Minerals and Rocks

Minerals
“The meek shall inherit the Earth,but not
its mineral rights.” -J. Paul Getty
What is minerals?
 naturally formed, generally inorganic,
crystalline, solid and has a definite
chemical composition.
 building block of rocks
Moh’s Scale is used.
Minerology
 Branch of Geology that deals with the study of minerals
There are about 3,000 known minerals make up most rocks
Physical Properties of Minerals
Cleavage
Color  Minerals that breaks along a flat
 Usually the property used to identify surface.
minerals easily. It’s the result of Fracture
the  Minerals that breaks with lots of
way minerals absorb light. jagged edge.

Crystalline Structure
 Tells how the mineral’s
structure are arranged. A
hand
Streak lens is necessary tool in
 Color of the mineral checking for crystalline
in powder form. structure.
This
streak is
distinctive
for
minerals and is Transparency
to identify minerals.  Indicates the extent of light that
can pass through the mineral.

Hardness
 Refers to the minerals resistance in scratching.
To measure the relative hardness of minerals,
Magnetism
 Indicates the ability of a mineral to attract
or repel
other minerals. Chemical Properties of Minerals
This classification was first used in 1848 by
James Dwight Dana (1813-1895)

Tenacity
 Level of resistance or reaction of
minerals to stress such Silicate Class
as crushing,  Largest and abundant group containing Si
bending and breaking. and O with some Al, Mg, Fe, and
Calcium.

Luster
 Refers to reaction of mineral to light. It
determines how bright or dull
the
mineral is.
Carbonate
Class
 Mostly
found deposited in marine
environments.

Odor
 A distinct smell of mineral that is usually
released from chemical reaction.
Sulphate Class
 Forms in areas high evaporation rates and
where salty waters slowly evaporates.

Specific Gravity Halide Class

 Is a measure of density of minerals.  Contains natural salts includes fluorite,
Determines how heavy the metal is halite, sylvite, and sal ammoniac
by its weight to water. components and usually forms in lakes.
  Rocks differ in texture: some are fine, others are rough.
 Some are glossy in appearance and smooth to touch.
 Most rocks are hard, others are soft.
Oxide Class Rocks have 3 types:
 Is a diverse class. They are formed as Igneous Rocks.
precipitates close to Earth’s surface or  Derived from the latin word ignis meaning “fire” are crystallized from magma
oxidation products of minerals. or molten or partially molten volcanic materials came from Earth.
 Magma is the heart of any igneous rock.
 Volcanic Rocks are also called extrusive igneous rocks.
 There are over 700 types of igneous rocks, they are generally the hardest
Sulphide Class and heaviest of all rocks.
 Has important metals such as copper, lead and silver which are considered  Most common types of igneous rocks
economically significant.  Andesite
 Basalt
 Dacite
 Obsidian
 Scoria
Phosphate Class  Tuff
 Contains minerals with phosphorus.
 Volcanic bomb
Considered as important biological mineral
found in teeth and bones in many animals.

Native Element Class

 Contains metals and intermetallic
elements, semimetals
Sedimentary Rocks
nonmetals or
 They are named because they were once sediment. Sediment is a naturally
natural alloys and constituent of
occurring material that is broken down by the process of weathering.
a few
 In addition, they are formed from the deposition of different materials on
rare meteorites.
Earth’s Surface.
Classification of Sedimentary Rocks
 Clastic- small rock fragments that were transported by fluids.
 Conglomerates- are predominantly composed of rounded gravel
Rocks  Sandstones- made from many-sand-sized minerals and rocks.
“Some days are diamonds, some days are rocks” -Tom Petty  Mudrocks- made from solidified mud.
What is rocks?  Biochemical rocks- rocks that comes from biological resources.
 Are natural substance consisting of aggregate minerals clumped together  Chemical Rocks- formed mostly through water evaporation.
with other materials through natural processes.
Properties of Rocks Metamorphic Rocks
 Rocks exhibit different properties. As to color, rocks may be dark, light ,  From the word meta means “change” and morph means “from”
reddish, gray, brown, yellow o even black.
  Its derived from igneous or sedimentary that were exposed to high
temperature.
 Contact Metamorphism- rocks are so close to magma that they start to
partially melt and change.
 Regional Metamorphism- when rocks are deep underground and they are
subjected to massive pressure.
Two types of Metamorphic Rocks
 Foliated Metamorphic Rocks- pressure squeezes or elongates the crystals,
resulting in a clear preferential alignment.
 Non-foliated Metamorphic Rocks- the crystals have no preferential alignment.
Some minerals are simply don’t elongate no matter how much stress you
apply.
Most common types of Metamorphicrocks
 Amphibolite
 Schist
 Edogite
 Gneiss
 Marble
 Quartzite
 Slate