Chapter Introduction

Lesson 1 What is
a mineral?
Lesson 2 How are
minerals
identified?
Lesson 3 Sources and
Uses of Minerals
Chapter Wrap-Up Mark Schneider/Getty Images
What are minerals
and why are they
useful?
What do you think?
Before you begin, decide if you agree or
disagree with each of these statements.
As you view this presentation, see if you
change your mind about any of the
statements.
Do you agree or disagree?
1. A mineral is anything solid on Earth.
2. Some minerals form when water
evaporates from Earth’s surface.
3. The best way to identify a mineral is by
color.
Do you agree or disagree?
4. Hardness, streak, and luster are among
the properties used to identify minerals.
5. An ore is a concentration of minerals
that contains only iron.
6. Gemstone and ore deposits are evenly
distributed around the world.
What is a mineral?

• What is a mineral?
• What are the common rock-forming
minerals?
• How do minerals form?
What is a mineral?

• mineral
• silicate
• crystallization
• magma
• lava
What is a mineral?
• A mineral is a naturally occurring,
inorganic solid with a definite chemical
composition and an orderly
arrangement of atoms or ions.
• There are approximately 4,000
minerals on Earth, but only about 30
are common.
What is a mineral? (cont.)

What is a mineral?
What is a mineral? (cont.)
• Of the 30 common minerals, ten are
rock-forming minerals, including quartz,
feldspar, and olivine.
• These minerals occur naturally and are
not made in a laboratory.
What is a mineral? (cont.)
• Minerals have a definite chemical
composition.
• Some minerals, such as silver and
sulfur, are composed of just one
element. These are known as native
elements.
• Other minerals are made up of a
combination of several elements.
What is a mineral? (cont.)
• Minerals form predictable crystal
patterns.
• The internal arrangement of atoms or
ions determines the shape of a crystal.
What is a mineral? (cont.)
A crystal is a solid with a repeating
arrangement of atoms or ions in 3
directions.
What is a mineral? (cont.)

crystal
Science Use a solid of a
chemical substance with a
regular, repeating arrangement of
its atoms
Common Use a clear, colorless
glass of superior quality
What is a mineral? (cont.)
• Minerals are solids, meaning they
exhibit an orderly internal arrangement
of atoms or ions.
• Minerals are inorganic, or not from
biologic origins.
• Despite being inorganic, some minerals
can form as a result of organic
processes.
What is a mineral? (cont.)

Identify the five main

characteristics of a mineral.
The Structure of Minerals
• Minerals occur in many different
shapes.
• When a crystal forms under the right
conditions and has time to grow, it will
develop a characteristic crystal shape.
• Most of the time, minerals grow in tiny
clusters.
The Structure of Minerals (cont.)
• The common rock-forming minerals are
composed of combinations of elements
that are abundant in Earth’s crust.
• Oxygen and silicon are the two most
abundant elements in the crust.
The Structure of Minerals (cont.)
• The two main families of rock-forming
minerals are the silicates and the
nonsilicates.
• A silicate is a member of the mineral
group that has silicon and oxygen in its
crystal structure.
• Nonsilicate minerals do not contain
silicon.
The Structure of Minerals (cont.)

What are the two main

families of rock-forming
minerals?
How do minerals form?
• All minerals form through crystallization.
• The process of crystallization occurs
when particles dissolved in a liquid or a
melt solidify and form crystals.
• The chemical and physical properties of
minerals can help geologists infer the type
of environment where these minerals
formed.
How do minerals form? (cont.)
• Minerals can crystallize from either hot
or cool solutions.
• As water evaporates from a cool
solution in a dry environment, solids
crystallize out of the water and form
minerals.
• Sometimes minerals can crystallize
from water in environments that aren’t
dry.
How do minerals form? (cont.)
• Hot solutions are made when water
flows through cracks in the crust into
deep and hot environments.
• Sometimes hot solutions carry large
concentrations of dissolved solids that
eventually become valuable mineral
deposits.
How do minerals form? (cont.)
• Minerals can also form from magma.
Magma is molten material stored
beneath Earth’s surface.
• When magma erupts on or near Earth’s
surface, it is called lava or ash.

lava
from Latin lavare, means “to wash”
How do minerals form? (cont.)
• As lava or ash cools above ground or
magma cools underground, atoms and
ions arrange themselves and form
mineral crystals.
• Small crystals form as lava cools
quickly on or near Earth’s surface and
large crystals sometimes form as
magma cools and crystallizes slowly
below Earth’s surface.
How do minerals form? (cont.)
• Minerals that form deep within Earth’s
crust and mantle are stable under high
pressure and high temperature
conditions.
• Metamorphic activity can uplift minerals
from great depths onto Earth’s surface.
• Changes in pressure and temperature on
Earth’s surface combined with agents of
erosion can cause minerals to break
down and eventually form new minerals.
How do minerals form? (cont.)

