Ear
thSci
ence

Geol
ogy

Mi
ner
alogyLect
ureExam 1

STUDY

Fl
ashcar
ds

Whati
sami
ner
al?

Iti
sanatural
,homogenoussol
idwit
hadef
ini
techemicalcompositi
onandahighl
ystruct
ured
atomicar
rangementthatmai
nlyf
ormst
houghinor
ganicprocess.Thechemi
calar
rangementis
notusual
l
yf i
xed.

Whati
sthedi
ff
erencebet
weenanor
gani
cpr
ocessandani
nor
gani
cpr
ocess?

Organi
cprocesstakespl
acenat
ural
lyi
nawaythati
ncorpor
atescar
bonat
oms.Conv
ersel
y,
i
norgani
cprocessestakepl
acewit
houtusi
ngcar
bonatoms.

Whyar
ether
eonl
y32cl
assesofcr
yst
als?

The32classesaret
hetot
alnumberofcombi
nat
ionsofsy
mmet
ryoper
ati
ons,
inwhi
chev
ery
cr
yst
albelongstooneoft
heclasses.

Whatcr
it
eri
oni
sinv
olv
edi
ndi
vi
dingt
he32cr
yst
alcl
assesi
nto6cr
yst
alsy
stems?

Thecr
it
eri
oninvol
vesusi
ngt
heHermann-
Maugui
nInt
ernat
ional
Sy mbol
stodet
ermi
net
he
namesofcl
asses,t
hei
rsymmet
ry,
thecl
assnumber
s,andthecryst
alsy
stems

Br
avai
sLaw

Thel
awst atesthatdevel
opmentofafaceinacry
stalusuall
ytakespl
aceifi
tint
ersectsalar
ger
numberoflatt
icepoint
s,whi
choccursbecauseal
lcry
stalfaceshavetoi
nter
sectmol ecul
esor
at
omst
hatmakeupt
hepoi
ntsoft
hel
att
ice.

Lawofconst
ancyofi
nter
faci
alangl
es

Thisl
awstipul
atest
hatal
lcry
stalsmadeofthesi
milarsubst
ancehavethesamesimil
ar
spaci
ngbetweenlat
ti
cepoint
s,ther
ebyl
eadingt
othesamecr ust
alstr
uctur
e.Thesi
tuat
ion
resul
tsi
nthesameanglesbetweencorr
espondi
ngfacesofthesimi
larminer
al.

Uni
tcel
l

Aunitcel
lisagroupofat
omsormolecul
eswhosearraysarel
aidoutinaspacel
att
icewi
th
necessar
ypoint
sonthelat
ti
cehav
ingtheabi
l
ityt
orepeatinaninf
ini
tear
ray

Vect
ori
alpr
oper
ti
esofcr
yst
als

Vector
ial
proper
ti
esrefert
oproper
ti
esthatdependondirecti
onexisti
nginthecry
stal
.The
di
recti
onscomeaboutbecauseoftheori
entat
ionoft
heuni tcel
lonthecrystal
l
ographi
caxes,
whichhel
ptodefinet
heanglesbet
weentheaxesandt heaxiall
engths.

Howar
ethecr
yst
all
ogr
aphi
caxesdet
ermi
nedi
neachoft
hesi
xcr
yst
alcl
asses?

Det
ermi
ningcryst
all
ographi
caxest
akespl
acethroughmeasurement
soft
heangl
esexi
sti
ng
bet
weencryst
alfaces,
basedonthedi
rect
ionandaxial
lengt
hs.

Expl
ainwhythespaci
ngoflat
ti
cepoi
ntsandsy
mmet
ryoft
hecr
yst
all
att
icedet
ermi
net
he
angl
esbetweencryst
alf
aces.

Thespaci
ngensuresthataplanelatti
cecompr i
sesanorder
lyar
rayofpointsdef
inedbyt
he
spaci
ngbetweenpoint
sanddi rect
ionsbetweenthepoint
s.Ther
efor
e,theyspeci
fythedi
stance
andangl
eformovingfrom pointtopointt
hroughatransl
ati
onal
symmet ry.

Axi
alr
ati
o

Axialr
ati
or efer
stother elati
velengthsofthecr y
stall
ographicaxes,usuallytakenasr el
ati
veto
themeasur ementlengthwi seofthebcr ystall
ographicaxis.Therefore,
initsformul ai
sdefined
asa/b:b/b:c/b.i
nthisformul a,
ar epresentstheact uall
engthoft hecrystall
ographicaxi
swhi l
e
brefer
stot heactuallengthofthebcr yst
allographicaxi
s.Ci srepresentstheact uall
engthof
theccrystall
ographi
caxi s.

Uni
tface

Uni
tfacer
efer
stot
hel
argestf
acet
hati
nter
sect
sal
lthr
eecr
yst
all
ogr
aphi
caxest
hepar
amet
ers:
1a,
1b,and1c.

Cr
yst
alf
orm

Acr
yst
alf
ormr
efer
stoanumberofcr
yst
alf
acest
hathav
eanunder
pinni
ngr
elat
ionshi
pby
sy
mmetrydesignat
edusi
ngt
heMi
l
ler
-Br
avai
snot
ati
onorMi
l
leri
ndext
hatsur
roundst
hei
ndi
ces
i
ncur
lybraces.

For
m sy
mbol

Form symbolr
eferst
othecr
yst
algr
aphi
cconsi
sti
ngoft
wor
hombi
c-di
pyr
ami
dfor
ms,
andused
todesignat
ecryst
alf
orms.

Mi
l
lerI
ndex

Thi
sisaconv
ent
ional
not
ati
onwr
it
teni
npar
ent
hesest
oshowt
hepar
amet
ersofacr
yst
alf
ace.

