LESSON 3 4 5identify Common Rock Forming Minerals Using Their Physical 1

IDENTIFY COMMON ROCK
FORMING MINERALS
USING THEIR PHYSICAL
AND CHEMICAL
PROPERTIES
MINERALS
• A naturally occurring substance with distinctive
chemical and physical properties, composition
and atomic structure.
• Substance naturally formed in the Earth.
• Typically solid, inorganic, have a crystal structure
and are formed by geological processes naturally.
• Consist of a single chemical element or
compound more usually.
ROCKS
• Are generally made up of two
or more minerals, mixed up
through geological processes.
• Naturally occurring solids
composed of one or more
minerals.
MINERALOGY
•The study of minerals and their
properties.
MINERALOGIST
•A scientist trained in
mineralogy or a
person who studies
minerals.
5 REQUIREMENTS FOR A SUBSTANCE
TO BE CLASSIFIED AS A MINERAL
1. Naturally occurring- not man made.
2. Inorganic- not by product of living things.
3. Solid- not liquid or gas.
4. Definite chemical composition- means that all occurrences of
that mineral have a chemical composition identical with in a
specific limited range.
5. Ordered crystal structure- atoms in a mineral are arranged in
a systematic and repeating patterns.
MINERALS CAN BE DISTINGUISHED BASED ON
PHYSICAL & CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
Useful physical properties to identify a mineral includes:
1. Color 5. Hardness
2. Streak 6. Cleavage/Fracture
3. Luster 7. Tenacity
4. Specific gravity 8. Crystal habit/form
COLOR
• It is the appearance of the object caused by light either
being reflected or emitted.
• Color of a mineral is the first thing most people are
noticed. But it can also be the least useful in identifying
minerals.
STREAK
• It refers to the color displayed in finely powdered
form, left behind when rubbed on a rough surface.
• It can be useful for identifying metallic & earth
minerals.
LUSTER
• It refers to how light is reflected from the surface of
a mineral.
• There are several ranges of terms to used to describe
a minerals luster.
• Greasy, silky, metallic, earthy & vitreous.
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
•It is the ratio of the density of the mineral
and the density of water.
•Heaviness of a mineral.
HARDNESS
• It is the measure of the resistance of a mineral to abrasion
or scratches.
• 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.
Mohs scale of hardness
CLEAVAGE
• It is how smoothly the minerals break apart in similar pieces, it is said to have
a good cleavage.
• Tendency of a mineral to split & cleave along planes of weakness.
FRACTURE
• When a mineral breaks like a piece of glass which uneven, jagged edges.
TENACITY
•Refers to the behavior of the mineral under
deformation or stress such as cutting, crushing,
bending, or hitting.
CRYSTAL HABIT/ FORM
•It refers to the growth crystal patterns of a
mineral as single or aggregated.
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF
MINERALS
• Depend on their chemical formula and crystal structure.
Solubility- it refers the ability of a substance to dissolve in a solvent of

a specified temperature.
Melting point- it refers to the temperature at which solid turns into
liquid.
CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC
TECHNIQUES
•Such as x-ray diffraction are performed to
determined the crystal structure of the mineral.
COMMON- ROCK FORMING
MINERALS
• Or also known as the most abundant minerals in
Earth’s crust.
• They are minerals present at the time of a rock's
formation and are important minerals in determining
the rock’s identity.
The most abundant element in the
continental crust
TO BE CONSIDERED A COMMON ROCK
FORMING MINERALS, A MINERAL MUST BE:
• Be one of the most abundant minerals in Earth’s Crust
• Be one of the original minerals present at the time of a crustal

rock’s formation.
• Be an important mineral in determining a rock’s

classification.
MINERALS THAT EASILY MET THESE CRITERIAS
OR COMMON ROCK FORMING MINERALS ARE:
• Plagioclase feldspars • Micas

