MINERALS & ROCKS

Learning Objectives

a. I can describe how much minerals are part of our daily lives.
b. I can describe minerals as a life-long hobby.
c. I can describe the importance and use of minerals to human
development.
d. I can develop a systematic way of identifying minerals.
 A mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic solid with orderly
crystalline structure and a definite chemical composition. These are the
basic building blocks of rocks.
 W h a t a b o u t
WATER?
Do you consider water a mineral? How about snowflake or tube ice?

Water is NOT a mineral since it is not solid and crystalline.

Tube ice is not because it is not naturally occurring.
Snow flake meets all requirements in defining a mineral.
M I N E R A L P R O P E R T I E S
Name HALITE (TABLE SALT)

Chemical Composition
Luster
Hardness
Color
Streak
Crystal Form / Habit
Cleavage
Specific Gravity
Other Properties
Name HALITE (TABLE SALT)

Chemical Composition NaCl

Luster Non-metallic – vitreous;
transparent to translucent
Hardness Soft (2-2.5)
Color White
Streak White
Crystal Form / Habit Cubic
Cleavage Perfect cubic
Specific Gravity Light (2.2)
Other Properties Salty taste; very soluble; produces
reddish spark in flame
THE DIFFERENT MINERAL PROPERTIES

1. Luster – it is the quality and intensity of reflected

light exhibited by the mineral
a. Metallic – generally opaque and exhibit a
resplendent shine similar to a polished metal
b. Non-metallic – vitreous (glassy), adamantine
(brilliant/diamond-like), resinous, silky, pearly, dull
(earthy), greasy, etc.

2. Hardness – it is a measure of the resistance of a

mineral (not specifically surface) to abrasion.
Moh’s Scale of Hardness
 What are the pros and cons in using the Mohs scale of
hardness?

PROS CONS
Easy to do the test The scale is qualitative and not
quantitative
Can be done anywhere, anytime as long Cannot be used to test accurate
as the place is not dark hardness of
industrial materials
Mohs scale is highly relevant for field
geologists to roughly identify minerals
using scratch kits
Can be done without or few kits – handy
THE DIFFERENT MINERAL PROPERTIES

3. Color and streak

 Color maybe a unique identifying property of certain minerals (e.g. malachite –

green, azurite – blue). There are also lots of minerals that share similar or the same
color/s. In addition, some minerals can exhibit a range of colors. The mineral quartz
for example, can be pink (rose quartz), purple (amethyst), orange (citrine), white
(colorless quartz) etc.
 Streak on the other hand is the color of a mineral in powdered form. Note that the
color of a mineral could be different from the streak. For example, pyrite (FeS2)
exhibits golden color (hence the other term of pyrite which is Fool’s Gold) but has a
black or dark gray streak. Streak is a better diagnostic property as compared to
color. Streak is inherent to almost every mineral. Color maybe unreliable for
identification as impurities within the minerals may give the minerals a different
color.
THE DIFFERENT MINERAL PROPERTIES

4. Crystal Form/Habit

 The external shape of a crystal or groups of crystals is displayed / observed

as these crystals grow in open spaces. The form reflects the supposedly
internal structure (of atoms and ions) of the crystal (mineral). It is the natural
shape of the mineral before the development of any cleavage or fracture.
Examples include prismatic, tabular, bladed, platy, reniform and equant. A
mineral that does not have a crystal structure is described as amorphous.
The crystal form also define the relative growth of the crystal in 3 dimension
which are its length, width and height.
THE DIFFERENT MINERAL PROPERTIES

5. Cleavage

 It is the property of some minerals to break along parallel repetitive planes

of weakness to form smooth, flat surfaces. These planes of weakness are
inherent in the bonding of atoms that make up the mineral. These planes
of weakness are parallel to the atomic planes and appear to be repeating
within the mineral. When minerals break evenly in more than one
direction, cleavage is described by the number of cleavage directions and
the angle(s) between planes (e.g. cleavage in 2 directions at 90 degrees to
each other).
THE DIFFERENT MINERAL PROPERTIES
6. Fracture – Some minerals may not have cleavages but exhibit broken
surfaces that are irregular and non-planar. Quartz for example has an
inherent weakness in the crystal structure that is not planar. Examples of
fracture are conchoidal, fibrous, hackly, and uneven among others.

