Minerals: Chapter 2: Lesson 1

In 2008, crystals up
to 39 feet long were

found in a cave in
Mexico at a depth of
1000 feet. The cave
is extremely hot,
with air
temperatures
reaching 136 °F with
90 to 99 % humidity.
The cave is
relatively
unexplored due to
these conditions.
Without proper Chapter 2: Lesson 1
MINERALS
protection, people
can only endure
about ten minutes of
exposure at a time.
The Earth’s crust is made up of two things:
•Minerals and Rocks
Coal
Gneiss
Scoria
Rocks are
combinations
of minerals
Minerals are ***You should see lots of
individual crystals different
of all the same stuff minerals in every single rock
What is a MINERAL?
•A mineral is a naturally occurring, solid
crystalline substance, generally inorganic, with
a specific chemical composition
Where do minerals come from?
 Mineral crystals can form in two main ways:
From stuff From Cooling

dissolved in liquids molten material
(Evaporation & Hot Water)
Minerals & Crystals from
Magma & Lava
“Extrusive” Cooling:
Lava cools Fast
(Short Time = Small Crystals)
• Minerals form from hot magma as it

cools inside the crust, or as lava cools on
the surface.
• When these liquids cool to a solid, they
form crystals (minerals).
• Size of the crystal depends on time it
takes to freeze into a solid.
“Intrusive” Cooling:
Magma cools slowly
(Long Time = Large Crystals)
Minerals Crystal Size
Minerals Crystal Size
When the hot material cools fast, it has smaller
crystal size. When it cools slowly, it has large
crystals.
Rhyolite
Granite
You can see You can’t see many

