25/8/2018 Test 4

Tellus II ‑ Assignment 4: Minerals

Print!
I recommend that you print your answer BEFORE you click SUBMIT. Why?

To complete this assignment you need to complete all of the practical assignments below. Please note that each assessed question
is preceded by one or more questions which refer you to the reading material for the course. It is important that you take the time
to use the reading material to check your answers to each of these questions. This will be assessed in the final exam. When you
have answered all of the questions, please send your answers to me by clicking on the "Submit" button.

In addition to scientific papers referred to below, you should re‑read chapter 5 of Earth: Portrait of a Planet by S. Marshak.
You might also benefit from referring back to assignment 5 in Tellus I ‑ Geology and the MathTutor.

There is no time limit, so you might want to print this page and fill in your answers first by hand. You can then return to this page
to enter and submit your answers.

Please use '.' not ',' for decimal places and I advise you to be extra careful to give your answers in the correct units.

Please do not forget to write your NAME, SWEDISH ID NUMBER and E‑MAIL ADDRESS. This is very important, because otherwise I
won't know that it is your assignment that I have received!

Good luck!

Emelie

Name: Susana Garcia Mayo

Swedish ID number: 850817 ‑ 0944
E‑mail: susanamayog@gmail.co

Introduction
The purpose of this fourth assignment of Tellus II is to gain experience of mineral description and identification. We will consider
physical properties of minerals that are used to identify them. These include colour, habit, hardness, cleavage and density. You
are referred to a chart for identification of typical specimens of common rock‑forming minerals which you can download here. This
chart is atypical for mineral identification charts in that it begins with colour. It is often (correctly) said that a mineral's colour is a
poor diagnostic, because the same mineral can have a variety of colours. However, I have written this chart specifically for typical
specimens, i.e. those that you are most likely to find in nature. The best way of using the chart is to use the flow chart on the first
page beginning with the mineral's colour to make an identification and then test the physical properties on the second page to
confirm your identification. It is important when you do these assignments that even if you think that you can identify the mineral
without testing its physical properties, make sure to do all of the tests yourself. This is for several reasons: firstly you learn nothing
by 'googling' mineral properties; secondly the main skill you need to learn is mineral description (not so much identification);
thirdly, I have chosen examples of minerals that might not always have 'textbook' physical properties. Finally, I refer to minerals by
number. This number refers to the position of the mineral in your mineral specimen box. If you have mixed up the specimens in your
boxes you can download images here.

Colour

Deciding the colour of a mineral can be trickier than it seems. Some colours are subtle and can, for example, only be seen on a
broken surface or in good lighting conditions, e.g. sunlight. Later in this course, we will classify common minerals found in igneous
rocks colours as either 'light.coloured' and 'dark‑coloured' to distinguish between 'mafic' and 'felsic' minerals. The tricky part here is
what is actually meant by 'light‑coloured' and 'dark‑coloured'. The 'light‑coloured' minerals are colourless, white, pale and dark red,
whereas the 'dark‑coloured' minerals are black, brown and green. Note that this classification is not used for common minerals
found in metamorphic rocks or ore minerals.

Which minerals in the Tellus II mineral box are 'light‑coloured' according to this classification?
Click here to check your answer to this question.
Which minerals in the Tellus II mineral box are 'dark‑coloured' according to this classification?
Click here to check your answer to this question.
What is the colour of specimen 3 in the Tellus II mineral box?
Click here to check your answer to this question.

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Habit

The habit of a crystal is essential a short description of its appearance. Habit is a descriptive term that should not be confused with
crystal system (i.e.. cubic, tetragonal, trigonal, hexagonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic and triclinic). Some examples of words used
to describe crystal habits are 'equant' (crystal length = crystal width), 'prismatic' (crystal length > crystal width); 'tabular' (crystal
length < crystal width), 'platey' or 'thin sheets', 'fibrous', 'rhombic' and 'polyhedra'. Other words are used to describe the appearance
of minerals that lack a well‑defined crystal habit. These include 'blocky' and 'granular'. Other properties such as visible twinning can
also be described.

