ROCKS &

MINERALS
Minerals are made
up of rocks.

Rocks are made

up of minerals.
Minerals
naturally
• Definition:
occurring, homogenous
inorganic solid which has
both a regular crystal
structure and a definite
chemical composition.
Mineral Properties

•Used to identify minerals

Color
• Least useful property in identifying
minerals.
• Why?
All of these are varieties of
quartz!
Hardness
• The ability of a mineral to resist
being scratched.
• “Scratch test”

• If mineral A can scratch mineral B,

what does that tell us about the
relative hardness of each mineral?
Luster
• How the minerals surface
reflects light.
• Metallic vs. non- metallic.
Streak
• The color of a minerals powder.
• “streak test”
 Fracture/ Cleavage
Fracture
Mineral breaks
unevenly or
irregularly

Cleavage
The tendency of a
mineral to break
evenly along its
weakest plane.
Crystal Form
• Some minerals tend to form
crystals that aid in the
identification of the mineral.
Specific Gravity
• The ratio of the density of the
mineral to the density of water (1
g/cm3)

• If a mineral has a specific gravity of

5 that means it is 5 times as dense
as water.
Others
• Acid test – Calcite
• Magnetic – Magnetite
• Taste - Halite
Mineral properties are
due to the internal
arrangement of its
atoms.
 Mineral Groups
A more stable and less
ambiguous basis for
classification of minerals is by
chemical composition.
Silicate Minerals
• Minerals that contain a combination
of silicon and oxygen.

Silicon-oxygen tetrahedron
The basic structural unit of silicate
minerals
Oxides
• Oxides – minerals containing Oxygen
anion (O2-) combined with one or
more metal ions
Sulfates
• Sulfates – minerals containing Sulfur
and Oxygen anion (SO4)- combined
with other ions
Sulfides
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.
Carbonates

Carbonates – minerals containing the

carbonate anion (CO3)2- combined
with other elements
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)
Rocks
Monomineralic Polymineralic
• 1 Mineral • More than 1
Mineral

 Rocks are classified by

how they are formed!!!
Igneous:
- Form when liquid rock cools and
solidifies
Intrusive Extrusive
• Cools below the • Cools at the Earths
earths surface surface (quickly!)
(slowwwwly!)
• Lava
• Magma • “Volcanic”
• “Plutonic”
The longer the rock takes to cool,
the larger the crystals!

• Cools slow …..Large crystals

• Cools fast …….small crystals
• Cools immediately……NO Crystals
(glass)
Vesicular- gas pockets
Sedimentary Rocks:
1. Clastics
• Rocks that form when sediments
(sand, silt etc.) are lithified.
Processes
• Compacting and cementing
2. Non-Clastics
A. Organics (bioclastics)
• Form from living things.

Examples: Coal, limestone

B. Chemical (crystaline)
• Formed from the evaporation or
precipitation of sea water.

Examples: Halite, gypsum

Metamorphic:
• Rocks that are changed due to
extreme heat and/or pressure.
• DO NOT MELT!!! (they recrystalize)

Metamorphic rocks become…

1. Harder
2. More dense
3. Banded or foliated
4. Distorted
Banding
Foliated
Regional Metamorphism
• Occurs when large areas of rock are
changed.
• Usually deep below the surface
where crustal plates collide.
Contact Metamorphism
• Occurs when liquid rock comes into
contact with other rocks.
Identifying Characteristics of
Rocks
Igneous Sedimentary
• Intergrown crystals • Cemented
• Glassy texture fragments
(sediments)
• Fossils
• Organic material
Metamorphic
•Banding
•Foliated
The Rock Cycle
BONUS:
• CLASSIFY this rock as igneous,
sedimentary or metamorphic and
EXPLAIN why you classified it that
way.
BONUS:
Name the mineral that has the
following properties:
• Non-metallic
• Can scratch fluorite but cannot
scratch quartz
• Exhibits cleavage
• Contains the elements sodium &
hydrogen