road, Poblacion, Sta.Maria, Bulacan

Minerals are mined for our use

To meet the definition of "mineral" used by most geologists, a substance must meet five
requirements:

- Naturally occurring.
- Inorganic.
- Solid.
- Definite chemical composition.

Prepared by:
Mr. Richard R. Reodique
 IMMACULATE CONCEPTION POLYTECHNIC

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Marian Road, Poblacion, Sta.Maria, Bulacan

The physical properties of minerals help to easily identify a mineral.

The physical properties of minerals include:

 Color- the color of the mineral.

 Streak- the color of the mineral’s powder.
 Luster- the way light reflects off the mineral’s surface.
 Specific gravity- how heavy the mineral is relative to the same volume of water.
 Cleavage- the mineral’s tendency to break along flat surfaces.
 Fracture- the pattern in which a mineral breaks.
 Hardness- what minerals it can scratch and what minerals can scratch it.

COLOR

Hematite

STREAK
Augite Feldspar
- It is the colour of the minerals in powder form.

Prepared by:
Mr. Richard R. Reodique
 IMMACULATE CONCEPTION POLYTECHNIC

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Marian Road, Poblacion, Sta.Maria, Bulacan

LUSTER

Lustre or luster is the way light interacts with the surface of a crystal, rock, or mineral. The word
traces its origins back to the Latin lux, meaning "light", and generally implies radiance, gloss, or
brilliance. A range of terms are used to describe lustre, such as earthy, metallic, greasy, and
silky.

CLEAVAGE

- Cleavage refers to the way some minerals break along certain lines of weakness in their
structure.

Prepared by:
Mr. Richard R. Reodique
 IMMACULATE CONCEPTION POLYTECHNIC

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Marian Road, Poblacion, Sta.Maria, Bulacan

HARDNESS

- is a qualitative ordinal scale characterizing scratch resistance of various minerals through the

ability of harder material to scratch softer material.

TalcPrepared by: Apatite

Mr. Richard R. Reodique
 IMMACULATE CONCEPTION POLYTECHNIC

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Marian Road, Poblacion, Sta.Maria, Bulacan

Talc

Diamond

Prepared by:
Mr. Richard R. Reodique
 IMMACULATE CONCEPTION POLYTECHNIC

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Marian Road, Poblacion, Sta.Maria, Bulacan

The Mohs' hardness scale was developed in 1822 by Frederich Mohs. This scale is a
chart of relative hardness of the various minerals (1 - softest to 10 - hardest). 

FRACTURE

Fracture is the characteristic way a mineral breaks.

Prepared by:
Mr. Richard R. Reodique
 IMMACULATE CONCEPTION POLYTECHNIC

SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Marian Road, Poblacion, Sta.Maria, Bulacan

Prepared by:
Mr. Richard R. Reodique