Expl
ainwhyacr
yst
alf
acecanbemov
edpar
all
elt
oit
sel
fwi
thoutchangi
ngi
tsMi
l
lerI
ndex

Cryst
alfacesdev el
opsalongl at
ti
cepoint
s.Ontheot herhand, mil
l
erindexinvol
vesinv
ersi
onof
par
amet ers(Nelson,2015).Theparameter
sorinterceptsarerelat
iveval
ues;theydonotref
lect
anyactualcutt
inglengths.Therefor
e,gi
venthei
rrel
ativenature,i
tispossibl
etomov eaface
par
all
el t
oitsel
fwi t
houthav i
ngtochangeitsrel
ati
vepar ametersorinter
cepts.

Whati
sthei
mpor
tanceofMi
l
lerI
ndi
cesi
ncr
yst
all
ogr
aphy
?

Mil
l
erindicesareusefulindetermini
ngthefacesofcr
y st
alsintheMonocl i
nic,
Tri
cli
nic,
Tet
ragonal,Or
thorhombic,andI sometr
icsy
stems,whicharecriti
calaspect
sofcrystall
ogr
aphy
.
Wit
hcertainmodificat
ions,i
talsoappli
estotheHexagonal cr
ystalsyst
em.

Pedi
on

Apedioni
st oasingle-
faced,
openfor
m occurr
inginthepedi
alcl
assorinot
hercrystalcl
asses.
I
thasnorelati
onshiptoanyotherf
acebybalance.I
nsuchasituat
ion,
fori
nstance,aform does
notr
efert
oanyot herface.

Pi
nacoi
d

Apedioni
st oasingle-
faced,
openfor
m occurr
inginthepedi
alcl
assorinot
hercrystalcl
asses.
I
thasnorelati
onshiptoanyotherf
acebybalance.I
nsuchasituat
ion,
fori
nstance,aform does
notr
efert
oanyot herface.

Pr
ism

Apri
sm r
eferst
oanopenf orm compr
isi
ngatl
eastt
hreepar
all
elf
aces.Sev
eral
dif
fer
entt
ypes
ofpr
ismsarepossi
bledependi
ngontheexi
sti
ngsymmetry.

Py
rami
d

Apyrami
drefer
stoathree,f
our,
six,ei
ght
,or12-f
acedopenf
ormi
nwhi
chal
lfacesi
nthef
orm
coul
dmeet,ormeeti
fextendedfur
ther
,atapoint
.

Di
pyr
ami
d
Dipy
ramidsref
ert
oclosedformscompr
isi
ngsi x,ei
ght,
twelve,si
xteen,
ortwenty
-fourfaces.
Theyarepyr
amidsref
lect
edacrossami
rrorplane.Theref
ore,t
heyoccurincryst
al cl
asses
havi
ngami r
rorpl
aneperpendi
cul
art
oarotoinversi
onorrotati
onaxis.

Oct
ahedr
on

Oct
ahedr
on

Anoct ahedronr
eferstoan8-facedf or
mresult
ingfr
om three4-
foldaxesthathav
e
perpendicul
armirr
orplanes.I
thast hefor
m symbol{111}andcompr i
ses8facesthati
ncl
ude
(111),(),(
11),(
1) ,(1)
,(1),(
11) ,and(11).Four3-
fol
daxesper pendi
cul
artothefacesoft
he
octahedronarepresent.

Dodecahedr
on

Adodecahedr
onrefer
stoaclosed12-
facedf
orm,
whi
chi
sfor
mabl
ebycut
ti
ngof
ftheedgesof
acube.I
tsfor
m symboli
s{110}.

Whati
sthedi
ff
erencebet
weenacl
osedf
orm andanopenf
orm?

Aclosedform hasanumberofcry
stal
facest
hatensur
ecompl eteencl
osur
eofspace.Onthe
otherhand,
anopenform hasoneormorecry
stal
facesthatensurei
ncomplet
eencl
osureof
space.

Whati
sazoneandwhatnot
ati
ondoweuset
oindi
cat
eazoneoradi
rect
ioni
nacr
yst
al?

Azonei sagroupofcryst
alfaceswithint
ersecti
onatedges,whichareparal
leltoal
ine.The
zonesy mboli
sappli
cableforindi
cat
ingdir
ect i
onorazoneinacr yst
al.I
tdef
inesthedirect
ion
ofalineusi
nganotati
on, whichissi
mil
artot hatofMi
ll
erIndi
ces,thoughenclosedi
nsquar e
bracket
s.

Whati
sthedi
ff
erencebet
weenacontinuousv
ect
ori
alpr
oper
tyandadi
scont
inuousv
ect
ori
al
pr
oper
ty?Gi
vesomeexamplesofeach.

Cont i
nuousVect orialPr
operti
esdependondi r
ection, andthepr opertyist hesameal ongany
givendi r
ection.Exampl esofthesepr opert
iesi
ncludehar dness,velocit
yofl ightorref r
active
i
ndex, thermal conduct i
vi
ty,
electri
calconducti
v i
ty,compr essibil
i
ty,andt hermal expansi on.On
theot herhand, disconti
nuousv ect
orialpr
opertiesrelateonlyt ocertai
npl anesordi rections
withinacr ystal
.Fort heseproperti
es,int
ermediatedi r
ectionscar rynov alueoft heproper ty.
Variousexampl esincludecleavage,growthrate,andsol uti
onr ate.

Whatar
eX-
ray
sandhowar
etheygener
ated?

X-r
aysar
eelect
romagneti
cradi
ati
onwhosewav el
engthsrunfrom about0.02Åto100Å( 1Å=
10-
10meters)
.Theyfor
m partoft
heelect
romagneti
cspectrum,whichincludeswavel
engthsof
el
ectr
omagneti
cradi
ati
onknownasvisibl
eli
ghttowhichpeople'
sey esaresensi
ti
ve.The
vari
ationsi nwav elengthsofv i
sibleli
ghtappeart ot
heey easdiff
erentcolor s.Theirwav elengths
aresimi lartot hesi zeofatoms.Gener at
ionofX- raystakesplaceinanX- rayt ube,which
consistsofanev acuat edchamberwi thacathodeandananode.El ectri
cal cur r
entrunst hrough
thecat hode, itglowsandemi tsel ect
rons.Al argevoltagediff
erence,placedbet weent he
cathodeandt heanode, causestheel ect
ronst omov eathi ghvelocit
yf r
om f il
amentt ot he
anodet arget.Att hetarget,t
heel ectr
onsst r
iket heatomsbef oredislodgingi nnershell electrons
prompt ingout ershellelect
ronst ojumpt oal esserener gyshel
l.Theelect ronictransi
tionsl ead
tothegener ationofX- rays.