• Alkali feldspars • Clays
• Quartz • Olivine
• Pyroxenes • Calcite & Dolomite
• Amphiboles
COMMON ROCK FORMING
MINERALS
• The most common rock forming minerals are quartz,
feldspar, mica, pyroxene, amphibole and olivine.
• All of the ff. silicate minerals except for quartz are mineral
groups.
QUARTZ
• Is a glassy looking,
transparent translucent
mineral which varies in
colored from white and
grey to smoky
FELDSPAR
• It is other common light-
colored rock forming
mineral.
• Generally dull to opaque
which a porcelain- like
appearance.
MICA
• Any group of hydrous
potassium aluminum
silicate minerals.
• Mica maybe white &
pearly.
PYROXENE
• The most common pyroxene minerals is Augite.
Augite - Dark green to black in color and form short

stubby crystals have square or rectangular cross sections.
• Has a glassy luster with streaks of white,

light green or light brown. It has
generally black in color and has stubby
prismatic crystals.
AMPHIBOLE
• Has dark color with a Moh’s hardness
ranging from 5 to 6.
Horn blende – This is the most
common amphibole.
- Glassy luster and
an opaque characteristics. Its crystals
are very long and thin.
OLIVINE
• Or peridot in the jewelry trade
is yellow green, translucent and
glassy looking.
• Does not have a well developed
cleavage.
CALCITE
CLAYS
• Clay minerals are very fine grained and
difficult to tell apart in the field.
• Clays are plastic and often sticky when
wet they feel smooth when smeared
between the fingers.
• Vary in color white to grey, brown, red,
dark green and black.
MAGNETITE
• Magnetite is a mineral and
one of the main iron ores,
with the chemical formula
Fe²⁺Fe3+2O₄. It is one of
the oxides of iron, and is
ferrimagnetic; it is attracted
to a magnet and can be
magnetized to become a
permanent magnet itself.
PYRITE
• The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, also
known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide
with the chemical formula FeS₂.
Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide
mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and
pale brass-yellow hue give it a
superficial resemblance to gold,
hence the well-known nickname of
fool's gold.
TALC
• Talc, or talcum, is a clay mineral
composed of hydrated magnesium
silicate, with the chemical formula
Mg 3Si 4O 10(OH) 2. Talc in
powdered form, often combined
with corn starch, is used as baby
powder. This mineral is used as a
thickening agent and lubricant.
Classification of rocks or Types of Rocks
IGNEOUS ROCKS
• Form from magma or lava solidification.
• Hard, no layers, dense, resistant to weathering, often exhibit crystalline structure.
The word igneous comes from the Latin word “ignis” which means “of fire”. These rocks
fall into 2 groups based on where the magma solidifies.
 Intrusive igneous rocks- From when magma cools & solidifies beneath the Earth’s surface.
 Extrusive Igneous Rocks- Form from Lava. It is also most extrusive rocks have small crystals.
Lava- Lava result when magma reaches the Earth’s surface from a volcanic
eruption and then cools quickly.
SEDIMENTARY
• Forms from sediment compaction
• Sedimentary rocks form by the accumulation and cementation of mineral por organic particles
on the Earth’s surface often in water bodies.
Sedimentary rocks falls into 3 subtypes:

Clastic sedimentary rocks- They often contain fragments or clasts of other rocks and
minerals.
Chemical sedimentary rocks- Form when mineral constituents in solutions become
supersaturated and inorganic precipitation occurs.
Organic sedimentary rocks- It result from the accumulation of plant or animal debris.
METAMORPHIC
• It forms by transformation of other rocks relatively hard may or may not have layers.
• MR start out as other rocks that are modified by heat, pressure and chemical processes. Usually
these processes occur deep below Earth’s surface.
2 main types of MR are foliated and non-foliated:

Foliated Metamorphic Rocks- Have layered or banded appearance produced by exposure to
heat & directed pressure.
Non-foliated Metamorphic Rocks- Do not have layered and banded appearance.
- They often lack minerals that form plates such as mica.
ATROPHIC ROCKS
• Its how concept in field of geology rocks altered or
produced by human activities comes from Greek
avoid Anthropos which treats humans.

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IDENTIFY COMMON ROCK

Useful physical properties to identify a mineral includes:

• It is measured using a hardness scale designed in 1892 by

Solubility- it refers the ability of a substance to dissolve in a solvent of

• Be one of the most abundant minerals in Earth’s Crust

• Be one of the original minerals present at the time of a crustal

• Be an important mineral in determining a rock’s

• Plagioclase feldspars • Micas

Augite - Dark green to black in color and form short

• Has a glassy luster with streaks of white,

Sedimentary rocks falls into 3 subtypes:

2 main types of MR are foliated and non-foliated:

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