Minerals

What is a mineral?
• A naturally occurring, inorganic
solid that has a crystal structure and
a definite chemical composition.
• More than 3,000 identified minerals.
• About 20 minerals make up most
of the Earth’s crust.
 Characteristics of a mineral
1. Naturally occurring
2. Inorganic
3. Solid
4. Crystal structure
5. Definite Chemical composition.
 Naturally Occurring
• Mineral must occur
naturally on Earth
• It is a products of
Earth’s natural
processes
– Gold, copper, silver,
graphite
 Inorganic
• The mineral cannot arise from
materials that were once part of a
living thing
• Coal occurs naturally in the Earth’s
crust, but it comes from the remains
of plants and animals that lived
millions of years ago.
 Solid
• A mineral is always
solid, with a definite
volume and shape.
 Crystal Structure
• The particles of a
mineral line up in a
pattern that repeats
over and over again.
• A crystal has flat
sides, called faces,
that meet at sharp
edges.
 Definite Chemical Composition
• A mineral always
contains certain
elements in definite
proportions
– For example, the
mineral of quartz has
one
atom of silicon for
every to atoms of
oxygen.
 How do we identify a mineral?
• Each mineral has its own specific properties
that can be used to identify it.
1. Color
2. Streak
3. Hardness
4. Cleavage
5. Crystalline structure
6. Diaphaneity
7. Luster
8. Tenacity
• There are substances that meet 3 of the 4
criteria, and are called mineralloids
 
 Example: Opal – does not have an orderly

arrangement of atoms
B. How many minerals are there?
- 3500 known minerals in the Earth’s crust
- Minerals combine to form all rocks on Earth
 Rock type depends on mineral composition
- 20 minerals combine to form 95% of all rocks
on Earth.
C. Physical Properties
- All minerals have at least 9 physical properties
that can be used to define, describe, and
identify them as unique minerals.
1. Color – every mineral is some color and some
are found in multiple colors
•  could be very helpful and distinctive, or
could be very ambiguous
 • Color can be used to identify only those few Color
minerals that always have their own
characteristic color.
– Malachite is always green
– Azurite is always blue
• Many minerals, however, like quartz, can occur
in a variety of colors.
2. Streak – the color of the pulverized powder of
a mineral
• A streak test can provide a clue to a Streak
minerals identity.
• The streak of a mineral is the color
of its
powder.
• You can observe a streak by rubbing a
mineral against a streak plate.
The color could be
different from the
crystal’s color, and
is always distinctive
3. Hardness – the scratchability of a mineral, or a
mineral’s durability
Uses the Moh’s Hardness scale with a rating
system of 1-10
*1 = very soft
*10 = hardest
substance known to man
*A streak plate has a hardness
of 7
 Hardness
• In 1812, Friedrich Mohs, a mineral expert,
invented a test to describe and compare
the hardness of minerals.
• The scale ranks ten minerals from softest
to hardest.
• A mineral can scratch any mineral softer
than itself.
 Mohs
Hardness
Scale
Moh’s Hardness Scale
4. Mineral Cleavage – the ability of a mineral to
break, when struck along specific planes
Based on the
bonding between
atoms
Where the
bonds are
weakest =
breakage plane
 5. Crystal shape / External Crystal Form / Crystal System
 a set of faces that have a
definite
geometric relationship to
each other
 6. Diaphaneity/amount of transparency
ability to allow light to pass through it.
This is affected by chemical makeup of the
mineral sample
7. Luster – the manner in which a mineral
reflects light
 Glassy – reflects light like a piece of glass does
 Metallic – reflects light like a piece of metal does
 Luster
• Luster is the way a mineral reflects light from its surface.
• Minerals containing metals are often shiny.
• Other minerals, such as quartz, have a glassy luster.
 8. Tenacity
describes the minerals reaction to stress
 Tenacity
1. Brittleness – a minerals turns into powder
2. Malleability – a mineral can be flattened by pounding by a hammer
3. Ductility – a mineral can be stretched into wire
4. Flexible but inelastic – minerals are bent but they remain in the
new position
5. Flexible and elastic – minerals are bent and they bring back to their
original position
6. 6. Sectility – ability of minerals to be sliced by a knife
 9. Other Special Properties
• Striations – straight parallel lines on the flat surface of the
cleavage directions
 9. Other Special Properties
• Magnetism – some minerals with large amounts of iron oxide
are attracted to magnets