Identify the ways minerals

can form.
• A mineral is a naturally occurring,
inorganic solid with a definite chemical
composition and crystalline form.
• Crystal shape reflects
the internal
arrangement of atoms
or ions.
• The most common
rock-forming minerals
are silicates.
What type of chemical
composition do minerals have?

A. definite
B. indefinite
C. unstable
D. stable
The common rock-forming
minerals are composed of
combinations of elements found
in which part of the Earth?
A. mantle
B. core
C. crust
D. oceans
Which process occurs when
particles dissolved in a liquid or
gas solidify and form crystals?
A. evaporation
B. disintegration
C. crystal growth
D. crystallization
Do you agree or disagree?

1. A mineral is anything solid on Earth.

2. Some minerals form when water
evaporates from Earth’s surface.
How are minerals identified?

• Why is it necessary to use more than

one property for mineral identification?
• What properties can you use to
identify minerals?
How are minerals identified?

• mineralogist • cleavage
• luster • fracture
• streak • density
• hardness
Physical Properties
• Mineralogists are scientists who study
the distribution of minerals, mineral
properties, and their uses.
• Scientists use the physical and
chemical properties of minerals to learn
a mineral’s identity and classify
unknown minerals.
Physical Properties (cont.)
• Color alone cannot be used for mineral
identification because many different
minerals can be the same color.
• Variations in color reflect the presence
of different types of chemical impurities,
such as iron, chromium, or manganese.
Physical Properties (cont.)

Why can’t the mineral quartz

be classified based on color
alone?
Physical Properties (cont.)
• The way a mineral reflects or absorbs
light at its surface is called luster.
• Minerals that are also
metals, such as copper,
silver, and gold, reflect
light and produce the
shiniest luster, called
metallic luster.

DEA/A.RIZZI/Getty Images
Physical Properties (cont.)
• Luster is directly related to the chemical
composition of minerals.
• Streak is the color of a mineral in
powdered form.
• Streak is only useful for identifying
minerals that are softer than porcelain.
• Nonmetallic minerals generally produce
a white streak.
Physical Properties (cont.)
• Many metallic minerals produce
characteristic streak colors.
• Hardness is the resistance of a mineral
to being scratched.
• Friedrich Mohs developed the Mohs’
hardness scale to compare the
hardness of different minerals, with
scale ranging from 1 to 10.
Physical Properties (cont.)
• Sometimes the way a mineral breaks
provides clues to its identity.
• The arrangement of atoms or ions and
the strengths of their chemical bonds
determine how a mineral breaks.
• Minerals break where bonds between
atoms or ions are weak.
Physical Properties (cont.)
• If a mineral breaks with smooth, flat
surfaces, it has cleavage.
• If a mineral breaks and forms uneven
surfaces, it has fracture.

cleavage
from Old English cleofan, means
“to split, separate”
Physical Properties (cont.)
• The density of a mineral is also helpful
in identifying it. The density of an
object is equal to its mass divided by its
volume.
• Some minerals have special properties,
such as texture, odor, fluorescence,
magnetism, or the way they react when
they come in contact with hydrochloric
acid.
Physical Properties (cont.)

Identify all the properties

used to classify an unknown
mineral.
• Streak is the color of a mineral in
powdered form.
• Minerals vary in hardness.
Hardness is the
resistance of a
mineral to being
scratched.
• Minerals with special

DEA/A.RIZZI/Getty Images
properties such as
fluorescence can be
easier to identify.
Which term refers to the color of
a mineral in powdered form?

A. cleavage
B. streak
C. fracture
D. density
Friedrich Mohs developed a scale
to compare which attribute of
different minerals?
A. cleavage
B. density
C. luster
D. hardness
Which of these is equal to an
object’s mass divided by its
volume?
A. weight
B. density
C. hardness
D. size
Do you agree or disagree?

3. The best way to identify a mineral is by

color.
4. Hardness, streak, and luster are
among the properties used to identify
minerals.
Sources and Uses of Minerals

• How are minerals used in your daily

life?
• Why are minerals a valuable
resource?
Sources and Uses of Minerals

• ore
• gemstone
Minerals are valuable resources used to
construct many parts of a home.
Mineral Resources
• Rock that contains high enough
concentrations of a desired substance
that it can be mined for a profit is called
an ore.
• Ores of the elements iron (Fe) and
aluminum (Al) are among the most
abundant of the metallic mineral
resources used every day.
Mineral Resources (cont.)
• Aluminum is abundant in Earth’s crust
but rarely occurs as a native element.
• Gold occurs in a ration of 1 part gold to
4 billion parts rock in Earth’s crust, but
in large enough concentrations to be
mined for profit.
• The technology industry is dependent
upon metallic mineral resources like
platinum.
Mineral Resources (cont.)
Humans use
nonmetallic minerals
that are not ores,
such as the raw
materials used for
road construction,
building stone, and
fertilizers. Construction site: Sascha/Photonica/Getty Images
Limestone block: Joel Sartore/National Geographic/Getty Images
White gravel: Mark Harwood/Getty Images
Sand: Siede Preis/Getty Images
Mineral Resources (cont.)

