Physical and Chemical

Properties of Rocks
 Most Essential Learning
Competencies
 Identify common rock-forming minerals
using their physical and chemical
properties.

 Classify rocks into igneous,

sedimentary, and metamorphic
 Lecture Outline

 What are minerals?

 Common rock-forming minerals
 Physical and Chemical properties of
minerals
 Basic rock types
 The rock cycle
 Minerals
A mineral is a naturally occurring,
inorganic, and homogenous solid with
definite chemical composition and
crystalline structure.

Minerals are the “building blocks”

of rock
 Physical properties

Useful physical properties to

identify a mineral include color,
streak, luster, specific gravity,
hardness, cleavage, tenacity, and
crystal habit.
 Color
Color is one of the most obvious
characteristics of a mineral, but
generally not the most useful
diagnostic feature.
 Crystal Habit
Refers to the overall shape or
growth pattern of the mineral. It
can be described as equant,
elongate and platy.
 Streak
The Streak of a
mineral refers to
the color of the
mark it leaves
behind after being
rubbed against a
piece of unglazed
porcelain.
 Luster
Describes the appearance of a mineral
when light is reflected from its surface. It
can be described as opaque, transparent,
dull, or shiny.
 Specific Gravity
Specific gravity is the ratio of the weight
of the mineral to the weight of the water
with an equal volume.
 Hardness
Hardness is a measure of how
resistant a mineral is to scratching.
This physical property is controlled
by the chemical composition and
structure of the mineral.
 Cleavage
is the tendency of
some minerals to
break along flat
surfaces. The
surfaces are
planes of weak
bonds in the
crystal.
Cleavage in mica

Cleavage in calcite
 Fracture
Fracture refers to the texture or shape
of the mineral’s surface when the
mineral breaks into forms other than flat
surfaces.
 Tenacity
Tenacity refers to the behavior
of the mineral under
deformation or stress such as
cutting, crushing, bending, or
hitting.
 Chemical properties

All minerals have a certain

arrangement of elements in their crystal
structure. They can be represented by a
chemical formula, which presents the
proportions of atoms that constitute
them. For example, the mineral quartz
has a chemical formula SiO2. Its crystal
structure is a continuous framework of
silicon-oxygen tetrahedra.
 Solubility

Solubility refers the ability of a

substance to dissolve in a solvent at a
specified temperature.
 Melting point

Melting point refers to the temperature

at which solid turns into liquid. Minerals
composed of atoms that are tightly
bonded within the crystal structure
have high melting points. For example,
quartz melts above 1670°C.
Silicate Class- largest group of minerals
• contains silicon and oxygen, with some aluminum,
magnesium, iron and calcium
• Mafic (magnesium)
• Felsic (feldspar)
Common examples:
Olivine
Pyroxene
Amphibole
Muscovite
Feldspar
Uses:
microchips (conductivity)
glass and ceramics
quartz crystals (vibrations)
Carbonate Class- deposited in
marine environments
• shells of dead planktons
• places with high evaporation rates
• in karsts and caves
• in stalactites and stalagmites
Uses:
plaster
algaecide
mineral supplement
epsom salt
surfactant
lead-acid battery
 Mineral Groups
The most stable and least ambiguous
basis for classification of minerals is
based on their chemical compositions.
Element
Element Element Element Element Element
Element +Haloge
+ SiO4 + O2 + SO4 + S2 + CO3
ns
Native Silicate Oxide Sulfate Sulfide Carbonate Halide
Gold Quartz Hematite Gypsum Pyrite Calcite Chlorine
Bismuth Olivine Magnetite Barite Galena Dolomite Fluorine

Diamond Talc Chromite Anhydrite Bornite Malachite Halite

 The elements listed below comprise almost 99%
of the minerals making up the Earth’s crust.
% by weight of
Element Symbol % atoms
Earth’s crust
Oxygen O 46.6 62.6
Silicon Si 27.7 21.2
Aluminum Al 8.1 6.5
Iron Fe 5.0 1.9
Calcium Ca 3.6 1.9
Sodium Na 2.8 2.6
Potassium K 2.6 1.4
Magnesium Mg 2.1 1.8
All other
1.4 <0.1
elements
 Key points
 A mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic, solid
material that has a fixed structure and a definite
chemical composition.
 Minerals can be distinguished based on physical and
chemical properties.
 Useful physical properties to identify a mineral include
color, streak, luster, specific gravity, hardness, cleavage,
tenacity, and crystal habit.
 The chemical properties of minerals depend on their
chemical formula and crystal structure. Solubility and
melting point are chemical properties commonly used to
describe a mineral.
 The most common rock-forming minerals are quartz,
feldspar, mica, pyroxene, amphibole, and olivine.
 Most Essential Learning
Competencies

 Classify rocks into igneous,

sedimentary, and metamorphic
CLASSIFICATION OF
ROCKS
 How are
rocks
classified?
 Rocks
 ROCKS are combined aggregation of minerals.

