ROCKS AND

MINERALS
FACTS ABOUT ROCKS & MINERALS
• Did you know that the Earth is approximately 4.8 billion
years old and rocks and minerals are produced by earth
as geological reactions (metamorphism)over million of
years?
• Did you know that meteorites are rocks from space that
help scientists to learn about the our solar system?
• Did you know that the first geologist on the moon was
Harrison Schmitt who was part of the Apollo 17 mission?
– From the rock samples he collected, scientists have been able to
learn many things about the moon.
• Did you know that quartz is one of the most common
minerals on Earth?
FACTS ABOUT ROCKS & MINERALS
• Did you know that marble forms from metamorphosed
carbonate rock, most usually limestone?
• Did you know the first recorded use of turquoise dates back
to 5000 BC in Mesopotamia, where people used the
gemstone to make beads?
• Did you know that gold is so soft and easily worked that you
could roll an ounce of it into a hair-thin wire 50 miles long?
– Did you know that the biggest pure-gold nugget weighed 156
pounds was discovered buried just inches below the surface in
Moliagul, Victoria, Australia on February 5th, 1869.
• Did you know that the “Taj Mahal” in India was built
between 1632 and 1654 and is entirely made out of marble?
FACTS ABOUT ROCKS & MINERALS
• Did you know that platinum is so rare that two million pounds of
ore may contain only one pound of metal? That is the reason why
Platinum is more costly than gold!
• The Koh-i Nur which means "Mountain of Light" in Persian, also
spelled Kohinoor, is a 105 carat (21.6 g) diamond that was once
the largest known diamond in the world.
– The Kohinoor originated at Kollur, Guntur district in the state
of Andhra Pradesh in India.
– It has belonged to various Hindu, Mughal, Persian, Afghan,
Sikh and British rulers who fought bitterly over it at various
points in Indian sub-continuant's history and seized it as a
spoil of war time and again.
– It was finally seized by the East India Company and became
part of the British Crown Jewels when Queen Victoria was
proclaimed Empress of India in 1877.
LAPIS LAZULI
• Did you know that Lapis Lazuli is treasured for its
rich blue color and is often used in jewelry?
– Ancient Egyptians used powdered lapis lazuli as eye
shadow.
JADE
• Did you know that Jade is one of the toughest
mineral and hence it is used in many cultural for
hammers, fish hooks, and stone axes.
GEODES
• Did you know that geodes are dull balls of igneous or
sedimentary rock on the outside, but contain beautiful
crystals on the inside?
– Geodes are typically rounded rocks with cavities (referred to as
‘vugs'), and have a lining of crystals pointing inward.
– Because the crystals form inside the geode, they are often protected
and form perfect crystals.
FELDSPAR & QUARTZ
• Feldspar is the most common mineral and quartz
comes in second, especially when you consider the
whole earth crust (continental plus oceanic crust).
– Feldspars (KAlSi3O8 - NaAlSi3O8 - CaAl2Si2O8) is a group of
rock-forming tectosilicate minerals which make up as
much as 60% of the Earth's crust.
• The second most common mineral of the Earth's is
quartz.
– Nearly all the sand in sandstone, in the deserts of the
world and on its riverbeds and beaches is quartz.
COPPER
• It is believed the Egyptians (as early as 3900 B.C.E.) were the first people
to create bronze, a mixture of copper and tin. This marked the beginning
of the Bronze Age.
• Copper is a chemical element and it is a ductile metal with very high
thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is rather soft and
malleable, and a freshly-exposed surface has a pinkish or peachy color.
• It is used as a thermal conductor, electric cables and wires, switches,
plumbing, heating, roofing and building construction, chemical and
pharmaceutical machinery, alloys, utensils, etc.
• The leading producer is Chile, followed by the U.S., and Indonesia.
ALUMINUM
• Aluminum is a silvery white and ductile member of the
boron group of chemical elements and it is the most
abundant metal in the Earth's crust, and the third most
abundant element therein, after oxygen and silicon.
– Aluminum is too reactive chemically to occur in nature as a free metal. Instead, it is
found combined in over 270 different minerals. The chief source of aluminum is
bauxite ore.
– Advantages of Aluminum is that it not soluble in water under normal circumstances.
It is remarkable for the metal's low density and for its ability to resist corrosion.
– Structural components made from aluminum and its alloys are vital to the aerospace
industry and are very important in other areas of transportation and building.
HYPOTHESIS
•Why are minerals
important to
humans?
CONCLUSION
• All nutrients such as vitamins, proteins, enzymes, amino acids,
carbohydrates, fats, sugars, oils, etc. require minerals for proper cellular
function.
• All bodily processes depend upon the action and presence of minerals.
• Minerals are more important to nutrition than vitamins. Vitamins are
required for every bodily biochemical process. However, vitamins
cannot function unless minerals are present.
• Minerals are needed for healing. Tissue rebuilding occurs more readily
when the body has access to the necessary minerals. This is why soaking
in water quickly heals wounds, and why, traditionally, health spas are so
popular.
• One of the reasons that women tend to be anemic is because of
improper digestion of iron. Iron is present in every food we eat,
according to the late nutritionist, “Adelle Davis”.
• We can safely conclude that the life on earth will not exist or continue
without minerals!
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
• http://www.rocksforkids.com/RFK/identification.html
• http://blog.nandugreen.com/archives/735
 Q1. Who was the
first astronaut cum
geologist, to take
rock samples from
the moon?
 The first geologist/
astronaut who took rock
samples from the moon
was Harrison Schmitt
who was part of the
Apollo 17 mission.
Q2. Lapis Lazuli was
used by ancient
Egyptians for?
Ancient Egyptians
used powdered
lapis lazuli as eye
shadow.
 Q3. An ounce of
Gold could be rolled
into how many
miles long of thin
wire?
 An ounce of Gold
could be rolled into
a hair-thin wire of
50 miles long.
 Q4. What are the
four most common
uses of Aluminum?
 Aluminum is used in
common soft drinks cans,
airplanes/cars, it is used
in house hold utensils and
in structural components
for construction industry.
Q5. The second
most common
mineral of the
Earth's is?
Quartz.