7. Specific Gravity – It is the ratio of the weight of a mineral to the weight

of an equal volume of water. A bucket of silver (SG 10) would weigh 10
times more than a bucket of water (SG 1). It is a measure to express the
density (mass per unit volume) of a mineral. The specific gravity of a
mineral is numerically equal to density.

8. Others – There are certain unique properties of minerals that actually

help in their identification (e.g. magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction
to acid, etc.). Magnetite is strongly magnetic; sulfur has distinctive smell;
halite is salty; calcite fizzes with acid as with dolomite but in powdered
form.
M I N E R A L G R O U P S
CHALLENGE:

Think of a “systematic way”

to group minerals together.
A more stable and less ambiguous basis for classification of minerals is by
chemical composition.
1. Silicates – minerals containing 2 of the most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust, namely,
silicon and oxygen. When linked together, these two elements form the silicon oxygen
tetrahedron- the fundamental building block of silicate minerals. Over 90% of the rock-forming
minerals belong to this group. Aside from Si (46.6 % by wt.) and O (27.7%), the other most
common elements that make the earth’s crust are Al (8.1), Fe (5.0), Ca (3.6), Mg (3.1), Na (2.8)
and K 2.6).
2. Oxides – minerals containing Oxygen anion (O2-) combined with one or more metal ions
3. Sulfates – minerals containing Sulfur and Oxygen anion (SO4)- combined with other ions
4. Sulfides – minerals containing sulfur anion (S2)- combined with one or more ions. Some sulfides
are sources of economically important metals such as copper, lead and zinc.
5. Carbonates – minerals containing the carbonate anion (CO3)2- combined with other elements
6. Native Elements – minerals that form as individual elements.
a. Metals and Inter-metals – minerals with high thermal and electrical conductivity, typically
with metallic luster, low hardness (gold, lead)
b. Semi-metals – minerals that are more fragile than metals and have lower conductivity
(arsenic, bismuth)
c. Nonmetals – nonconductive (sulfur, diamond)
7. Halides – minerals containing halogen elements combined with one or more elements
ACTIVITY 

Mineral Decision Tree

and
Mineral Identification
Charts
 Based on the discussed topics and examples,
select ten (10) different rock-forming minerals
(known or unknown to students) and determine the
different properties that can be used to identify
them. Write the data in a Manila paper using
markers. Include which chemical family group these
minerals belong. The team will then select a leader
to present their output to the class.
 ASS IG N M E NT

Think of 5 minerals and their common

uses and identify the specific
property/properties that made them for that
purpose (e.g. graphite, having a black
streak and hardness of 1-2, is used in
pencils due to its ability to leave marks on
paper and other objects).
LET’S SEE HOW WELL
YOU’VE LEARNED.

1. What are the characteristics that define a mineral?
Answer: naturally occurring, inorganic, solid, crystalline, and must have a
consistent chemical composition

2. Which among the following mineral groups, if any, contain silicon: halides, carbonates
or sulfides? Explain.
Answer: None. The identified mineral groups are non-silicates

3. Which is more abundant in the Earth’s crust: silicates or all the other mineral groups
combined? Explain.

Answer: Silicates. Silicon and oxygen are the main components of silicates and
these are the two most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust.

4. An unknown opaque mineral has a black streak and has a density of 18g/cm3. Is the
mineral metallic or non-metallic?
Answer: The mineral is more likely to be metallic because it is opaque and metallic
minerals are usually heavy and with dark streaks.
5. What is the difference between a mineral's streak and color? Why is streak more reliable
for rock identification?
Answer: Streak is the color of a mineral in powdered form. It is more reliable because
it is inherent to most minerals. Color is not reliable because mineral can be formed
with varieties of color, an effect of impurities and weathering.

6. Differentiate habit and a cleavage plane.

Answer: Habit is the external shape of a crystal that is developed during the
formation of the mineral. Cleavage plane is a plane of weakness that maybe formed in
a crystal after the crystal formation.

7. Is it possible for a mineral to have a prismatic habit without having any cleavage? Why or
why not? If yes, give an example.
Answer: Yes, the prismatic habit is simultaneously developed while the mineral is
growing. During the process, there is no repetitive plane of weakness being created
which makes the mineral break only by fracturing. An example of this scenario is
quartz.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!