ROCKS & MINERALS
• Minerals are the
ingredients of
rocks.
Or
• Rocks are made
up of minerals.
What is Minerology?
➢The study of minerals
Minerologists- uses criteria to
determined whether a materials is
classified as minerals or not.
MINERALS
• naturally occurring
• Inorganic elements or compound
• Homogenous solid
• Definite chemical composition
• Orderly crystalline structure
Geologists first classified minerals
according to their primary chemical
composition, such as iron or copper. In
the mid-19th century, American geologist,
mineralogist, and zoologist James
Dwight Dana created a classification
system that arranged minerals first by
their chemistry and second by their
atomic structure or symmetry of the
atomic arrangement. This system is
called Dana’s System of Mineralogy.
Mineral Properties
❖ Used to identify
minerals
1. Color
• Least useful
property in
identifying All of these are varieties of quartz!
minerals.
• Why? Chromophores – Elements that
give a mineral its color
2. Streak
• The colored displayed
in finely powdered form
left behind when
rubbed on a rough
surface
• “streak test” Red hematite streak
• Sample are rubbed
across a piece of
unglazed porcelain or
Yellow sulfur streak
streak plate
3. Luster
• How the minerals surface reflects
light.
• Metallic vs. non- metallic.
Metallic
• shiny appearance of
polished metal
• sulfides, oxides, or native
elements
metallic stibnite (Sb2S3)
• Nonmetallic luster is shown by
many minerals that transmit light.
• The appearance of nonmetallic
luster varies from a highly
polished glass surface to a dull
Quartz
earthy-like appearance
Nonmetallic
Nonmetallic Lusters
Terms Used to Describe Luster of Nonmetallic Minerals
having a glassy
vitreous quartz, tourmaline
appearance
having the
resinous sphalerite, sulfur
appearance of resin
reflecting light to give a
greasy play of colors; similar to chlorite, nepheline
oil on water
having surfaces
chrysotile (asbestos),
silky appearing to be
gypsum
composed of fine fibers
Nonmetallic Lusters
Terms Used to Describe Luster of Nonmetallic Minerals
having a bright
brilliant appearance
adamantine diamond, cerussite
similar to that of
diamonds
appearing iridescent,
pearly similar to pearls or muscovite, talc
some seashells
not reflecting
significant amounts
dull kaolinite (clay), niter
of light or showing
play of colors
Vitreous Minerals
topaz, Minas Gerais, Brazil
calcite from the Pyrenees Mountains, France
Quartz (SiO2) is an excellent example. Calcite (CaCO3),
topaz (Al2SiO4F2), and fluorite (CaF2) are other
minerals that may be vitreous
Resinous Minerals
Dark metallic sphalerite with orange resinous
sphalerite (ZnS)on top
Greasy Minerals
Opal (moss opal variety) Cordierite from Madagascar
Silky, Fibrous, and Acicular Minerals
Satin spar, a variety of
gypsum(CaSO4•2H2O),
from Hot Springs County,
Wyoming
If fibers are coarse, we may
describe a mineral as fibrous
instead of silky
Mineral fibers occasionally display the
same optical properties that characterize
fiber optics – they transmit light
the acicular (needle-like) ulexite fibers
are radiating from a cluster of blocky
colemanite (a different borate mineral)
Adamantine Minerals
diamond (C) is perhaps the best-known
example. But, Herkimer diamonds, a
variety of quartz (SiO2) from Herkimer,
New York can also be adamantine.
Other minerals that are sometimes
(Real) diamond adamantine
include anglesite (PbSO4), cerussite (PbCO
3), and corundum (Al2O3). Some synthetic
minerals, including cubic zirconia (ZrO2)
are also adamantine. All these natural and
synthetic stones can have their sparkle
enhanced with proper faceting.
Herkimer diamond (quartz)
Pearly Minerals
muscovite talc
show a play of color that resembles the luster of pearls.
