Chapter 2

ROCKS AND MINERALS

Sarmiento, Leslie A.
Watch Me!
https://youtu.be/sSQnMTyNx6w
Mineral in Cellphones

What are the minerals go on the

construction of the cell phones?
Lesson 1: MINERALS
GEOSPHERE- one of the four interacting spheres the allow
life to exist.
 Composed of rock and regolith which are essential aggregates of various
minerals.
Lesson 1: MINERALS
GEOSPHERE- one of the four interacting spheres the allow
life to exist.
 Composed of rock and regolith which are essential aggregates of various
minerals.
MINERALS
A naturally-occurring, inorganic solid with a definite
chemical composition and an ordered internal structure.
INORGANIC

NATURALLY-
SOLID OCCURING
MINERAL
S
DEFINITE ORDERED
CHEMICAL INTERNAL
COMPOSITIO STRUCTUR
MINERALS

1. NATURALLY-OCCURRING- Minerals exist

naturally.
Example: Emerald
MINERALS

2. INORGANIC – Minerals are limited to

substances formed through inorganic processes and
exclude materials derived from living organisms
which involved organic processes.
Example: Coal
MINERALS

3. SOLID – All liquid and gasses – even those that are

naturally formed (petroleum) – are not considered
minerals. Ice formed from glaciers considered minerals but
water is not.
MINERALS

4. DEFINITE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION - This

should express the exact chemical formula with the
elements and compounds in specific ratios.
MINERALS

5. ORDERED INTERNAL STRUCTURE – The

atoms in the minerals are organized irregular, repetitive
geometric patterns or crystal structure.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF MINERALS
Classified into seven classes which are mainly composed of
elements that are abundant on Earth’s Crust.

1. SILICATES
2. OXIDES
3. SULFIDES
4. SULFATES
5. HALIDES
6. CARBONATES
7. NATIVE METALS
COMPOSITION OF MINERALS:
SILICATES
SILICATES
SILICATES

Composed primarily of silicon-

oxygen tetrahedrons (SiO42)
They are major rock-forming
minerals, including olivine
(Mg, Fe)2 SiO4) and quartz.
COMPOSITION OF MINERALS: OXIDES

OXIDES
SILICATES

Consist of metal cations bonded

to oxygen anions. Common
oxide minerals are magnetite
and hermatite.
 COMPOSITION OF MINERALS:
SULFIDES
SULFIDES
SILICATES

Consist of metal cations bonded

by sulfide.

Example: Galena and Pyrite.

 COMPOSITION OF MINERALS:
SUFATES
SULFATES
SILICATES
Consist of a metal cation bonded
to the SiO42 an ionic group. They
usually precipitate out of water
near Earth’s surface.

Example: gypsum
 COMPOSITION OF MINERALS:
HALIDES
CARBONATES

SILICATES

Characterized by the presence

of carbonic ion (CO32) which
bonds elements such as calcium
or magnesium to form calcite
or dolomite.
 COMPOSITION OF MINERALS:
HALIDES
HALIDES
SILICATES

Such as chlorine and fluorine,

which forms halite or rock salt
and fluorite.
 COMPOSITION OF MINERALS:
HALIDES
NATIVE METAL

SILICATES

Consist of a single metal such

as copper or gold.
 CYRTAL STRUCTURE OF MINERALS
CrystalStructure is dependent on the chemical
composition of the mineral.
SIX CRYSTAL SYSTEM IN GROUPING MINERALS BASED ON
STRUCTURES
 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS

These are useful for identifying minerals using systematic

method such as Dana Method.

Crystal Formation Habit

Cleavage Fracture
Luster Color
Streak Hardness
Density Magnetism
Taste Feel
Reaction to Acid
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES Crystal Formation and Habit
Minerals forms a definite structure which crystallizes into a specific
crystal form.
OUTWARD APPEARANCE of the mineral’s crystal form is its
HABIT.
 HABIT DESCRIPTION: Granular, Tabular, Dendritic, Acicular, Massive, Reniform, Drusy, or
Encrusting
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES Cleavage and Fracture
CLEAVAGE. The tendency of a mineral to break along
planes of weakness.
DESCRIPTION: Both in the number and direction of
cleavage planes and its quality (excellent, good, poor, and
absent)
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES Cleavage and Fracture

MINERALS with EXCELLENT QUALITY – will break into a

smooth, flat, parallel surface.
MINERAL with GOOD CLEAVAGE – will result in small,
smooth, step like flat surfaces. Cleavage surfaces are difficult to
identify.
MINERAL with ABSENT CLEAVAGE – Mineral that do not
have cleavage will fracture either in an irregular manner or as
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES Luster

LUSTER – describes the appearance of light as it is

reflected of its surface.
MINERAL DESCRIPTON: Metallic, like that of polish
metal.
Nonmetallic, which can vitreous (like glass), resinous
(like resin), pearlescent, silky, greasy, earthy, and dull.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES Color and Streak
COLOR – is the most obvious mineral property.
Example: Quartz is colorless but slightly impurities can produce a
variety of color, such white (like a milky quartz), yellow (like in
citrine), purple (like in amethyst), or black (like in smoky quartz)

STREAK – is the color of a mineral in its powdered

form. It can be obtained by rubbing the mineral on an
abrasive ceramic tile called streak plate.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES Hardness
Hardness of a mineral is measurement of the strength of the
chemical bond in its structure.

MOH’S SCALE OF HARDNESS – is a relative measure of

hardness using common materials and standard minerals to
represent a specific hardness value.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES Density

SPECIFIC GRAVITY – is measure of the density of a

material.
It is the weight of a mineral relative to the weight of an
equal volume of water.
 COMMON ROCK FORMING ELEMENTS
About 98% of Earth’s crust is composed of eight elements
Oxygen (46.6%)
Silicon (27.7%)
Aluminum (8.1%)
Iron (5.0%)
Calcium (3.6%)
Sodium (2.8%)
Potassium (2.6%)
Magnesium (2.1%)
 COMMON ROCK FORMING ELEMENTS

CONSIDERED ROCK-FORMING MINERALS: (A)

Silicate minerals composed primarily of silicon, (B) Oxygen.
SEVERAL ROCK FORMING MINERAL: plagioclase
feldspar, potassium feldspar, quartz, muscovite, biotite, amphibole,
pyroxene, olivine, calcite, dolomite, hematite, halite, gypsum, talc,
and chlorite
 References
Book
Cabria, H., Olivar, J., Rodolfo. R,. (2016). Exploring Life
Through Science (Earth Science). Phoenix Publishing House
Inc.
 Pictures
www.google.com

Next: Rocks and the Rock Cycle