Earth Science Reviewer 2

Minerals-are the building blocks of rocks.

Rock-is a naturally-occurring, coherent aggregate of minerals, found in the lithosphere.

lithos- “stone”

Lithosphere-is the rigid, rocky, outermost part of Earth, composed of the Crust (oceanic and
continental crust), and uppermost part of the upper mantle.

Rock Cycle-is a model that describes all the processes by which rocks are formed, modified, transported,
decomposed, melted, and reformed.

 Magma; exposed to lower

temperature=minerals and amorphous
solids crystallize, solidify, and form
igneous rocks.
 Uplift; brought to the surface=exposed
to weathering and erosion.
 Sediments; rocks broken down into
smaller pieces by weathering and
erosion.
 Transportation via agents such as wind,
water, glaciers, rivers and oceans.
 Settle in an area where they will
undertake deposition.
 Lithification-sediments into
sedimentary rocks; more materials
settle=temperature and pressure
increase.
 Temperature and pressure increase; sedimentary rocks=metamorphism, transform to
metamorphic rocks.
 If temperature continue increase and exceed melting point of rocks; undergo melting.
 Magma

Five Criteria of a Mineral

 SOLID
 NATURALLY OCCURING
 INORGANIC
 FIXED CHEMICAL FORMULA
 ORDERLY STRUCTURE

SILICA TETRAHEDRA-The most common arrangement of Silicon and Oxygen atom within a mineral.
(SiO42-)

1
 Earth Science Reviewer 2

Physical Properties of a Mineral

 COLORS
 HARDNESS
 TEXTURE
 APPEARANCE
 SHAPES
 TASTE

Weathering-disintegration of rock near the surface of the earth, breaks down and loosens the surface
minerals of rock.

TWO TYPES OF WEATHERING:

o Mechanical Weathering-is the disintegration of rock into smaller and smaller fragments.
o Chemical Weathering-transforms the original material into a substance with a different
composition and different physical characteristics.

Erosion-the process by which soil and rock particles are worn away and moved elsewhere by gravity, or
by a moving transport agent – wind, water or ice.

Residual minerals-the rock-forming minerals that are either stable in the surface environment or
unstable but react so slowly that they are not appreciably broken down.

LUSTER-refers to the way light reflects from the surface of the minerals.

 Metallic-having the look of a polished metal.

o Submetallic-having the look of a metal that is dulled by weathering or corrosion; nearly
opaque.
 Non-Metallic-doesn’t look like a metal at all.
o Non-Metallic sub-types

Adamantine Resinous Glassy/Vitreous Pearly

having the hard, having the look of having the look of having the iridescent
sparkly look of a amber – not quite glass look of mother-of-
diamond glassy pearl
Greasy/Oily Silky Dull Earthy
having the look of an having the look of silk, having a plain looking having the look of soil
oil-coated substance fine parallel fibers of surface that is not or clay
mineral, chrysotile submetallic
"asbestos";

Hardness-measures the mineral’s resistance to scratching.

Moh’s Scale of Hardness-was developed by Friedrick Mohs

in 1812.

2
 Earth Science Reviewer 2

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

Cleavage is often measured by three factors:

 Quality of Cleavage
 Number of Sides Exhibiting Cleavage
 Cleavage Habit
One must determine the number of unique cleavage directions and their angle with respect
to each other.

QUALITY of CLEAVAGE

 PERFECT- it will cleave without leaving any rough surfaces; a full, smooth plane is formed where
the crystal broke.
 GOOD-also leave smooth surfaces, but often leave over minor residual rough surfaces.
 POOR-the smooth crystal edge is not very visible, since the rough surface is dominant.
 INDISCERNIBLE-mineral exhibits cleavage, but it so poor that it is hardly noticeable.
 NONE-never exhibit any cleavage, thus broken surfaces are fractured and rough.

NUMBER of SIDES

 One Direction
 Two Directions
 Three Directions
 Four Directions

CLEAVAGE HABIT

Rhombohedral Pinicoidal Prismatic

Octahedral Cubic Basal

STREAK-refers to color of mark or powder left by rubbing the mineral against a streak plate.

o It appears to be darker in color than that of the non-metallic ones.

o Color of mineral in powdered form

HABIT-refers to the overall shape or growth pattern of the mineral.

Three terms to describe the habit of minerals:

o Equant-Three dimensions of the mineral have about the same length, like that of a cube
or sphere.
o Elongate-Minerals from prismatic or prism-like crystals that are thicker than needles as
in a pencil. Indicolite shows an elongated habit.
o Platy-Looks like a flattened and thin crystal (like plates). Wulfenite shows a platy habit.