individual crystals individual crystals in Rhyolite
in Granite = cooled slowly = cooled very fast
Minerals formed by Evaporation
 Some minerals form when solutions/mixtures
evaporate:
When water evaporates, it leaves behind the stuff
that’s dissolved in it.
 The longer it takes to evaporate, the larger the crystal.
 i.e. salt & water – ocean,
 Halite, Gypsum, Calcite.
***All the white stuff = salt mineral crystals that formed
when the water of this lake evaporated.
The mineral material was left behind
These salt crystals formed from salt water
because as the water evaporated, the salt wasn’t
dissolved anymore. So the chemical energy in
salt takes over and crystals form.
Do you notice the characteristic cubic
crystalline shapes?
Large individual crystals (rare)
Mass of small grains: each is a crystal,
but grown up against each other
Quartz Amethyst
Halite
Gypsum
Characteristics of Minerals
1. Inorganic
2. Forms and exists in
nature
3. Crystalline solid (atoms
are arranged in a regular
pattern)
4. Consistent chemical
composition Fluorite
Mineral or Nonmineral?
Mineral or Non mineral?
Ice?
Salt?
Sugar?
Rock?
Charcoal?
Kinds of Minerals
• Scientists have identified 3,000 minerals
• Of those minerals, there are 20 common rockforming
minerals
• All minerals are divided into 2 main groups: Silicate
and Nonsilicate Minerals
Silicates Nonsilicates
Silicate Minerals
• Minerals that contain a combination of silicon and
oxygen atoms
• Silicate minerals other than quartz have one or more
additional elements such as Ca, Na, K, Fe, or Mg
• Silicate minerals make up 96% of Earth’s crust
• Quartz and feldspar make up more than 50% of the
crust
Quartz (SiO2) Feldspar
Silicate Minerals
Classification
MAFIC Silicates – generally contain Iron (Fe) or
Magnesium (Mg) and are dark in color. (Examples are
olivine, pyroxene, amphibole and biotite mica)
FELSIC Silicates – contain Potassium (K) or Sodium
(Na) and Aluminum (Al) and are light in color.
(Examples are feldspar, quartz, clay mineral, and
muscovite)
Nonsilicate Minerals
• Minerals that do not contain a combination of
silicon and oxygen atoms
• Nonsilicate minerals make up 4% of Earth’s
crust
• There are 6 major classes of nonsilicate
minerals
Classification
of Nonsilicate
Minerals
Metallic Minerals
• Those that are made up of heavy metallic
elements.
• Copper, Iron, Gold, Silver, Chromium, Nickel
and others
NonMetallic Minerals
• Lack the properties of metallic minerals.
Examples are calcite, quartz, talc and gypsum
Gem Minerals
• Those that possess unique bright colors
• Commonly used for jewelry
• Examples are jade, sapphire, ruby, opal and
garnet.
Mineral Composition
• Minerals are usually
compounds made of
the most common
elements in the crust
Topaz
Silicates Al2SiO4(F,OH)3
The largest group
of minerals
Composed of:
Metal + SiO2
Carbonates Calcite
CaCO3
The second largest
group of minerals
Composed of:
Metal + CO3
Oxides
Composed of:
Metal + O
Magnetite Fe3O4
Sulfates
Composed of:
Metal + SO4
Barite BaSO4
Example:
Halides
Composed of:
Metal + halogen
Halogens include:
Chlorine
Fluorine
Bromine Fluorite
Iodine
CaF2
Sulfides Chalcocite
Cu2S
Composed of:
Metal + Sulfur
Phosphates
Composed of:
Metal + PO4
Apatite
Ca5(PO4)3(OH,F,Cl)
Nitrates
Composed of:
Metal + NO3
Niter
KNO3
Native Elements
Composed of:
A single element
Gold (Au)
How to Identify
Minerals
Physical Properties
Mineralogists identify minerals based on a
number of specific physical properties:
Habit
Luster
Cleavage and Fracture
Hardness
Streak
Color
Habit
• Refers to the overall
shpe or growth or
pattern of the mineral.
Equant
3D like that of a
cube/pshere
Elongate
prismatic/prismlike
crystals, thicker as pencil
Platy
flattened and thin
crystal
Hexagonal:
Amethyst
Monoclinic:
Gypsum
Triclinic:
Kyanite
Luster
• Light reflected from the mineral’s surface
• Quantity and quality of light reflected from the
exterior surface of the mineral.
• Can be opaque, transparent, dull or shiny
• Metallic luster is opaque and reflective (Gold & Silver)
• All other minerals have
• nonmetallic luster: waxy, pearly, glassy,
dull/earthy, or virtuous/brilliant
Pyrite: Metallic,
Shiny Luster
Halite :
NonMetallic Translucent Luster
Sulfur :
NonMetallic Waxy Luster
Cleavage and Fracture
• Cleavage is the tendency
of a mineral to break along
very smooth, flat and
shiny surfaces
• Fracture is when the
mineral does not split along
cleavage planes
• Fracture can be irregular,
fibrous, or conchoidal
Cleavage and Fracture
• Cleavage occurs in
one, two, or three
directions
Hardness
• A measure of the ability of a
mineral to resist scratching
• Hardness does NOT mean
resistance to cleavage
planes!!
• Hardness relates to the
strength of bonds between
the minerals atoms
• (Ex: Diamond vs. Graphite)
Moh’s Hardness Scale
• To determine an unknown mineral’s
hardness, you need to scratch it against
a mineral of known hardness
Rubies are cut from
Color corundum with traces of
Chromium (Cr)
• Easy to observe
• Unreliable on its own
• Trace amounts of certain
elements can greatly effect
color of some minerals (ex:
sapphires and rubies)
• Weathering can also cause
changes in color
Sapphires are cut from
corundum with traces of
Cobalt (Co)
Different Colors
of Calcite
Different
Colors of
Fluorite
Different Colors
of Quartz
Streak
• Color of mark of or powder
left by rubbing against a
streak plate: unglazed tile
• More reliable information
than color
• Minerals that are harder
than the streak plate will
leave no streak
Special Properties of Minerals
Some minerals exhibit
special properties that can
also be used for identification
such as:
Fluorescence
Phosphorescence
Double Refraction
Magnetism
Radioactivity
These
minerals
glow
in the
dark.
A black
light really
Fizzing! brings it
out!
The particles of
minerals
of this rock act like
magnets
The minerals in
this rock react
with acid
How Do We Identify Minerals?
We use the different physical and chemical properties
of the mineral to identify it from other different minerals
Luster: Describes how light is reflected from a minerals surface.
Streak: Is the color of the minerals powder when dragged across a surface.
Habit: Different minerals make different crystal shapes
Hardness: Hardness is determined by a “scratch test”.
Color: Every mineral has some natural color…ex: Gold, Blue, Clear…
Etc: There are many other types of properties we use but these are the big ones

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Minerals: Chapter 2: Lesson 1

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In 2008, crystals up

to 39 feet long were

From stuff From Cooling

• Minerals form from hot magma as it

You can see You can’t see many

Hardness: Hardness is determined by a “scratch test”.

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