Which minerals in the Tellus II mineral box are either 'prismatic' or 'equant' according to this classification?
Click here to check your answer to this question.
Which minerals in the Tellus II mineral box are 'platey', i.e. occur as 'thin sheets' according to this classification?
Click here to check your answer to this question.
Which minerals in the Tellus II mineral box are 'platey', i.e. occur as 'thin sheets' according to this classification?
Click here to check your answer to this question.
Which mineral in the Tellus II mineral box occurs as 'polyhedra' according to this classification?
Click here to check your answer to this question.
Which mineral in the Tellus II mineral box shows twinning according to this classification?
Click here to check your answer to this question.

Hardness

In practical assignment 1, you are asked to measure the hardness of several minerals in your mineral boxes. Hardness is an
extremely useful physical property used for describing and identifying minerals. Hardness is compared with a Mohs hardness scale
which is a list of 10 minerals, from talc (softest, hardness = 1) to diamond (hardest, hardness = 10):

Moh's hardness scale

1. Talc
2. Gypsum
3. Calcite
4. Fluorite
5. Apatite
6. Orthoclase
7. Quartz
8. Topaz
9. Corundum
10. Diamond

Hardness can be tested by comparing between minerals, i.e. by testing if one mineral can scratch another. In doing so it is
important to brush away any dust from the mineral surface to be certain that the mineral has been scratched and that you are not
confusing a scratched surface on one mineral with a trail of dust from the other mineral. It is also a good idea to try the test both
ways, i.e. first try to scratch the surface of the first mineral with the second one, and then try to scratch the surface of the second
mineral with the first one.

Compare the hardness of mineral specimens 1 and 2 in your Tellus I mineral and rock box. Which is harder?
Click here to check your answer to this question.
Hardness can also be tested by comparing an unknown mineral with a material of known hardness. Typically, mineralogists use a
finger nail (hardness 2‑3) or a steel nail (hardness 5‑6). This allows a mineral's hardness to be determined as follows:

≤2 The mineral can be scratched by a finger nail.

>2 and <3 The mineral is similar in hardness to a finger nail.
3‑5 The mineral cannot be scratched by a finger nail but can be scratched by a steel nail.
>5 and <6 The mineral is similar in hardness to a steel nail.
≥6 The mineral cannot be scratched by a steel nail.

1. Determine the hardness of specimens 1 and 2 in your Tellus I mineral and rock box and specimens 3 and 4 in your Tellus II
mineral box. Use a steel nail and your finger nail to constrain the Mohs hardness of each mineral specimen. Use your finger
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nail (Mohs hardness 2‑3) a steel nail (Mohs hardness 5‑6) to compare the hardness of specimen 5 in your Tellus II mineral box
parallel and perpendicular to its long axis (6 credits).

Enter your answers in the following tables:

Box Tellus I Tellus II

Specimen 1 2 3 4
Mohs hardness Select an answer ... 3‑5 5‑6 less than 2

Box/Specimen Tellus II ‑ Specimen 5

Orientation Parallel to long axis Perpendicular to long axis
Mohs hardness 3‑5 5‑6

Cleavage

In practical assignment 2, you are asked to determine the number of cleavages for several of the minerals in your mineral boxes.
Cleavage is another useful physical property used for describing and identifying minerals. A cleavage is a set of parallel planes
across which chemical bonding is weaker and therefore a mineral can be broken along these planar surface. A cleavage can be well‑
defined, i.e. the crystal breaks along cleavage planes; or poorly‑defined, i.e. cleavage planes can be seen but the crystal does not
necessarily break along them. Some crystals lack cleavage and break along irregular, conchoidal or radial fracture surfaces. It is
important to distinguish between crystal faces and cleavage planes. Both are planar, but a crystal face is a growth surface and a
crystal will not necessarily break parallel to this surface, whereas a cleavage plane is a plane of weakness along which a crystal may
break.

Study specimen 3 in your Tellus II mineral box. Are the planar surfaces cleavage planes or crystal faces? What type of fracture does
this mineral have? Check your answer by referring to chapter 5 of Earth: Portrait of a Planet by S. Marshak.

If a crystal has more than one cleavages, a useful diagnostic is the number of cleavages and the angle between them. A mineralogist
might refer to a crystal having 3 cleavages at 90º to one another, or 3 cleavages, 2 of which are at 90º to one another and a third
cleavage that is inclined, i.e. not at 90º to one or both of the other cleavages, and so on.

Study specimen 2 in your Tellus II mineral box. How many cleavage planes does this mineral have? What is/are the angles between
them? Check your answer by referring to chapter 5 of Earth: Portrait of a Planet by S. Marshak (compare specimen 2 with halite and
fluorite).

