Lesson 6.

Rock-Forming Minerals
 identify common rock-
Objectives forming minerals using
1 their physical and
At the end chemical properties;
of the and
lesson, you
should be identify the minerals
able to: 2 important to society.
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Minerals
• It is a naturally occurring,
inorganic, homogeneous solid,
with a definite chemical
composition, and an ordered
crystalline structure.

Example of a mineral
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Physical Properties of Minerals

● Color refers to certain wavelengths of light that are
reflected by a mineral and is perceived by the observer.
● Streak is the color of the powdered form of a mineral.
● Luster is the appearance of a mineral’s surface and is
dependent on how it reflects light.
● Crystal habit is the characteristic shape in which a mineral
grows and is a projection of the mineral’s crystal structure.
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Physical Properties of Minerals

● Cleavage is the tendency of some minerals to break along
flat surfaces.
● Fracture is the pattern in which the mineral breaks aside
from its planes of cleavage.
● Hardness is the resistance of the minerals to scratching.
● Specific gravity is the ratio of a minerals’ weight to the
weight of an equal volume of water.
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Chemical Properties of Minerals

● Solubility refers the ability of a substance to dissolve in a solvent
at a specified temperature.
● Melting point refers to the temperature at which solid turns into
liquid.
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Mineral Groups Based on Chemical Composition

Chemical Example
Description
structure Minerals
Elements Most of the minerals here are composed of only one element. copper, gold, silver,
Having knowledge about elements enables scientists to identify sulfur
bonding possibilities and compounds that can be created.
Sulfides Minerals under these group are composed of a metal joined by cinnabar (HgS),
a sulfur. Metallic luster is the characteristic that distinguish pyrite (FeS2)
them.
Halides These are nonmetal groups which consists of chlorine, fluorine, fluorite (CaF2), halite
bromine, and iodine as their main chemical constituent. (NaCl), diabolite
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Mineral Groups Based on Chemical Composition

Chemical Example
Description
structure Minerals
Oxides and These are mineral groups composed of one or more metals cuprite (Cu2O),
hydroxides joined with oxygen, water, or hydroxyl (OH) hematite (Fe2O3)

Nitrates, It is formed when a metal is combined with carbon, nitrogen malachite,

carbonates, and boron. nitratine, borax
borates
Sulfates One or more metal is combined with a sulfate compound anhydrite (CaSO4)
(SO4)
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Mineral Groups Based on Chemical Composition

Chemical Example
Description
structure Minerals
Chromates, chromate, molybdate, or tungstate substituted the place of wulfenite
molybdate, the sulfate group. These minerals are usually brightly (PbMoO4),
tungstates colored, brittle and dense. scheelite (CaWO4)

Phosphates, One or metal is chemically combined with the Phosphates, apatite, lazulite,
arsenates, arsenates, vanadates group. vanadinite
vanadates
Silicates This is the largest mineral group. Minerals under this group dioptase,
have different amounts of silicon and oxygen labradorite
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Analysis of the Composition

and Crystal Structure of
Minerals
• Wet chemical analysis involves
dissolving a mineral in an acid
and analyzing the solution.
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Analysis of the Composition and Crystal

Structure of Minerals
• Spectroscopic techniques
involve quantitative analysis
of mineral components
depending on the light
absorbance of the
compounds.

Spectrophotometer
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Rock Forming Minerals

• Quartz has a chemical composition of SiO2. It is a glass-like
hard substance with white streaks.
• Feldspar has a chemical composition of XAlSi3O8, where X is
potassium (K), calcium (Ca), or sodium (Na).
• Mica is soft, with hardness ranging from 2 to 2.5. It is easily
identified by its perfect cleavage, reducing it to thin smooth
flakes.
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Rock Forming Minerals

• Pyroxene minerals have a general composition of
XY(Al,Si)2O6 where X is calcium (Ca) or magnesium (Mg) and
Y is either magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), or aluminum (Al).
• Amphibole has a general formula of W0-1X2Y5Z8O22(OH)2
and has a dark color with a Mohs hardness ranging from 5
to 6. It is opaque and has a glassy luster.
Key Points

A mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic, solid

1 material that has definite chemical composition.

The physical properties of minerals are color,

streak, luster, crystal habit, cleavage, fracture,
2
hardness, and specific gravity. These properties are
used for mineral identification.

Solubility and melting point are chemical

3 properties commonly used to describe a mineral.
 Check Your Understanding

Write true if the statement is correct.

Otherwise, write false.
1. A mineral is a naturally-occurring substance.
2. Talc can scratch diamond.
3. A huge mineral has high specific gravity.
4. Bubbles that were formed after pouring an acid to a mineral
indicates that the sample is a carbonate mineral.
5. Quartz is a good example of an idiochromatic mineral.
 Challenge Yourself

You were given two pink

minerals (quartz and
calcite). Cite ways on
how you could
distinguish each
mineral.
 Bibliography
Amethyst Galleries Inc. “Mineral Gallery” Accessed April 5, 2018. http://www.galleries.com/default.htm

Coenraads, Robert R. 2005. Rocks & Fossils: A Visual Guide. Australia: Weldon Owen Inc.

Tarbuck, Edward J. and Frederick J. Lutgens. 2012. Earth Science, 13th Edition. New Jersey: Pearson
Prentice Hall.

Thompson, Graham R. and Jonathan Turk. 1997. Introduction to Physical Geology. United States: Brooks
Cole Publishing.

Williams, Linda. 2004. Earth Science Demystified. United States: The McGraw -Hill Companies, Inc.
 Photo Credits

Slide 11: This file, Spectrophotometer Model 1 by Viv Rolfe is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via
Wikimedia Commons.