St.
Matthew College
High School
Department Senior
High School
Earth and Life Science
Minerals and Rocks
Minerals make up the rocks beneath your feet, the soil that supports plants, and the deep rock of Earth’s
mantle. Any thorough study of Earth must include an understanding of minerals. We can learn more by
observing the ways that minerals interact with other Earth systems rather than studying minerals
isolated from the rest of the planet.
A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition and a crystalline
structure. Chemical composition and crystalline structure are the two most important properties of a
mineral: they distinguish any mineral from all others. However, let’s briefly consider the difference
between a physical and a chemical property of a mineral before going further.
What are minerals made of? Minerals and all other Earth materials are composed of chemical elements.
An element is a fundamental component of matter that cannot be broken into simpler particles by
ordinary chemical processes. Most common minerals consist of a small number—usually two to five- of
different chemical elements. Every mineral has a crystalline structure. A crystal is any solid element or
compound whose atoms are arranged in a regular, periodically repeated pattern. A crystal face is a flat
surface that develops if a crystal grows freely in an uncrowded environment
COMMON MINERALS
HALITE (table salt) GOLD and QUARTZ
For cooking as jewelry
GRAPHITE (pencil) SNOWFLAKES
For writing
Snowflakes is also a mineral, it possess the properties as a mineral. What are the requirements to be a
mineral?
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What Are Rock-Forming Minerals?
Scientists have identified over 4,000 different minerals. A small
group of these minerals make up almost 90% of the rocks of Earth’s
crust. These minerals are known as the common rock-forming
minerals.
To be considered a common rock-forming mineral, a mineral must:
A) be one of the most abundant minerals in Earth’s crust;
B) be one of the original minerals present at the time of a crustal
rock’s formation; and,
C) be an important mineral in determining a rock’s classification.
Minerals that easily meet these criteria include: plagioclase
feldspars, alkali feldspars, quartz, pyroxenes, amphiboles, micas, clays, olivine, calcite and dolomite.
MINERALOGY
- The study of minerals and their properties
- is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and
physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies
within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of
minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.
- mineralogist is a professional who studies minerals present in natural resources like rocks, ores,
and sediments.
- A mineralogist determines the physical and chemical properties of minerals, how to efficiently
retrieve them from ores and how to process them
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MINERALS
Color
it is the most obvious property but not always definitive
it can also tell the impurities present in a mineral. Example, the same mineral can be in different
colors because of different impurities
it is reliable for opaque and metallic minerals but not on transparent or translucent minerals
Galena Pyrite Amethyst Quartz
Crystal Form or Habit
it is the morphology of the crystal growth
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Hardness
it is a measure of the resistance of a mineral (not specifically
surface) to abrasion
It is measured using a hardness scale designed in 1892 by Friedrich
Mohs, a German geologist/ mineralogist which is known as the
Mohs Scale of Hardness abrasion
Streak
It refers to the colors displayed in finely powdered form
left behind when rubbed on a rough surface.
Cleavage or Fracture
Cleavage is how smoothly minerals break, if the
minerals break apart in similar pieces, it is
said to have a good cleavage
Fractured is when a mineral breaks like piece of
glass with uneven, jagged edges.
Luster
It is the quality and intensity of reflected light exhibited by the reflected light
Metallic luster – generally opaque and exhibit Non-metallic luster – vitreous (glassy),
a resplendent shine similar to a polished metal adamantine (brilliant/diamond-like) resinous,
silky, pearly, dull (earthy), greasy, among others.
Galena Shale
OTHER PROPERTIES
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Magnetism (ex. Magnetite is very magnetic)
Odor (ex. Sulfur has distinctive smell)
Taste (ex. Halite is salty)
Reaction to acid (ex. calcite fizzes with acid as with dolomite in powdered form)
COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT MINERALS
Ore minerals are minerals from which metals or other elements can be profitably
recovered. Our industrial society depends on metals such as iron, copper, lead, zinc, gold
and silver. Most of these metals are chemically bonded to other elements like iron is
commonly bonded to oxygen while copper, lead and zinc are commonly bonded to sulfur to
form sulfide ore minerals.
Industrial minerals are not ores, fuels or gems but have economic value
nonetheless. They are not considered “ore” because they are mined for purposes other than
the extraction of metals. Halite is mined for table salt, gypsum for plaster and sheetrock
while apatite and other phosphorus minerals are sources of phosphate fertilizers crucial to
modern agriculture
. Limestone is the raw material of cement. Native sulfur, used to manufacture sulfuric acid,
insecticides, fertilizer and rubber, is mined from craters of dormant and active volcanoes.
ROCKS AND ROCK CYCLE
A rock is a consolidated aggregate of various types of minerals or a consolidated
aggregate of multiple individual grains of the same kind of mineral. Geologists group rocks
into three categories on the basis of how rocks form: igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks and
metamorphic rocks.