Whati
sBr
agg'
sLawandhowcani
tbeusedt
oident
if
ymi
ner
als?

Bragg'
sLawst i
pul
atesthati
fthereisaspecif
icwavel
engt
hofX-
raysgoingint
oacrystal,
and
theangleofthedi
ff
ract
edX-rayscomi ngoutofthecr
yst
ali
smeasurabl
e,teni
tispossibl
eto
knowt hespaci
ngbetweenintheatomi cpl
anes,
whichmakesi
tpossibl
etodeter
minet he
cryst
alstr
uctur
esareuseful
foridenti
fyi
ngmineral
s.

Twi
nni
ng

Thi
srefer
stoasetofsymmet
ryoper
ati
onsthatincl
udetwi
nni
ng,ref
lect
ionacrossami
rr
or
pl
ane,r
otati
onaboutal
i
neoraxi
sint
hecrystal
,andinv
ersi
onthr
oughapoi nt
.

Twi
npl
ane

Twi
npl
aner
efer
stoanaddedmi
rr
orpl
anewhenr
efl
ect
iont
akespl
aceacr
ossami
rr
orpl
ane.

Twi
naxi
s

Thi
sref
erst
oasur
faceal
ongwhi
cht
heshar
ingofl
att
icepoi
ntsi
ntwi
nnedcr
yst
alst
akespl
ace.

Composi
ti
onsur
face

Thi
sref
erst
oasur
faceal
ongwhi
cht
heshar
ingofl
att
icepoi
ntsi
ntwi
nnedcr
yst
alst
akespl
ace.

Cont
actt
win

Contacttwinisatypeoftwi
nthathasapl
anarcomposi
ti
onsur f
acethatsepar
atest
wo
i
ndiv
idual cr
ystal
susual
lydef
inedbyatwi
nlaw,whi
chexpressesatwinplaneoranadded
mir
rorplane.

Penet
rat
iont
win

Penetr
ati
ontwi
ni satypeoft
winwit
hanir
regul
arcomposi
ti
onsurf
acet
hatsepar
atest
wo
i
ndivi
dualcr
yst
als,usual
l
ydefi
nedbyat
winaxisoratwi
ncenter
.

I
nwhatt
hreeway
scant
winni
ngor
igi
nat
e?

Twi
nni
ngcanor
igi
nat
easgr
owt
htwi
ns,
transf
ormat
iont
wins,
anddef
ormat
iont
wins.Gr
owt
h
twi
nsoccurwhenacci dentsresultduri
ngcr ystalgrowt handt hereisanaddi ti
onofanew
cry
staltothefaceofexi sti
ngcr y
stalsothatt winingoccur swhent henewcr ystal sharesl atti
ce
point
sont hef aceoft hatexist
ingcrystal
,butr esultsinanor ient
at i
ondissimilartot heor iginal
cry
stal.Thesecanbepenet r
ationtwinsorcont actt wi
ns.Tr ansformationtwinningt akespl ace
whenapr eexistingcr y
stalgoest hr
oughat ransf ormationbecauseofachangei nt emper ature
orpressure,whichusual lyoccursinmineralswi thdifferentsymmet r
yanddi ff
er entcr ystal
str
ucturesatdi f
ferentpressuresortemper atures.Underdef ormationtwins,atomsar epushed
outofplacesot hati tproducesasy mmet ri
cal arrangement ,therebycreati
ngdef ormat iontwi ns.

Whycant
winni
ngnotoccurpar
all
elt
oaxesorpl
anesofexi
sti
ngsy
mmet
ryi
nacr
yst
al

Theai m oft
winni
ngistoaddsymmetry.Ther
efore,
itcanonl
yoccurparall
eltoplanesoraxes
thatlacksymmetry,
butnotrel
ati
vet
oexisti
ngsymmet ryofacryst
al.Ot
herwise,
itbeatsever
y
purposeofconducti
ngtwinni
ngwheresymmet r
yalreadyexi
sts,
becauseithasnot hi
ngto
achieve.

Pol
ymor
phi
sm

Polymor phism referstoasituati

onwher easinglechemi cal composi ti
oni sabletoexi sti
nmany
formsorwi thatleasttwodifferentcrystalstr
uctures.Inter
msofcr ystalstr
uctures,subjecti
ng
acr ystalt
odi f
ferenttemperaturesorpr essuresleadst oasi tuat
ionwher ethearrangementof
atomsdependont heatom sizes,whichchangewi thpressur eortemper ature.Essentiall
y,as
pressur eri
sesthev ol
umeofacr ystalreducesupt oapoi ntwher eamor ecompactcr yst
al
structurebecomesmor est
abl e,l
eadingt otheexistenceofadi f
ferentmi neral
.Similarly,
ar i
se
i
nt emper atureresultsinmorev ibrati
on,alongsi
deani ncreasei ntheef f
ecti
vesize,oft he
atomsont hecr ystalstr
uct
ure.Atanypr essureortemper ature,thest r
ucturehav i
ngt helowest
energyi sthemostst abl
e.

