ROCKS AND MINERALS

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 MINERALS

Minerals - naturaly formed, generally inorganic. crystalline.solid and has a

definite chemical composition.building blocks of rocks
Mineralogy - Branch of Geology that deals with the study of Minerals

There are about 3,000 known minerals, of that 20 minerals make up

most rocks.
 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS
1. Color
2. Streak
3. Hardness
4. Cleavage and Fracture
5. Crystalline structure
6. Transparency or diaphaneity
7. Magnetism
8. Tenacity
9. Luster
10. Odor
11. Specific Gravity
 COLOR

1. Color - usually the property used to identify minerals easily. It is the

result of the way minerals absorb light. It is also caused by impurities (e.g.
Iron) and differences/damage in crystal structure.

Some Colors of Quartz

 STREAK

2. Streak - is the color of the mineral in powder form.For opaque

minerals, if you rub the sample across astreak plate, it will leave a colored
powder. This streak is distinctive for minerals and is used to identify
minerals.
 HARDNESS

3. Hardness - refers to the measure of the mineral’s resistance to

scratching.Minerals with higher numbers will scratch minerals below. To
measurethe relative hardness of minerals, the Moh's scale is used.
 CLEAVAGE AND FRACTURES

4. Cleavage and Fractures - used to describe how minerals break into pieces. Some
minerals split along flat surfaces (called cleavage planes) when struck hard--this is
called mineral cleavage.Other minerals break unevenly along rough or curved surfaces-
-this is called fracture . A few minerals have both cleavage and fracture ( mica )
 CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE

5. Crystalline structure - crystal lattice, tells how a mineral’s crystals are

arranged. A hand lens is anecessary tool in checking for crystalline
structure.
crystal solid - form regular repeating three dimensional crystal lattice
amorphous solid - forms aggregates that have particular order or
arrangement.
 TRANSPARENCY OR DIAPHANEITY

6. Transparency or diaphaneity - indicates the extent of light that can

pass through the mineral.
 MAGNETISM, TENACITY, LUSTER

7. Magnetism - indicates the ability of a mineral to attractor repel other

minerals.
8. Tenacity - level of resistance or reaction of minerals tostress such as
crushing, bending, breaking, or tearing.
9. Luster - refers to the reaction of a mineral to light. Itdetermines how
brilliant or dull the mineral is.
Categories: Metallic or Non-metallic
Metallic — luster of metal — shines like a hard metal.
Many non-metallic minerals are SHINY because they are transparent or
semi-transparent
Metallic and non-metallic luster of hematite.
 ODOR, SPECIFIC GRAVITY

10. Odor - a distinct smell of a mineral that is usually from a chemical

reaction when subjected to water,heat, air or friction.
11. Specific Gravity - is a measure of the density of a mineral. Determines
how heavy the mineral is by its weightto water.
 CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS

Another way of identfying and classifying minerals is according to their

chemical compositon. This classification was first used in 1848 by James
Dwight Dana (1813-1895).
1. Silicate class 5. Oxide class
2. Carbonate class 6. Sulphide class
3. Sulphate class 7. Phosphate class
4. Halide class 8. Native element class
 CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS

1. Silicate Class - largest and most abundant group containing Si and O

with some Al, Mg, Fe, and Ca. (Ex.feldspar, quartz, pyroxene, mica,
garnet. Olivine andamphibol
2. Carbonate class - mostly found depositedin marineenvironments.
3. Sulphate Class - forms in areas with highevaporation rates and where
salty waters slowly evaporate.(Ex. anhydrite, celestine, barite, gypsum)
4. Halide class - contains natural salts includes ,halite, sylvite and sal
ammoniac components. Usuallyform in lakes, and sal ammoniac
components.
 CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS

5. Oxide class - is a diverse class. In science, these minerals are

important as thet carry histories of changes in Earth's magnetic field. They
are formed as precipitates close to Earth's surface oras oxidation products
of minerals during the process of weathering.
6. Sulphide class - has important metals such as copper, lead and silver
which are considered economically significant.
7. Phosphate class- contains minerals with phosphorus. Considered as
important biological mineral found in teeth and bones in many animals.
8. Native element class - contains metals and intermettalic elements,
semimetals nonmetals or natural alloys and constituents of a few rare
Silicate Class Minerals
Carbonate Class Minerals
Sulphate Class Minerals
Halide Class Minerals
Oxide Class Minerals
Sulphide Class Minerals
Phosphate Class Minerals
Native Elements Class Minerals
 ROCKS

ROCKS - are natural substances consisting of aggregate minerals clumped

together with other materials through natural processes. Rocks, like some
materials, are products of a natural cyclic process.
 PROPERTIES OF ROCKS

1. Rocks exhibit different properties. As to color,rocks may be dark, light,

reddish, gray,brown, yellow o even black.
2. Rocks differ in texture: some are fine, othersare rough.
3. Some are glossy in appearance and smoothto touch.
4. Most rocks are hard, others are brittle.
 CLASSIFICATION OF ROCKS

1. Igneous rocks - derived from the Latin word ignis meaning “fire” are
crystallized from magma or molten or partially molten volcanic materials
that came from within Earth. Magma rises from the asthenosphere or at
the base of the crust through volcanoes or any cracks and fissures on
Earth'ssurface. When it reaches the surface of Earth. The molten volcanic
material is called lava. (granite,rholite, diorite, andesite, basalt, gabbro)
 IMPORTANCE OF IGNEOUS ROCKS

• contains fossils that are evidences of geologic past.

• coal, petroleum and natural gas are major energy source.
• iron , aluminum and manganes are used in the construction industry.
 CLASSIFICATIONS OF ROCKS

2. Sedimentary rocks - from the root word sediments which means

“remaining particles” are rocks thath ave formed from the deposition of
different materials on Earth's surface. They come from pre existing rocks
or pieces of dead organisms that have been “lithified” or cemented by
natural processes. (limestone,conglomerate, haite, calcite,sandstone,
limestone and gypsum)
 2 MAJOR GROUPS OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

1. Clastic - formed from the accumulation and lithification of sediments

derived from the breakdown of pre-existing rocks. They are further
classified according to dominant grain size.
2. Non-clastic - derived from sediments that precipitated from
concentrated solutions (e.g. seawater) or from the accumulation of
biologic or organic material (e.g. shells,plant material). They are further
classified on the basis of chemical composition.
CLASTIC ROCKS
NON-CLASTIC
 CLASSIFICATIONS OF ROCKS

3. Metamorphic rocks – meta means “change” and morph means “form”

are rocks derived from igneous or sedimentary rocks that were exposed to
high pressure, high temperature or a combination of both, deep below the
surface of Earth. Because of this exposure, some of the minerals in these
rocks undergo chemical and physical changes.