Senior High School

COMMON ROCK - FORMING

MINERALS
EARTH and LIFE SCIENCE/Grade 11
Quarter 1/ Week 2

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FOREWORD

This SELF-LEARNING KIT in SCIENCE is made to help you continue your learning about the
different rock-forming minerals and how to identify them based on their physical and chemical
properties.

It is our sincere aim to provide you with relevant activities, exercises, and assessment that
we believe would be necessary in order for you to acquire the appropriate knowledge in identifying
the different rock-forming minerals found on Earth amid the academic challenges we are currently
facing.

The activities in this Self-Learning Kit are carefully made for you to easily understand the
concepts. Your enthusiasm, eagerness, and active involvement in accomplishing these activities will
surely make a difference.

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, the learners will be able to:
K: Identify several common rock -forming minerals;
S: Describe the different properties of minerals; and
A: Recognize the importance of minerals in our daily lives.

LEARNING COMPETENCY:

Identify common rock-forming minerals using their physical and chemical properties.
(S11/12ES-Ia-e-9)

WHAT I NEED TO KNOW

What is a mineral?
How is a mineral different from a rock?

➢ Minerals are the building blocks of rocks. These minerals that are common and abundant on
Earth’s crust are known as rock forming minerals.
➢ There are five important characteristics which define a mineral:
❖ Naturally-occurring (NOT man-made or machine generated)
❖ Inorganic (not a byproduct of living things)
❖ Solid (should exhibit stability at room temperature)
❖ Crystalline structure (looks like crystals since the arrangement of their atoms is
ordered and repetitive) Can be represented by a chemical formula (most minerals
are chemical compounds and can be represented using a fixed or variable chemical
formula. For example: quartz (SiO2) which indicates that the mineral quartz contains
one silicon atom and two oxygen atoms).

MINERAL POPERTIES

Minerals can be identified based on physical and chemical properties.

A. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES:

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We are going to use halite (table salt) to demonstrate the different mineral properties.
Mineral Name Halite (table salt)
Chemical composition NaCl
Luster Non-metallic – vitreous; transparent to translucent
Hardness Soft (2-2.5)
Color White
Streak White
Crystal Form/Habit Cubic
Cleavage Perfect cubic
Specific Gravity Light (2.2)
Other Properties Salty taste; very soluble; produces reddish spark in flame

1. Luster
❖ it is the quality and intensity of reflected light exhibited by the mineral.
a. metallic – generally opaque and exhibit a resplendent shine similar to a polished metal.
b. non-metallic – vitreous (glassy), adamantine
(brilliant/diamond-like), resinous, silky, pearly, dull (earthy), greasy, among others.

(https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Properties-of-Minerals-Luster-5E-Activity-3959187)

2. Hardness
❖ it is a measure of the resistance of a mineral (not specifically surface) to abrasion.
a. German geologist/mineralogist Friedrich Mohs designed the “Mohs Scale of Hardness”.

(https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/friedrich-mohs.html)

b. The “Mohs Scale of Hardness” measures the scratch resistance of various minerals from
a scale of 1 to 10, based on the ability of a harder material/mineral to scratch a softer one.

c. Advantages of Mohs scale:

i. The test is easy.
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 ii. The test can be done anywhere, anytime, as long as there is sufficient light to see
scratches.
iii. The test is convenient for field geologists with scratch kits who want to make a rough
identification of minerals outside the lab.

d. Disadvantages of Mohs scale:

i. The scale is qualitative, not quantitative.
ii. The test cannot be used to accurately test the hardness of industrial materials.
(https://www. nps.gov/articles/m
ohs- hardness-
scale.htm)

Big Idea:
• If you will be able to
scratch a
mineral using
your fingernail, then
its hardness is
around 1 – 2.5.
• If you will be able to
scratch a
mineral using
a coin, then its
hardness is
around 2.5 – 3.5.
• If you will be able to scratch a mineral using a knife or_glass plate, then its hardness
is around 3.5 – 5.5.
• If you will be able to scratch a mineral using a steel nail, then its hardness is around
5.5 -6.5.
• If you will be able to scratch a mineral using a masonry_drill, then its hardness is
around 6.5 to 8.5.
• If you will not be able to scratch a mineral using all the materials mentioned above,
then its hardness is around
8.5 – 10.
• From the picture above, we can say that diamonds are the hardest and talc is the least
hard.

3. Crystal Form/Habit
❖ The external shape of a crystal or groups of crystals is displayed/observed as these crystals
grow in open spaces.
❖ The form reflects the supposedly internal structure (of atoms and ions) of the crystal (mineral)
❖ It is the natural shape of the mineral before the development of any cleavage or fracture.
❖ Examples include: prismatic, tabular, bladed, platy, reniform, and equant.

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 ❖ A mineral that do not have a crystal structure is described as amorphous.
(http://

www.geologyin.com/2019/10/crystal-habits-and-forms.html)

4. Color and Streak

❖ A lot of minerals can exhibit same or similar colors. Individual minerals can also display a
variety of colors resulting from impurities and also from some geologic processes like
weathering.
❖ Examples of coloring: quartz can be pink (rose quartz), purple (amethyst), orange (citrine),
white (colorless quartz) etc.

(https:// openpress.usask.ca/
physicalgeology/
chapter/5-6- mineral-properties-2/)
❖ Streak on the other hand, is the
mineral’s color in powdered form.
It is inherent in almost every
mineral, and is a more diagnostic
property compared to color.
Note that the color of a mineral
can be different from its streak.
❖ Examples of streak: pyrite
(FeS2) exhibits gold color but has
a black or dark gray streak.