Giv
esev
eral
exampl
esofmi
ner
alst
hatshowpol
ymor
phi
sm,
bei
ngsur
etonameal
loft
he
pol
ymor
phs

Mi neral
st hatshowpol ymor phism incl
udeCar bont hathast wopol y mor phs.Athighpr essure,i
t
hasani somet ri
ccr yst
alstructureknownasdi amond.Atr educedt emper atureorpressure,
diamondunder goesar econst r
ucti
v etransformationthatleadst ot hef ormationoft he
hexagonal str
uct ur
eofgr aphite.Al2SiO5i sanothermi neralt
hatshowspol ymorphism.Ithas3
polymor phs.Thehi gh-
pressur efor
m oft hemi neraliskyanite( Tri
clinic), t
helowpr essure,low
temper aturefor misandal usit
e( or
thorhombi c),anditshight emper aturef ormissilli
manite
(orthorhombi c).Transformat i
onsoccur ringbetweenal lthreepol ymor phsar ereconstructi
ve;
therefore,allthreeformsar eabl etoexistmet astablyattheEar t
h'ssur face.Howev er,i
nthe
Ear t
h,itstransformat i
onratesar esomehowf asterathighert emper atures.

KAlSi
3O8hast hreepolymorphsabletounder
goorder
-disordert
ransf
or mationsatl
ower
temperat
ure.Athightemperatur
e,i
tspolymor
phissanidine(monocli
nic).Normall
y,i
texist
sin
vol
canicrocksthathaveundergonerapi
dcooli
ngsothatt her
eisnoachi evementofahigher
stateofor der .Atsl owercool i
ng, sanidi
net ransformst oorthoclase,whichi sal somonocl i
nic,
and, withfur thersl owcool i
ng, orthoclaseev entuall
yunder goest r
ansf or
mat i
ont omi crocl
i
ne,
whi chist r
iclini
c.Si O2compoundhassi xpol ymorphs.Atr educingtemper atureandl ow
pressur e,cristobal i
te(isomet ri
c)achi evesreconst r
uct i
vetransformationt ot r
idy mi
te
(hex agonal).Fur therdecr easei nt emperaturepr ompt stri
dymitetounder goar econstr
ucti
ve
transformat ioni ntohi ghquar tz,whichisal sohexagonal .Furtherlower i
ngoft emper at
ure
prompt shi ghquar t
zt ounder goadi spl
acivetransformat i
ont oforml owquar tz.CaCO3
compoundhast wopol ymor phs.Athi ghpressur e,i
tsf or
mi saragonite( orthorhombi c)andat
l
owpr essur e, i
tsf ormi scalcite,whichishexagonal .Thet r
ansformationoccur ringbetweent he
twopol y mor phsi sr econstructive.Therefore,met astablepolymor phscanexi t
.

Descr
ibet
hreedi
ff
erentt
ypesoft
ransf
ormat
ionst
hatr
esul
tinnewpol
ymor
phs

Reconstruct
iveTr
ansfor
mationsent
ail
sabroadrear
rangementoft
hecrystalf
ormat
ion,whi
ch
requir
esteari
ngofchemical
bonds,aswel
lasreassemblingoft
heatomsintoanewcr y
stal
struct
ure.

Displ
acivetr
ansfor
mationent
ail
ssmalladjust
mentstakingplaceonthecrustalst
ructure.Ther
e
i
snobr eakdownofbonds,andanglesbetweenatomsmayat tai
nsl
ightchanges.Lit
tle
rearr
angementtakespl
aceandthereisnochangeinener gyatthet
ransformati
onpr essureor
temperatur
e,andthetr
ansfor
mationi
sreversi
bleandinstant
aneous;ther
efor
e,nounst able
polymorphoccurs.

Or der-DisorderTransformati
onsentai
lthestat
eofor derordisor
deroccurri
nginacr y
stal
structure.Perf
ectorderonlyoccursatatemper at
ureofabsolutezeroor-273oC.As
temper atureri
ses,thedegreeofrandomnessoror derofacrystalst
ructur
ereduces,sothatt
he
highertemper atur
emi neralf
ormsbecomemor edisorderedt
hant helowertemperat
ureforms
do.Thest at
eofor der-
disor
derundergoesgradualchangesast emperat
ureincr
eases.Theref
ore,
transformationcannotoccuratadef i
nit
etemper at
ure.

Met
ami
ctmi
ner
al

Metamictminer
alsarethosewhosecryst
alst
ructur
eispart
ial
l
ydestroyedbyradiat
ionfr
om
cont
ainedradi
oacti
veelements.Thebr
eakdownofthecryst
alstr
uct
ur eemanatesfrom
bombardmentofparti
clesresul
ti
ngfr
om thedecayofThandUr adi
oactiv
eisotopes.

Pseudomor
phi
sm

Pseudomorphism referstot
heexist
enceofmi ner
alsthathavetheappearanceofother
mineral
stogiveanaspectoff al
seform,whichoccurswhenami neral
undergoesalterat
ioni
na
waythatthechemi calcomposit
ionandi
nternalst
ruct
ur echange,butt
heexternalf
or m
maintai
nsit
sor i
ginalform.I
tcanoccurthr
oughsubstituti
on,encr
ustati
on,andalt
erati
on.

Mi
ner
aloi
d
Thi
sref
erstoanamorphouscompoundorami neralwithoutacrystal
l
inestr
ucturethatfor
m at
l
owpressur
esandtemperat
uresdur
ingthechemical weather
ingprocess,t
oform botryoi
dal,
mammill
ary,
andstal
act
it
icmassesthathavewidelyvaryi
ngchemi calcont
ent.Examples
i
ncl
udeall
ophone,
whichisahydr
ousaluminum sil
icateandli
moni t
e.

Cl
eav
age

Cl
eavagerefer
stothepr opert
yofbreaki
ngthatoccursal
ongspecifi
cplanes.Ittakesplace
al
ongplanesinthecryst
al l
att
ice,
ascryst
als,
underthesesi
tuat
ions,of
tencont ainpl
anesof
at
omsal ongwhichthereareweakerbondsbetweent heat
omssot hatthemi neralbreakseasi
l
y
al
ongtheplanes.

Par
ti
ng

Thi
sisaplaneofweaknessoccur
ringinthecr
ystal
str
uct
urealongpl
anesweakenedbyappl
ied
for
ce.I
tmaynotbev i
sibl
einal
lspecimensofthesamemineral,
buti
sevi
dentwhenthemineral
i
ssubject
edtother
ightstr
esscondit
ions.