List at least five examples of

minerals and their common
use.
Mineral Resources (cont.)
• A gemstone is a rare
and attractive mineral
that can be worn as
jewelry after it is cut
and polished.
Mineral Resources (cont.)
• The physical properties of gemstones
also make them useful in industry.
• Sometimes human-made gems are
less expensive than the same natural
gems.
• An ore contains high enough
concentrations of a desired substance
that it can be mined at
a profit.
• Mineral resources are
used in the construction
of buildings, cars, and
planes.
Construction site: Sascha/Photonica/Getty Images
Limestone block: Joel Sartore/National Geographic/Getty Images

• A gemstone is a valuable White gravel: Mark Harwood/Getty Images

Sand: Siede Preis/Getty Images

mineral known for its beauty, rarity,

or durability.
What is a rare and attractive
mineral that can be worn as
jewelry after it is cut and polished?
A. crystal
B. ore
C. rock
D. gemstone
Which of these are among the
most abundant of the metallic
mineral resources used every day?

A. diamonds
B. gemstones
C. iron and aluminum ores
D. gold
Which of these are rare, like
diamonds, but have physical
properties that sometimes make
them useful in industry?
A. sand
B. gems
C. minerals
D. stones
Do you agree or disagree?

5. An ore is a concentration of minerals

that contains only iron.
6. Gemstone and ore deposits are evenly
distributed around the world.
Key Concept Summary
Interactive Concept Map
Chapter Review
Standardized Test Practice
Minerals are naturally
occurring, inorganic
solids with a definite
chemical composition
and an orderly
arrangement of atoms.
Minerals are used in
everyday materials
and as gemstones.
Lesson 1: What is a mineral?
• A mineral is a naturally
occurring, inorganic solid with
a definite chemical
composition and an orderly
arrangement of atoms.
• Minerals form from
crystallization of hot and cool
solutions above and below
Earth’s surface. They also
form from cooling magma.
Mark Schneider/Getty Images
Lesson 2: How are minerals
identified?
• Minerals are identified by
their physical properties:
color, luster, streak,
hardness, cleavage, fracture,
density, and other special
properties.
• The same mineral can exist
in many different colors due
to chemical impurities. More
than one mineral can be the DEA/A.RIZZI/Getty Images

same color.
Lesson 3: Sources and Uses of
Minerals
• An ore is a metallic mineral resource
mined for a profit. Both metallic and
nonmetallic mineral resources are
valuable in your everyday life.
• Some gemstones are valuable
because they are rare, beautiful, and
durable.

Construction site: Sascha/Photonica/Getty Images

Limestone block: Joel Sartore/National Geographic/Getty Images
White gravel: Mark Harwood/Getty Images
Sand: Siede Preis/Getty Images
Which term refers to minerals that
exhibit an orderly internal
arrangement of atoms or ions?
A. rock
B. solids
C. crystals
D. magma
Which term describes magma
when it erupts on or near Earth’s
surface?
A. crystal
B. water
C. silicon
D. lava
If a mineral breaks with smooth,
flat surfaces, it has which of
these?
A. cleavage
B. density
C. fracture
D. luster
What term refers to a mineral’s
resistance to being scratched?

A. luster
B. hardness
C. density
D. streak
Ores of the elements iron and
aluminum are among the most
abundant of which mineral
resources?
A. metallic
B. nonmetallic
C. natural
D. native
What is a naturally occurring,
inorganic solid with a definite
chemical composition?
A. ore
B. mineral
C. rock
D. magma
Which of these is a member of the
mineral group that has silicon and
oxygen in its crystal structure?

A. silicate
B. nonsilicate
C. mineral
D. crystal
Which term describes molten
material stored beneath Earth’s
surface?
A. lava
B. ash
C. magma
D. crystal
If a mineral breaks and forms
uneven surfaces, it has which of
the following?
A. fracture
B. cleavage
C. hardness
D. density
Which of these describes rock that
contains high enough concentrations
of a desired substance and can be
mined for profit?
A. gemstone
B. ore
C. metal
D. metallic mineral