(https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/1005344/view/pyrite-streak-test)

5. Cleavage
❖ The property of some minerals to break along specific planes of weakness to form smooth,
flat surfaces.

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 a. These planes exist because the bonding of atoms making up the mineral happens to
be weak in those areas.
b. When minerals break evenly in more than one direction, cleavage is described by the
number of cleavage directions, the angle(s) at which they meet, and the quality of cleavage
(e.g. cleavage in 2 directions at 90o).
c. Cleavage is different from habit; the two are distinct, unrelated properties. Although
both are dictated by crystal structure, crystal habit forms as the mineral is growing, relying on
how the individual atoms in the crystal come together. Cleavage, meanwhile, is the weak
plane that developed after the crystal is formed.

(http://

academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/geology/grocha/mineral/cleavage.html)

6. Specific Gravity
❖ The ratio of density of the mineral and the density of water.
❖ This parameter indicates how many times more the mineral weighs compared to an equal
amount of water (SG 1).
❖ For example, a bucket of silver (SG 10) would weigh ten times more than a bucket of water.

(https://www.rocksmins.com/products/physical-properties-used-toidentify-minerals-collections/minerals-specific-gravity-collection)
7. Others
❖ Magnetism
❖ Odor ❖ Taste
❖ Tenacity
❖ Reaction to acid

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For example, magnetite is strongly magnetic; sulfur has distinctive smell; halite is salty; calcite fizzes
with acid as with as with dolomite but in powdered form.

Although physical properties are useful for mineral identification, some minerals may exhibit a wide
range of properties. Minerals, like many other things, can also be categorized based on their
chemical compositions: Silicates, Oxides, Sulfates, Sulfides, Carbonates, Native elements, and
Halides.

B. CHEMICAL PROPERTIES:
1. Silicates
❖ Minerals containing the two most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust, namely, silicon and
oxygen.
❖ When linked together, these two elements form the silicon oxygen tetrahedron – the
fundamental building block of silicate minerals.
❖ Over 90% of rock-forming minerals belong to this group.
2. Oxides
❖ Minerals composed of oxygen anion (O2-) combined with one or more metal ions.
3. Sulfates
❖ Minerals containing sulfur and oxygen in the form of the (SO4)- anion.
4. Sulfides
❖ Minerals containing sulfur and a metal; some sulfides are sources of economically important
metals such as copper, lead, and zinc.
5. Carbonates
❖ Minerals containing the carbonate (CO3)2- anion combined with other elements.
6. Native elements
❖ Minerals that formed as individual elements.
a. metals and intermetals – minerals with high thermal and electrical conductivity, typically
with metallic luster, low hardness (gold, lead)
b. semi-metals – minerals that are more fragile than metals and have lower conductivity
(arsenic, bismuth).
c. nonmetals – nonconductive (sulfur, diamond)
7. Halides
❖ Minerals containing halogen elements combined with one or more metals.

The table below shows the summary of mineral group categorization based on their chemical
compositions.
Element Element Element + Element + Element Element + Element
+ SiO O SO +S +
CO 3 Halogens
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.
Element Symbol % by weight of % atoms
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 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 elements 1.4 <0.1

PERFORMANCE TASK

A. List five minerals and their common uses. Identify and describe the specific property/properties
that make(s) the mineral suitable for those uses. For example, graphite, having a black streak
and hardness of 1-2, is used in pencils due to its ability to leave marks on paper and other
objects. Three (3) points for each correct item. (Write your answer in the separate ACTIVITY
SHEET).

ASSESSMENT

I. Identification: Identify what is being asked below and write your answer in the separate
ACTIVITY SHEET.

1. A qualitative scale used to measure the scratch resistance of various minerals from a scale of 1
to 10. ____________________
2. It is the quality and intensity of reflected light exhibited by the mineral. ____________________
3. It is the mineral’s color in powdered form which is more reliable in identifying minerals compared
to color. ____________________
4. It is the weak plane that developed after the crystal is formed. ____________________
5. It indicates how many times more the mineral weighs compared to an equal amount of water.
____________________

II. Multiple choice. Read the questions carefully. Choose the letter of the correct answer and write
your answer in the separate ACTIVITY SHEET. No need to copy the questions.

6. Which of the following is not included in the characteristics of minerals?

A. Naturally-occurring
B. Organic
C. Should exhibit stability at room temperature
D. Crystalline structure (looks like crystals since the arrangement of their atoms is ordered and
repetitive)

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7. According to Mohs Scale of hardness, quarts are considered to be harder compared to which
mineral?
A. Corundum C. Topaz
B. Diamond D. Gypsum

8. If you will be able to scratch a mineral using a coin, then its hardness is believed to be around
what range?
A. 1-2.5 B. 2.5-3.5 C. 3.5-5.5 D. 5.5-6.5

9. What do you call a mineral that does not have a crystal structure?
A. amorphous C. analogous
B. anamorphous D. none of the choices

10. What is the mineral’s color in powdered form which is inherent in almost every mineral and is a
more diagnostic property compared to color?
A. Specific gravity C. Habit
B. Streak D. Cleavage

REFERENCE

Cortez, Leah Amor S. and Sia, Shila Rose D. (2016). Science in Today’s World Earth and
Life Science. Sibs Publishing House, Inc., 9-30

Licuanan, Patricia B. (2016). Earth and Life Science Teacher’s Guide. Commission on
Higher Education. 24-40, 4

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