Fr
act
ure

Afract
urerefer
stobreaki
ngthatoccur
salongrandom di
recti
onsinaminer
alwit
hnoplanesof
weakness.Theycanbeintheform off
ibr
ousandspli
nter
y ,
hackly
,unev
enorregul
ar,
or
conchoi
dal.

Har
dness

Thi
sref
erst
oarel
ati
vescal
eofvect
ori
alpr
opert
yt hatshowstherigi
dit
yofami
ner
alsubst
ance,
anddet
ermi
nedt
hroughscr
atchi
ngusi
ngothermineralsubst
ances.

Lust
er

Lust
erist
hegener
alappear
anceofami ner
alsurf
acethatcomesabouti
nrel
ati
ont
oref
lect
ed
l
ight
,andwhi
choccursi
nmet al
l
icornon-metal
li
ctypes.

St
reak

Thi
sref
erstot
hecolorgener
atedbypowderoft
hemi neral
whenrubbedonastreakpl
ate,
and
whi
chisusual
l
ydi
fferentf
rom thecol
oroft
heminer
al achi
evedi
nnon-powder
edform.

Densi
ty

Thisproper
tyreferstothemassofami ner
alperunitvolume.Speci
fi
cdensit
yshowsrel
ati
ve
densi
ty,whichentail
stheweightofaminer
alsubstancedividedbyanequalvol
umeofwater.
Specif
icdensit
yisadi agnost
icpr
oper
tyofmineral
swi thhighspeci
fi
cgravi
ti
es.

Howar
edensi
tyandspeci
fi
cgr
avi
tyr
elat
ed?
Densi
tyrel
atestospecifi
cgravit
ythr
oughtheunder
pinni
ngdi
agnosti
cproper
ty.Speci
fi
cdensit
y
i
sthediagnosticproper
tyofmineral
swit
hhighspeci
ficgr
avi
ti
es.Ther
efor
e,mineral
swithhi
gh
speci
fi
cgravit
iesfeelheavi
er.

Whatf
act
orscont
rol
thedensi
tyofami
ner
al?

Densi
tyofaminer
aldependsoni
tsmass,
uni
tvol
ume,
composi
ti
on,
atomi
cofci
tat
ion,
and
speci
fi
cgrav
ity
.

Whati
sthedi
ff
erencebet
weenpar
amagnet
ic,
diamagnet
ic,
andf
err
omagni
ti
cmi
ner
als?

Paramagnet icmineral saret hosewi t

hweakl ymagnet icelement s,whichar
eseparablefr
om
eachotherbyt heirunder l
yingdegr eesofmagnet icsuscept i
bil
it
y.Theirmagnet
icpropert
iesare
onlyevi
dentwhenpl acedwi thinexternal magnet i
cf i
elds.Howev er,t
heyhavenomagnet ism
uponther emov aloft hemagnet icfi
eld.Di amagnet i
cmi neralsarethosethatl
ackproperti
es
specif
ictov ari
ousel ement s, t
herebyl ackingmagnet ism.Exampl esi
ncludecal
cit
e,apati
te,
quart
z,andpl agiocl
ase.Fer romagnet i
cmi neral
sar ethosewi thpermanentmagnet i
sm
whenev ertheyexistbel owt heCur i
et emper ature.Theygai nmagnet i
sm whensubjectedtoa
magnet i
cf i
eldandr emai nsoev enafterr emov alofthef i
eld.Theyincludemagneti
te,py
rrhoti
te,
andhemat ite-i
l
meni tesolidsol uti
ons.

At
omi
cnumber

Thi
sref
erst
othenumberofpr
otonsi
nachemi
cal
element
.

At
omi
cwei
ght

Thi
sref
erst
othenumberofpr
otonspl
ust
henumberofneut
ronsi
nachemi
cal
element
.

S-
orbi
tal
s

S-or
bit
alsrefert
ospheri
cal-
shaped,pr
obabi
li
tyregionsi
nwhichtheradi
usofthespher
ical
regi
onsincreasewi
ththeincreaseint
hepri
ncipalquant
um number,
takenasn.eachorbit
alcan
haveamaxi mum oftwoelectrons.

P-
orbi
tal
s

P-or
bit
alsar
eregi
onsthatcanonlyexi
stwhenthepr
inci
pal
quantum numberi
satleasttwo.
Theyareofthr
eedi
ff
erenttypesandthei
raxi
scanhaveavert
ical
orhori
zont
alor
ientat
ion.

D-
orbi
tal
s

Theseorbit
alscanonl
ybepr
esentwhentheprincipal
quant
um numberi
satl
eastthree.Fi
ve
di
verseprobabi
li
tyr
egi
onsofd-
orbi
tal
sexistdesignat
edas"dz2,
dx2-
y2,
dxy,
dyz,dxz"

I
on
Thi
sref
erst
oanat
om wi
thanel
ect
ri
cal
char
ge.

Cat
ion

Thi
sisaposi
ti
vel
ychar
gedi
onusual
l
yev
identi
nmet
als

Ani
on

Thi
sref
erst
oanegat
ivel
ychar
gedi
onusual
l
yev
identi
nnonmet
als.

Whatarei
oni
cbondsandwhatphy
sical
proper
ti
esar
echar
act
eri
sti
cofcompoundst
hat
cont
aini
oni
cbonds?

Ioni
cbondsaretheforceofattracti
onbetweenposi
ti
velychargedi
onsthatresult
swhenatoms
arechar
gedions.Compoundswi thioni
cbondsdi
ssolv
ewi theasei
npolarsolventsl
ikewat
er.
Furt
her,
theytendtoform cr
ystalshav i
nghi
ghsymmetry,havemoderat
edensi tyandhar
dness,
arepoorconduct
orsofelectr
ici
tyandheat ,
andhavehighmeltingt
emperatures.

Whatarecoval
entbondsandwhatphy
sical
proper
ti
esar
echar
act
eri
sti
cofcompoundst
hat
cont
aincoval
entbonds?