When molten rock material cools and solidifies it becomes an igneous rock. The
molten rock matter below the Earth’s surface is called magma whereas the molten rock
material at the surface of the Earth is called lava. There are two major categories of
igneous rocks: extrusive (volcanic rock) and intrusive (plutonic rock)
Over geologic time, water and air attack rocks of all kinds at Earth’s surface
through the process called weathering, breaking them down into smaller particles. These
particles – including gravel, sand, clay and all other fragments weathered and eroded from
rock- accumulate in loose, unconsolidated layers called sediment. Sand on a beach and
mud on a lake bottom are examples of sediment. As their name implies, sedimentary rocks
are derived from sediment. After fragments accumulate, often in horizontal 14 layers,
pressure form from the addition of more material above compacts the sediment, expelling
water and reducing pore space. Cementation occurs when silica, calcium carbonate or iron
oxide bonds the fragments together. The processes of compaction and cementation
transform, or lithify, sediments into solid, coherent layers of rock. There are four major
categories of sedimentary rocks: clastic (broken fragments of solid arc), organic (rocks
that lithify from remains of organisms, both plants and animals), chemical precipitate
(forms from direct precipitation of minerals from solution) and bioclastic (composed of
broken shell fragments and similar remains of living organisms)
Metamorphic rock is formed when igneous, sedimentary or other metamorphic
rocks recrystallize in response to elevated temperature, increased pressure, chemical
change and or deformation. Metamorphism means “changing form” is the process by
which rising temperature and pressure or changing chemical conditions, transform rocks
and minerals. It can change any type of parent rock: sedimentary, igneous or even another
metamorphic rock.
There four types of metamorphism: contact metamorphism (occurs when hot
magma intrudes cooler rock of any type), burial metamorphism (results from burial of
rocks in a sedimentary basin), regional dynamothermal metamorphism (occurs when
major crustal movements build mountains and deform rocks), and hydrothermal
metamorphism (occurs when hot water and ions dissolved in the hot water react with a
rock to change its chemical composition and minerals).
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Rock cycle is a sequence of events in
which rocks are formed, destroyed, altered, and
reformed by geological processes as shown in
figure 5. It does not follow a set order, and can
take many different paths.
1. is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific
study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and
physical (including optical) properties
of minerals and mineralized artifacts.
2. make up the rocks beneath your feet, the soil that
supports plants, and the deep rock of Earth’s
mantle.
3. is a professional who studies minerals present in
natural resources like rocks, ores, and sediments.
4. it can also tell the impurities present in a mineral.
Example, the same mineral can be in different
colors because of different impurities
5. it is the morphology of the crystal growth
6. It refers to the colors displayed in finely powdered form left behind when rubbed on a
rough surface.
7. is when a mineral breaks like piece of glass with uneven, jagged edges.
8. It is the quality and intensity of reflected light exhibited by the reflected light
9. it is a measure of the resistance of a mineral (not specifically surface) to abrasion
10.is how smoothly minerals break, if the minerals break apart in similar pieces, it is said
to have a good cleavage
11.changing form metamorphism
12. IGNEUOS ROCK
13. INTRUSIVE
14. EXTRUSIVE
15. a sequence of events in which rocks are formed, destroyed, altered, and reformed by
geological processe
16. F burial metamorphism occurs when hot magma intrudes cooler rock of any type
17. T sedimentary to meta whern being expose to hig heat
18. T luster It is the quality and intensity of reflected light exhibited by the reflected light
19. F bioclastic rocks that lithify from remains of organisms, both plants and animals
20. F chemical precipitate occurs when hot water and ions dissolved in the hot water react
with a rock to change its chemical composition and minerals
21.
16-20
DIFFERENTIATE THE DIFFERENT CLASSIFICATION OF SEDIMENATRY ROCK
20-25
DIFFERENTIATE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF METAMORPHIC ROCK
1. SUBLIMATION
2. FREEZING
3. CONDENSATION
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4. MELTING
5. EVAPORATION
6. DEPOSITION
7. VOLATILITY
8. VAPOER PRESSURE
9. VISCOSITY
10.EVAPORATION
11.CAPILLARY ACTION
12.COHESION
13.ADHESION
14.AMORPHOUS SOLIDS
15.CRYSTALLINE SOLIDS
16.MOLECULAR SOLIDS
17.IONIC SOLIDS
18.METALLIC SOLIDS
19.COVALSOLIDS
1. is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and
physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts.
2. make up the rocks beneath your feet, the soil that supports plants, and the deep rock of Earth’s
mantle.
3. is a professional who studies minerals present in natural resources like rocks, ores, and
sediments.
4. it can also tell the impurities present in a mineral. Example, the same mineral can be in different
colors because of different impurities
5. it is the morphology of the crystal growth
6. It refers to the colors displayed in finely powdered form left behind when rubbed on a
rough surface.
7. is when a mineral breaks like piece of glass with uneven, jagged edges.
8. It is the quality and intensity of reflected light exhibited by the reflected light
9. it is a measure of the resistance of a mineral (not specifically surface) to abrasion
10.is how smoothly minerals break, if the minerals break apart in similar pieces, it is said
to have a good cleavage
11. Burial metamorphism occurs when hot magma intrudes cooler rock of any type
12. Sedimentary to meta when being expose to high heat
13. Luster is the quality and intensity of reflected light exhibited by the reflected light
14. Bioclastic rocks that lithify from remains of organisms, both plants and animals
15. Chemical precipitate occurs when hot water and ions dissolved in the hot water react
with a rock to change its chemical composition and minerals
16.changing form metamorphism
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17. When molten rock solidifies it becomes _____.
18. when magma solidifies it becomes ______.
19. when lava solidifies it becomes ______.
20. a sequence of events in which rocks are formed, destroyed, altered, and reformed by
geological processes.
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