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l6 Minerals - Earth Science

This document discusses minerals and their properties. It defines a mineral as a naturally occurring inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition and crystalline structure. It then discusses several key properties used to identify minerals, including luster, hardness, crystal form, cleavage, color, streak, specific gravity, and others. It groups minerals into categories including silicates, oxides, sulfates, sulfides, carbonates, native elements, and halides. An activity asks the reader to identify minerals commonly used at home and describe their properties and uses, completing a table with this information for an example mineral.

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Manuel Parilla
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106 views

l6 Minerals - Earth Science

This document discusses minerals and their properties. It defines a mineral as a naturally occurring inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition and crystalline structure. It then discusses several key properties used to identify minerals, including luster, hardness, crystal form, cleavage, color, streak, specific gravity, and others. It groups minerals into categories including silicates, oxides, sulfates, sulfides, carbonates, native elements, and halides. An activity asks the reader to identify minerals commonly used at home and describe their properties and uses, completing a table with this information for an example mineral.

Uploaded by

Manuel Parilla
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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EARTH

SCIENCE
MINERALS
Learning Goals:
a. Demonstrate understanding about physical and
chemical properties of minerals.
b. Identify some common rock-forming minerals
c. Classify minerals based on chemical affinity
Mineral
● A naturally occuring, inorganic solid with
orderly crystalline structure and a definite
chemical composition.
● Mineralogists are scientists who study
minerals.
● Are the building blocks of rocks
Which of the following is an example of mineral?

Water Ice Tube Snowflake


Properties of Minerals

● Luster is the quality and intensity of reflected light


exhibited by the mineral.
a. Metallic - generally opaque and exhibit a resplendent
shine similar to polished metal.
b. Non-metallic - vitreous (glassy), adamantine
(brilliant/diamond like), resinous, silky, pearly, dull
(earthy), greasy among others.
● Hardness is the measure of resistance of a
mineral to abrasion.
a. Mohs Scale of Hardness measures the scratch
resistance of various minerals from a scale of 1 to
10, based on the ability of a harder
material/mineral to scratch a softer one.
● Crystal Form / Habit is the natural shape of the
mineral before the development of any cleavage or
fracture. Examples includes prismatic, tabular, bladed,
platy, reniform and equant, A mineral that do not have a
crystal structure is described as amorphous.
● Cleavage is the property of minerals to break along
specific planes of weakness to forms smooth flat surfaces.
These planes exist because the bonding of atoms making
up the mineral happens to be weak in those areas.
● Color . A lot of minerals can exhibit same or similar colors
● Streak is the mineral’s color in powdered form.
● Specific Gravity is the ratio of the density of minerals to
the density of water.
SG = W(air) / W(air) – W(water)
SG of Copper
= 4.1 - 4.3

SG of Gold
= 19.32
● Others - magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid,
etc.
Mineral Groups
1. Silicates – minerals containing the two most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust, namely,
silicon and oxygen.

a. When linked together, these two elements form the silicon oxygen tetrahedron - the
fundamental building block of silicate minerals.

b. Over 90% of rock-forming minerals belong to this group.


2. Oxides – minerals composed of oxygen anion (O2-) combined with one or more
metal ions
3. Sulfates – minerals containing sulfur and oxygen in the form of the (SO4)-anion
4. Sulfides – minerals containing sulfur and a metal; some sulfides are sources of
economically important metals such as copper, lead, and zinc.
5. Carbonates – minerals containing the carbonate (CO3)2-anion combined with other elements
6. Native Elements – minerals that form as individual elements

a. Metals and Intermetals – 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)


7. Halides – minerals containing halogen elements combined with one or more metals
ACTIVITY NO. 2

a. A jeweler offers you an expensive ring with


diamonds as a gift for your Mom. You doubt the
authenticity of the diamonds. What measures will you
take to determine its authenticity if he allows you to test
it? Explain your answer.
ACTIVITY NO. 2

b. Search for 5 minerals you commonly


use at home and describe its properties
and uses.
MINERAL PROPERTIES USES
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.
ACTIVITY 2 Let’s Try This: Complete the table
below!

Mineral Name
Mineral Group
Chemical Composition / Formula
Luster
Hardness
Color
Streak
Crystal Form or Habit
Cleavage
Specific Gravity
Other Properties
USES
Let’s Try This: Complete the table below!

Mineral Name Halite ( Table Salt )

Chemical Composition NaCl

Luster Non Metallic ( vitreous)

Hardness 2-2.5

Color Colorless, white

Streak White

Crystal Form or Habit Cubic

Cleavage Cubic

Specific Gravity 2+

Other Properties Salty, soluble in water, produces red


flame

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