Cov al
entbondsar esharedelectronbondst hatdevelopwhenat omsachi evest
ablest
at ein
thei
rout ershellel
ectronconfigurationthroughshar i
ngofelectr
onswi thotherat
oms, sothat
eachat om endsuphav i
ngast ableelectr
onicconfigurat
ionforpartofthetime.Compounds
withcov alentbondsar erel
ati
velyinsolubleinpolarsolvent
slikewat er
,havehighmelting
temperat ures,ar
elikelytohavehar dness,arepoorconduct orsofelect
rici
tyandheat,
and
createcry stal
formationsoflowsy mmet ry.

Whataremetal
li
cbondsandwhatphy
sical
proper
ti
esar
echar
act
eri
sti
cofcompoundst
hat
cont
ainmet
alli
cbonds?

Metal
li
cbondsinvolv
eshar i
ngofelectronsbyposi t
ivel
ychargedatomicnucleii
ntheirel
ectron
cl
oudsfreel
y.Eachatom sharesel
ectronswi thvar
iousatomssot hatsomeoft heelectr
onscan
movefrom atom t
oatom.Compoundswi thmetall
icbondsarehighconductorsofelectr
ici
ty
andheat,t
heyaresolubl
eonlyinacids, havecry
stal
swi t
hhighsymmet ry
,hav el
owt omoder at
e
har
dness,andareveryducti
leandmal leable.

Whatareresi
dualbondsandwhatphy
sical
proper
ti
esar
echar
act
eri
sti
cofcompoundst
hat
cont
ainresi
dualbonds?

Thesear eweakbondsi nvolvi

ngattract
ionofparti
all
ychargedmol eculesoratomscr eated
whenel ectronsconcentrateononesi deofamol eculeoratom tosatisfycov
alentorionic
bonds.Twospeci alcasesincl
udehy drogenbondsandv anderWaal 'sbonds.Aspar toft hei
r
characteri
stic,compoundscont ai
ningthesebondsf orm zonesorplanesofeasycleav agedue
totheirinherentweakness.
Al
kal
i
es

Hy
drogen,
li
thi
um,
sodi
um,
pot
assi
um,
andr
ubi
dium

Al
kal
i
neEar
ths

Ber
yll
i
um,
magnesi
um,
cal
cium,
str
ont
ium,
bar
ium,
andr
adi
um

Hal
ogens

Fl
uor
ine,
chl
ori
ne,
iodi
ne,
bromi
ne,
andast
ati
ne

Nobl
eGases

Hel
i
um,
neon,
argon,
kry
pton,
xenon,
andr
adon

Rar
eEar
ths

Scandium,ceri
um,l
ant
hanum,t
erbi
um,gadoli
nium,
neodymium,t
huli
um,erbi
um,
dyspr
osi
um,
l
uteti
um, y
tter
bium,
hol
mium,samari
um,europi
um,praseody
mium,andy
ttnum

Act
ini
des

Berkel
ium,
curi
um,cal
if
ornium,ameri
cium,ei
nst
eini
um,f
ermi
um,l
awrenci
um,
plut
oni
um,
nobeli
um,mendel
evi
um, t
horium,pr
otact
ini
um,ur
anium,
andnept
uni
um

Whati
sthecommonv
alencest
ateofel
ement
sineachoft
hef
oll
owi
nggr
oups

Al
kal
i
es:
+1

Al
kal
i
neEar
ths:
+2

Hal
ogens:
+3

Whati
sel
ect
ronegat
ivi
tyandwhyi
siti
mpor
tant
?

Thi
sistheabil
i
tyofanat
om inacryst
alst
ruct
uretoat
tractel
ect
ronsintheout
ershel
l
.Ithel
ps
i
ndeter
mi ni
ngthety
peofchemical
bondformingbet
weenchemi cal
elements.

Coor
dinat
ionnumber

Thi
sref
erst
othenumberofat
omsori
onst
hati
mmedi
atel
ysur
roundani
onorat
om ofi
nter
est
.

Oct
ahedr
alcoor
dinat
ion

Thisr
efer
st oasi
x-f
oldcoordi
nati
onwheredefi
ningtheshapet
akespl
acebydr
awi
ngpl
anes
passi
ngthrought
hecenteroftheexi
sti
nglar
gerions.

Tet
rahedr
alcoor
dinat
ion
Thi
sent
ail
saf
our
-f
oldcoor
dinat
ionofpl
anest
hrought
hecent
erofl
argerat
oms.

Tr
ingul
arcoor
dinat
ion

Thi
sisat
hree-
fol
dcoor
dinat
ion

El
ect
rost
ati
cval
ence

Thi
sref
erst
othechar
geoni
oni
nrel
ati
ont
othecoor
dinat
ionnumber
.

I
sodesmi
c

Thi
sr ef
erstoasit
uat
ionwher
ethechar
gehasanexactbalanceonbot
hthecat
ionsandani
ons
sothatthebondshav
eequalst
rengt
hsfr
om al
ldi
rect
ion.

Ani
sodesmi
c

Thisref
erstosit
uat
ionswheretheanioni
smorestrongl
yboundt ot
hecentr
alcoor
dinat
ing
cati
onthanitcanbetootherst
ruct
uralgr
oupsbecauseelect
rost
ati
cval
encyismorethanhal
f
thechargeexi
sti
ngontheanion.

Mesodesmi
c

Thisisabondingscenar
iowhereelectrostati
cv al
encyreachi
ngthecat
ionisexactl
yhal
fthe
chargeontheanionsothattheanioninthest ruct
uralgroupcanbeastight
lyboundtoi
ons
outsi
dethegroup,astothecentr
allycoordinatedcati
ons.

Expl
ainwhatf
act
orscont
rol
thesi
zeofi
onsandwhy

Thesizeofionsrel
iesont henumberofelect
rons,t
hesi
zeofthenucl
eus,andthekindofbonds
bet
weenconst i
tuents,aswellasonthecoordi
nati
onnumber.Thei
ncreaseinat
omi cnumber
i
ncreasesthenumberofel ect
ronsandprotons,pr
ompti
ngthenumberofionstoincrease.
I
ncreaseinthecoordinati
onnumberincr
easestheioni
cradi
us.