2. Describe the cleavage and/or fracture of specimens 1 and 2 in your Tellus I mineral and rock box and specimens 1 and 9 in
your Tellus II mineral box. For a specimen which has one or more cleavage: How many cleavages (0,1,2,3)? What are the
angles between them (90º, not 90º)? Are these cleavages well‑defined or poorly‑defined? For a specimen which does not have
cleavage: Is its fracture irregular, conchoidal or radial? (4 credits).

Enter your answers in the following table:

Box Tellus I Tellus II

Specimen
Number of cleavages
Description of
cleavage or fracture
1 2 1 9
Select an answer ... 2 2 1
Select an answer ... Well‑defined cleavage Poorly‑define cleavage Well‑defined cleavage

Density

In practical assignment 3, you are asked to estimate the densities of several of the minerals in your mineral boxes. This is done
using a technique called hefting. This is simply comparing the densities of an unknown sample and a known one by feeling their
weights, one in each hand. The technique is only useful for distinguishing between specimens with very different densities. In this
assignment you are asked to compare the densities of several of the minerals with granite (2.7 ‑ 3.0 g/cm3) and basalt (3.0 ‑ 3.3
g/cm3) from your Tellus I rock and mineral box. A similar but not identical property to density is specific gravity.

Given that the denisty of quartz is 2.7 g/cm3, what is its specific gravity?
Click here to check your answer to this question.
3. Heft specimens 1 and 2 in your Tellus I rock and mineral box and specimens 2 and 3 in your Tellus II mineral box. Compare
these with basalt and granite from your Tellus I rock and mineral box. Which are significantly heavier than basalt (>> 3.3

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g/cm3), which are similar to basalt (3.0‑3.3 g/cm3) or granite (2.7‑3.0 g/cm3) and which are significantly lighter than granite
(<< 2.7 g/cm3)? (4 credits).

Enter your answers in the following table:

Box Tellus I Tellus II

Specimen 1 2 2 3
Denisty Select an answer ... less than 2.7 g/cm^3 more than 3.3 g/cm^3 more than 3.3 g/cm^3

Other properties

There are many other properties that are used to describe minerals. For example, some minerals are magnetic and others are
soluble in hydrochloric acid. Some minerals can be distinguished on the basis of streak colour. This the colour of the mineral in
powder form. Streak colour is usually tested by powdering the mineral on a piece of ceramic. This can be a specially designed
ceramic plate, but a ceramic fuse is equally useful for this test.

What is the streak colour of specimen 8 in your Tellus II mineral box?

Click here to check your answer to this question.
Which specimens in your Tellus I mineral and rock box are soluble in hydrochloric acid? You do not need to perform this test. You
will find the information you need to answer this question in chapter 5 of Earth: Portrait of a Planet by S. Marshak and in your own
notes from reading Tellus I.
Click here to check your answer to this question.
Write down the equation which describes this reaction.
Click here to check your answer to this question.

Mineral identification

In practical assignment 4, you are asked to identify several of the minerals in your Tellus II mineral box. Use the chart for
identification of typical specimens of common rock‑forming minerals which you can download here, beginning with the flow chart
on the first page and thereafter verifying your identification by checking the mineral properties on the second page.

4. Identify specimens 1‑6 in your Tellus 2 mineral box. Motivate each identification with a brief (100 character) description (6
credits).

Enter your answers in the following table:

Identification Description
1 K‑feldspar Light salmon color, characteristic alternating bands, hard, cannot be scratched by a steel nail
2 Galena Characteristic Pb grey color, blocky crystal habit
3 Garnet Characteristic red color, conchoidal fracture, polyhedra structure
4 Graphite Black‑greyish color, basal cleavage, very soft (easy to scratch with a nail), I can write with it on a paper
5 Kyanite Blue color, different hardness depending on crystallographic direction (anisotropism)
6 Amphibole Looks like hornblend, blocky, black fibrous appearance

If you have answered all 4 questions, you are now finished with assignment 4 which you should send to me by pressing the 'Submit'
button below. It is important that you have fully understanding the techniques used to describe and identify minerals. These will be
used continually throughout the course. If not, this is the time to review the reading material from Earth: Portrait of a Planet by S.
Marshak.

Submit!

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