Light reflecting from pearly minerals may be white or
appear to have washed out rainbow colors. The play of
colors is due to a layered atomic arrangement, so pearly
minerals generally have excellent planar cleavage
These minerals are somewhat dichroic, which means their colors change with
angle of view. But, that property cannot be seen in standard photos.
Dull and Earthy Minerals
Dull minerals show no remarkable luster –
because they have non-reflective surfaces.
Kaolinite is a good example – it is usually a
fine-grained aggregate of small grains,
white, and drab. Besides kaolinite, the other
clay minerals, such as montmorillonite or
Kaolinite
illite, also have dull lusters.
Dull minerals are earthy if they
have a brownish or reddish color
resembling dirt. Common hematite
is an excellent example (although
some hematite may be metallic)..
Besides hematite, limonite and
hematite
other metal oxides and hydroxides
are commonly earthy
4. Hardness
• The ability of a mineral to resist being
scratched.
• “Scratch test”
• Mohs Hardness Scale, named after
Austrian mineralogist Friedrich Mohs
who developed it in 1812. The Mohs
scale ranks minerals by their ability to
scratch each other.
5. Fracture/ Cleavage
Fracture Cleavage
• Mineral breaks • The tendency of
unevenly or a Mineral to
irregularly break evenly
along its weakest
plane.
6. Crystal Form
• Some minerals tend to form crystals that
aid in the identification of the mineral.
❑Crystal shape
Sulfur Galena ,cube (6 sides)
Pyramidals (5 sides)
Fluorite
Octahedron (8 sides)
Rhodochrosite,
Rhombohedron
(6 sides)
Garnet
Dodecahedron (12 sides)
❑Crystal Habit
• the tendency for a mineral to repeatedly
grow into characteristic shapes
• not bound by crystal faces or symmetry
• Common ones used to describe the habit of
single crystals include equant
(equidimensional), acicular (needlelike),
tabular, and bladed
For describing an assembly of multiple crystals, we
use terms such as massive, granular, radiating, and
fibrous.
7. Specific Gravity
• The ratio of the density of the mineral to
the density of water (1 g/cm3)
• If a mineral has a specific gravity of 5
that means it is 5 times as dense as
water.
8. Others
• Acid test – Calcite
• Magnetic – Magnetite
• Taste - Halite
A rock is a naturally occurring
solid mixture of one or more
minerals, or organic matter
Rocks are classified by how
they are formed, their
composition, and texture
Rocks change over time
through the rock cycle
Rocks
➢ Refers to the solid mass of the
lithosphere
➢ Exhibit different properties, as to color
( dark, light, reddish, gray, brown,
yellow or even black)
➢ Rough different in texture ( fine or
rough)
➢ Appearance ( glossy & smooth)
➢ Most rock are hard, other are brittle
➢ Petrology- the science that concerned
the study of rocks
Igneous Rocks
• Igneous rock begins as magma.
• Magma can form:
• When rock is heated
• When pressure is released
• When rock changes composition
• Magma freezes between
700 °C and 1,250 °C
• Magma is a mixture of
many minerals
[Link]
Igneous:
- Form when liquid rock cools and solidifies
Intrusive Extrusive
• Cools below the • Cools at the Earths
earths surface surface (quickly!)
(slowwwwly!)
• Lava
• Magma • “Volcanic”
• “Plutonic”
❖The longer the rock takes to cool, the
larger the crystals!
• Cools slow …..Large crystals
• Cools fast …….small crystals
• Cools immediately……NO Crystals (glass)
Examples of extrusive
Examples of igneous rocks are:
intrusive igneous
•andesite
rocks are:
•basalt
•dacite
• diorite
•obsidian
• gabbro •pumice
• granite •rhyolite
• pegmatite •scoria
• peridotite •tuff
Properties of Igneous Rocks
• They all contain minerals.
• The majority are made up of silicate
materials.
• The process of igneous rock formation
cannot be directly observed.
• They can be fine-grained or close-
grained.
• Lava that cools quickly often has a
glassy texture.
Granite Rock
• The most common igneous rock found at the
Earth’s surface.