Whyar
eani
onsi
ngener
all
argert
hancat
ions?

Ani
ons,
unl
i
kecat
ions,
hav
erel
ati
vel
ymor
enumberofel
ect
ronsont
hei
rout
mostshel
l
s.

Expl
ainPaul
i
ng'
sfi
ver
ulesi
nsi
mpl
eter
msandexpl
ainwhyt
heyar
eimpor
tant

Accor dingtoRul e1,acoor di

nationpol y
hedr onofani onsfor msar oundev erycation.Theref
ore,
radiussumshel psindeterminingt hecation-aniondi stancewhi leradi usratiohelpsin
det er
mi ningthecoordinati
onnumber .Rule2i st heEl ectr
ost at
icValencyPr inci
ple,which
stipul
atest hatanionicstruct
urei sstablet othepoi ntthatt hetotalstr engthsofthe
electrostati
cbondsr eachingani onar eequal tot hechar geont hation.BasedonRul e3,shared
edges, andespeci al
l
yf acesoft woani onpol yhedr aoccur r
inginacr y stalstruct
urer educesit
s
stabil
ity.AccordingtoRule4, cationsofhi ghv al
ancyandsmal l coordinationnumber ,i
na
cr
ystalstruct
urewit
hsev er
alcat
ions,arenotli
kelyt
osharepol
yhedral
elements.InRul
e5,the
Pri
ncipl
eofPar si
mony,thenumberofv ar
iousconst
it
uentsi
nacryst
alisli
kel
ytobesmal l
.
Overall
,theserul
eshel
pinunderstandingcryst
alstr
uctur
esandtheunderl
yi
ngt y
pesofbonding,
aswel l
ascoor di
nat
ionthatexi
stswithinthem.

Bywhatpr
ocessescanmi
ner
alsf
ormi
nnat
ure?

Mineralscanf ormt hroughpr ecipi

tati
onf rom af l
uidli
keCO2orH2O, whichinvolves
hydrothermal processes, met amor phosis,anddi agenesi
s, andmet amorphism,aswel l
as
weather i
ng,evapor ati
on, orbiologicalacti
v i
ty.Anotherprocessissublimationfrom av apor,
whichoccur satav olcanicv ent,ordeepi nspaceatapoi ntwher ethepressureexist
satnear
vacuum.Fur ther,mi neral
scanf ormt hroughcr ystal
li
zati
onf rom l
iqui
dsdur i
ngcr y
stalli
zati
onof
magmaormol t
enr ockei theratorbel owt heEar th'
ssurface.Othersfor
mt hroughsol id
reacti
onswher emi neralsr eactwithothermi neralsintheirsoli
dstatetogenerateatl eastone
newmi neral
.Thepr ocessesoccurdur ingdiagenesi sormet amorphism becauseoft hechange
i
npr essureandt emper aturecondi ti
ons.

Whatar
ethet
hreemostabundantel
ement
sint
heear
th'
scr
ust
?

Themostabundantel
ement
sincl
udeoxy
gen,
sil
i
con,
andal
umi
num.

Whatf
act
orsmakei
tdi
ff
icul
ttodet
ermi
net
hechemi
cal
composi
ti
onofmi
ner
als?

Thesmal lsi
zeofindi
vidualmineral
scontr
ibut
estothedif
fi
cul
ty;
thesi
zeistoosmal
ltopr
ovi
de
enoughsampl eforanaly
sis;t
herebyrequi
ri
ngthesepar
ati
onofsever
algr
ainsoft
hesame
mineral
from arocksampl e.Theprocessi
sextensi
ve.

Whati
sthebestmet
hodf
ordet
ermi
ningt
hechemi
cal
var
iabi
l
ityi
nasmal
lmi
ner
algr
ain?

Theel
ect
ronmi cr
oprobetechni
quei
sthebestmet
hodbecausei
thel
psi
nunder
taki
nganal
ysi
s
ofsmal
lareasofmineral
s'si
ngl
egrai
ns.

Whati
sasolidsol
uti
on?Gi
veexampl
esofatl
eastt
hreemi
ner
alst
hatshowsol
i
dsol
uti
on,
gi
vi
ngtheend-membersf
oreach?

Soli
dsolut
ionref
er stothechemi calcomposit
ionalvar
iat
ionexisti
nginmi neral
s,whichresults
fr
om ionssubsti
tuti
ngf oroneanot herwi
thinacryst
alstr
ucture.ExamplesincludeOlivi
nesl i
ke
Mg2SiO4-Fe2SiO4, Bioti
tel
ikeKMg3Al Si
3O10( OH)2andKFe3Al Si3O10(OH)2,Pyroxeneslike
MgSiO3-FeSiO3, andCaMgSi 2O6-CaFeSi 2O6,Ferr
oacti
noli
telikeCa2Fe5Si8O22(OH) 2,and
Tremoli
tel
ikeCa2Mg5Si 8O22(OH)2.

Whyi
ssol
i
dsol
uti
onbyi
oni
csubst
it
uti
onsocommoni
nnat
ure?

Manyionshaveequal
char
geandal
mostequal
size,
ther
ebycr
eat
ingt
her
ightpl
atf
ormf
ori
oni
c
subst
it
uti
on.
Whati
sexsol
uti
on?Gi
veatl
eastoneexampl
eofami
ner
alt
hatcommonl
yshowsexsol
uti
on

Apr ocesst hatoccursinthesol

i
dst at
e,basedont hechangesofionsandcr ystal
l
ographi
csit
es
i
nr el ati
ontot emperatureandpressur
econditi
ons.Anexampl eincl
udethealkalif
eldspar
s
(albite-NaAl Si3O8-orthocl
ase-KAlSi3O8),
which,athi
ght emperatur
e,for
m acompl etesol
i
d
solut ion.Anotherexampl ei
sperthi
tewhoseexsoluti
onlamellaeareusuall
ylargeenoughand
visible.

Bywhatprocessescanmineral
sfor
minnat
ure?Whatar
ethet
emper
atur
eandpr
essur
eranges
foreachoft
heseprocesses?

-
Preci
pit
ati
onf
rom af
lui
dli
keH2OorCO2

-
Hydr
other
mal
Processes:
Temper
atur
e=100-500oC,
Pressur
e=0t
o1000MPa(
10kb)

-
Diagenesi
s:Temper
atur
e=0-200oC,
Pressur
e=1at
m 300MPa(
3kb)

-Ev
apor
ati
on:
Temper
atur
erange=10-
40oC,
Pressur
erange=1at
m

-Weat
her
ing-Temper
atur
erange=10-
100oC,
Pressur
erange=1at
m -10MPa(
0.1kb)

-Bi
ologi
cal
act
ivi
ty-Temper
atur
erange=10-
40oC,
Pressur
erange=1at
m-1Mpa(
0.01kb)

-Subl
imati
onf r
om avapor:
Theprocessisrar
erandoccursdeepi
nspaceoratavol
cani
cvent
,
wherethepressur
eexist
satnearvacuum.Temperat
urerange=0-
500oC,Pr
essur
erange=zer
o
-1atm.

-Crystal
li
zati
onfrom aliquid:
itoccursduri
ngcry
stal
li
zati
onofmagmaeitheratorbel
owt
he
Earth'
ssurface.Accordi
ngt oresul
tsinigneousr
ocks,Temper
atur
erange=600-1300oC,
Pressurerange=1at m -3,000MPa( 30kb).

-Soli
d-Soli
dreact
ions: i
nvol
vesreacti
onsbetweenmi neral
sint
hesolidstatetoproduceat
l
eastonenewmi neral.ForDi
agenesis-Temperaturerange=100-200oC,Pressur
er ange=1
atm -300MPa;andf orMetamorphism -Temperatur
er ange=200oC-mel ti
ngTemper atur
e,
Pressurer
ange=300-1000MPa

Whati
sthegeothermalgradi
ent?Whatwouldbeconsi
deredanormalgeother
malgr
adi
ent
,a
hi
ghgeother
mal gr
adi
ent,andalowgeothermalgr
adi
ent?Giveanexampleofwher
ewewould
fi
ndalowgeothermalgr
adientandahighgeot
hermalgr
adient.

Geothermalgr
adientr ef
erstothewayt hattemperatureandpr essur
ev aryintheEarth.Normal
geother
malgradientreferstoaveragegradi
entthatliesintheupperpar toftheEarth.Alow
geother
malgradientoccur sdeeperint
heear t
hsot hatitismuchl owert hanthoseoccurri
ng
nearthesur
facear e.Ahighgeot her
mal gr
adientoccursneart heeart
hsur faceat10OC/ km.a
l
owgeot her
mal gradientmayoccurat100OC/ km,whi l
eahi ghgeothermal gradi
entmayoccur
at25oC/km.
Defi
nethef
oll
owi
ng(
a)cl
osedsy
stem,
(b)opensy
stem,
(c)i
sol
atedsy
stem,
(d)phase,
and(
e)
component
.

Closedsystem isrefer
st oasystem t
hatcanexchangeener gywithit
ssurroundings,butnoti
ts
mass.Anopensy stem isabletoexchangebothit
sener gyandmasswi ththesur r
ounding.
Isol
atedsystem entail
sasituati
oninwhichthesystem cannotexchangeener gyormasswi th
i
t ssurr
oundings.Aphaser efer
st oaphysi
call
yseparablesystem par
twithdisti
nctchemical
andphy si
calproperti
es.Componentr ef
erst
oi nt
egralpart
soft hephasesinasy stem.

Whati
nfor
mat
ioncanbeobt
ainedf
rom aphasedi
agr
am?

Aphasediagr
am hel
psi
ndeter
miningthephases,
whi
char
einequi
l
ibr
ium f
oranycomposi
ti
on
atanypr
essureandt
emper
atureofthesyst
em.

Whati
sthephaser
uleandhowi
sitused?

Aphaser
uleref
erstoanexpr
essionoft
henumberofequat
ionsandv
ari
abl
est
hatar
e
appl
i
cabl
efordescr
ibi
ngasystem i
nequi
li
bri
um.

Li
qui
dus

Li
qui
dusref
ert
oli
net
hatsepar
atest
hef
iel
dofal
ll
iqui
dfr
om t
hef
iel
dofbot
hli
qui
dpl
us
cr
yst
als.

Sol
i
dus

Thi
sref
erst
othel
i
net
hatsepar
atest
hef
iel
dofal
lsol
i
dfr
om t
hatofbot
hli
qui
dpl
uscr
yst
als.

Sol
vus

Sol
vusr
efer
stot
hepoi
ntofl
owert
emper
atur
es,
wher
ethesol
i
dsol
uti
oni
snol
ongerst
abl
e.

Fr
act
ional
cry
stal
l
izat
ion

Fr
acti
onalcryst
all
izat
ionr
efer
st oascenar
iowheret
her
eissepar
ati
onofcr
yst
alsf
rom t
he
sy
stem sothattheydonotreactatr
eacti
onpoi
nts.

Sol
i
dsol
uti
on

Thi
sist
hesol
i
dwi
tht
heabi
l
ityt
ohav
evar
yingamount
sofel
ement
alsubst
it
uti
on.

I
ncongr
uent
lymel
ti
ngcompound

Incongr
uentl
ymelti
ngcompoundi sacompoundthatinvol
vest
hemelt
ingofaphaset
oali
quid
withacomposit
ionthati
sdiff
erentf
rom t
hesol
idleadingt
othefor
mationofasol
i
dofdi
ff
erent
compositi
ontotheini
ti
alsol
i
d.

.
..
.
..

.
..

.
..

.
..

.
..

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