More than one crystal

Volcanic glass
Solidified organic matter
Appearance controlled by composition
and size and arrangement of aggregate
grains (texture)
 Classification of Rocks
 Igneous
 Form by solidification of molten rock
(magma)

 Sedimentary
 Form by lithification of sediment (sand,
silt, clay, shells)

 Metamorphic
 Form by transformations of preexisting
rocks (in the solid state)
 Igneous rocks
 is formed
through the cooling
and solidification
of magma or lava.
 Types of Igneous Rocks
Extrusive igneous rock
or Volcanic rock -
molten material that
solidifies at earth’s
surface and is made
from lava
Intrusive igneous rock
or plutonic rock -
molten rock beneath
Earth’s surface, that is,
magma, changes to
solid(freezes).
 Intermediat
Category Mafic Felsic
e

Extrusive, rapid
–cooling fine Basalt Andesite Rhyolite
crystals

Intrusive, slow-
cooling coarse
Gabbro Diorite Granite
crystals
Igneous rocks are distinguished based on
texture (crystal size) and whether their mineral
composition is mafic, felsic, or intermediate.
•Rocks that cool rapidly, at or near Earth’s
surface, have fine (small) crystals.
•Those that cool slowly, deep beneath the
surface, have coarse crystalline texture (large
crystals).

Felsic
− is rich in light–colored, lighter weight minerals
(silicon, feldspar and aluminum)

Mafic
− is lower in silica and rich in heavy minerals
(magnesium and iron) dark in color
Common examples of igneous rocks
with their characteristics:
1.Granite− usually light-colored, with
large crystals, able to reflect light
falling on its surface, and of medium
weight on its size

2.Basalt− dark in color, composed of

very fine crystals, dull, unable to reflect
light, heavy for its size.
Basalt: Extrusive Igneous Rock
Intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks
Based on TEXTURE

Aphanistic – fine grained

Phaneritic – coarsed grained
Porphyritic – large crystal with small crystal
Glassy – non-ordered from rapid
quenching
Pyroclastic – composite of ejected
fragments
 Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary rocks are formed from deposits
of pre-existing rocks or pieces of once-living
organism that accumulate on the Earth's
surface.
 Origin of Sediment
Produced by weathering and erosion or by
precipitation from solution

Weathering = chemical and mechanical

breakdown of rocks

Erosion = processes that get the weathered

material moving
 Types of Sedimentary Rocks
Clastic Sedimentary Rocks
•it is formed from the mechanical weathering
debris of rocks
 Types of Sedimentary Rocks
Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
•formed when dissolved minerals precipitate
from a solution
 Types of Sedimentary Rocks
Organic Sedimentary Rocks
•rocks formed from the accumulation of
materials from living things or product of living
things
 Lithification
The process that converts sediments into solid rock
Deposition
Compaction
Cementation
Clastic

Chemical /
biochemical
 Metamorphic Rocks
means “changed in form”
 formed from pre existing rocks;
these have been modified by
heat, pressure and chemical
processes.
originate as either igneous or
sedimentary rocks which have
been changed in texture or
mineral composition
are typically harder and more
compact, have a reoriented
crystalline structure, and are more
resistant to weathering
METAMORPHISM
• change of minerals or geologic
texture in pre existing rocks without
melting into liquid magma (solid-
state change)
Metamorphic Rocks
Regional and Contact Metamorphism
 Types of Metamorphic Rocks
REGIONAL METAMORPHISM
- happens over large region of crust
where high temperature and pressure is
present.

CONTACT METAMORPHISM
- happens on layers of rocks having
contact with heat (magma)
conglomerate

metaconglomerate
granite

gneiss
The Rock
Cycle
What are the three types of Rocks?

How are rocks classified as Igneous,

Sedimentary and Metamorphic?
Important Minerals
to Society