21 Feb 2018

Chapter 2:
MINERALOGY
minerals???
Mineral water?
•  Mineral water= naturally or artificially
added minerals.

•  is defined by its having over 250 parts per

million (ppm) of a mineral substance (?).

•  Most water has to be processed to reach

250ppm!...right?
 Minerals to us:

mineral = any naturally occurring

inorganic solid that possesses an
orderly crystalline structure and a
definite chemical composition.
•  Naturally occurring:
Minerals formed by natural, geological
processes. …… synthetic diamonds
and rubies and other useful materials
produced in a laboratory are not
minerals.
•  inorganic:
Inorganic crystalline solids, example, ordinary
table salt (halite), that are found naturally in the
ground are considered minerals.
•  Solid substance:
Minerals are solids within the temperature
ranges normally experienced at Earth’s
surface. Thus, ice (frozen water) is
considered a mineral, whereas liquid
water and water vapor are not.
•  Orderly crystalline
structure:
Minerals are crystalline
substances, which means
their atoms are arranged in
an orderly, repetitive
manner.

the orderly arrangement of

sodium and chloride ions
in the mineral halite…….
results in regularly shaped
cubic crystals.
•  Definite chemical composition:
Most minerals are chemical compounds made
up of two or more elements…exceptions..e.g.
gold, diamond, ice…
…so….minerals (?) in mineral water such as
calcium, sodium, magnesium, and iron ???…
…..are these minerals?…… or..just elements?
.
 Minerals: examples

SiO4

Si-O-Si bond
 Minerals… in comparison with
rocks

•  Rocks…OR… a rock is any solid mass of

minerals or mineral-like matter that occurs
naturally as part of our planet.
•  =aggregate of minerals ?
•  The term aggregate implies that the minerals
are joined in such a way that the properties of
each mineral are retained.
•  There are rocks which are composed of non-
mineral matter including the volcanic rocks
pumice, which consists of solid organic debris.
What is stone?
Minerals= Building Blocks of Rocks

Rocks are
aggregates of
one or more
minerals.
 Quick revision
Atom (a = not, tomos = cut) = smallest particle
that retains the essential characteristics of an
element.
The central region of an atom = nucleus.
nucleus contains protons and neutrons.
Protons = very dense particles with positive
electrical charges.
Neutrons have the same mass as a proton but
lack an electrical charge.
Orbiting the nucleus are electrons.
…valence
electron found
in the
outermost
principal shell.
Chemical bonding of
sodium and chlorine atom

= sodium chloride

=table salt

….ionic bonding =
transfer of one electron
 Are the minerals you talked about
in class the same as those found
in dietary supplements?

….a mineral must be a naturally

occurring crystalline solid.
Minerals found in dietary supplements are
human-made inorganic compounds that
contain elements needed to sustain life.
 ..well.. We said that…”Minerals are
solids formed by inorganic
processes……...BLA-BLA-BLA…..”
…BUT… how do you classify and
recognise/identify minerals?
…..so……
Movie 1-group the minerals into classes (28min)
•  Cleavage:
Cleavage (kleiben = carve) = tendency of a
mineral to cleave or break, along planes of weak
bonding.
cleavage is described by the number of planes
exhibited and the angles at which they meet.
Do not confuse cleavage with crystal form!

Sheet-type cleavage
common to the micas.
Common
cleavage
directions
exhibited by
minerals.
 Isometric=cubic, eg: halite, pyrite

Hexagonal eg: quartz, corundum, calcite

Tetragonal,=4 sided eg: chalcopyrite

Orthorombic –eg epidote

microcline
Movie: 11 min +
 Identifications-hardness

•  Hardness:
One of the most useful diagnostic properties is hardness,
a measure of the resistance of a mineral to abrasion or
scratching. Geologist use a standard hardness scale
(relative hardness), called the Mohs scale. (Friedrich
Mohs, 1773-1839)
Identifications-hardness-mohr scale

Mohs
scale of
hardness,
with the
hardness
of some
common
objects.
Identifications-hardness-
mohr scale
ROCK forming minerals: Mineral Groups

Most of the rocks Earth’s crust and as

such are classified as the rock-forming
minerals. It is also interesting to note that
only 8 elements make up the bulk of those
minerals and represent over 98% (by
weight) of the continental crust.
Mineral Groups

Relative
abundance
of the 8 most
abundant
elements in
the
continental
crust.
Are these silicates the same
materials used in silicon computer
chips and silicone breast
implants????
 Not really…..but….
they contain the element silicon (Si).
Silicone – the material used in breast
implants – is a silicon-oxygen polymer gel
that feels rubbery and is water repellent,
chemically inert and stable at extreme
temperatures…
… but…
. Where do all these elements come
from????.......CH 1
Movie-Soil formation ( 4 min +)
Next: clays