• Widely used in construction, granite contains
crystals that are visible to the naked eye due to
the very slow crystallization below the surface.
• It occurs in a range of vibrant colors and is one of
the strongest materials on the planet
Sedimentary
rocks are formed by
the accumulation of
sediments.
3 Main Types
• Clastic
• Chemical
• Organic
Types Sedimentary Rocks:
1. Clastics
• form from the accumulation
and lithification of
mechanical weathering Conglomerate
debris.
Processes
• Compacting and cementing
Examples breccia
breccia, conglomerate, sand
stone, siltstone, and shale.
Types Sedimentary Rocks:
. Chemical sedimentary rocks
2
form when dissolved
materials precipitate from
solution. dolomites
Examples
chert,
some dolomites, flint, iron
ore, limestones, and rock
salt.
iron ore
Types Sedimentary Rocks:
3. Organic sedimentary rocks
• form from the
accumulation of
chalk
plant or animal
debris.
Examples
chalk, coal, diatomite,
some dolomites, and coal
some limestones.
Metamorphic:
• Rocks that are changed due to extreme
heat and/or pressure.
• DO NOT MELT!!! (they recrystallize)
Metamorphic rocks become…
1. Harder
2. More dense
3. Banded or foliated
4. Distorted
METAMORPHISM does not melt the
rocks. It transforms rock into dense
and more compact materials. This
produce new materials and creates
new rocks type. PRESSURE and
TEMPERATURE can even change
previously metamorphosed rocks into
new types.
The three types of metamorphism
Contact, Regional, and Dynamic
The three types of metamorphism
Contact Metamorphism
➢occurs when magma comes in contact
with an already existing body of rock.
➢When this happens the existing rocks
temperature rises and also becomes
infiltrated with fluid from the magma.
➢produces non-foliated (rocks without
any cleavage) rocks such as marble,
quartzite, and hornfels.
The three types of metamorphism
Regional Metamorphism
➢occurs over a much larger area.
➢caused by large geologic processes such as
mountain-building.
➢These rocks when exposed to the surface
show the unbelievable pressure that cause
the rocks to be bent and broken by the
mountain building process.
➢ Regional metamorphism usually produces
foliated rocks such as gneiss and schist
The three types of metamorphism
Dynamic Metamorphism
➢ also occurs because of mountain-
building.
➢ These huge forces of heat and
pressure cause the rocks to be bent,
folded, crushed, flattened, and
sheared.
What Causes the Rock Cycle
It occurs due to:
• Plate tectonic activity
• Weathering
• Erosional processes
1) Formation of
Igneous Rock –
Melting, Cooling, and
Crystallization
MAGMA, the molten rock
present deep inside the
earth, SOLIDIFIES due to
cooling and crystallizes to
form a type of rock
called igneous rocks.
Cooling of igneous rocks
can occur SLOWLY beneath
the surface of the earth or
RAPIDLY at its surface.
2)Formation of Sedimentary Rock – Weathering,
Erosion, Sedimentation, and Compaction
Due to weathering and erosional activities, the
igneous rocks are broken down to form
sediments in the form of gravel, sand, silt, and
clay, which gets mixed and pressed together for
extended periods to form sedimentary rocks.
3)Formation of Metamorphic
Rocks – Metamorphism
Over a very long period of
time, sedimentary and
igneous rocks end up being
buried deep underground the
soil, usually because of the
movement of tectonic plates.
Deep below the surface,
these rocks are exposed to
high heat and pressure,
which change them into a
different type of rock called
metamorphic rock.
Why is the Rock Cycle Important?
• Helping in the formation of soil thus sustaining every
life forms on earth
• Forming life-sustaining minerals such as sodium,
iron, potassium, and calcium into the biosphere
• Forming the energy reserves of the earth like fossil fuels
and radioactive sources
•Providing the building materials used to build structures
such as iron, limestone, marble, granite, and basalt
•Providing raw materials for currency, investments, and
adornments such as gold, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds
