1. FORMATION AND STURCTURE OF MINERALS

2. WHAT IS A MINERAL?  A mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic solid, with a definite chemical composition and an orderly arrangement of atoms.  About 4,000 different minerals are found on Earth  All 4,000 share the same 4 characteristics

3. MINERAL CHARACTERISTICS 1 & 2 1. All minerals are formed by natural processes. These are processes that occur on or inside Earth with no input from humans. 2. Minerals are inorganic. They are not made by life processes.

4. MINERAL CHARACTERISTICS 3 & 4 3. Every mineral is an element or compound with a definite chemical composition. 4. Minerals are crystalline solids. Definite volume and shape Only a solid can be a mineral Not all solids are minerals

5. ROCKS VS. MINERALS Rock: the solid mineral material forming part of the surface of the earth and other similar planets, exposed on the surface or underlying the soil or oceans Mineral: naturally occurring, inorganic solid, with a definite chemical composition and an orderly arrangement of atoms. Rocks cannot be minerals, minerals can be rocks!

6. SILICATES  Silicates are minerals that contain silicon and oxygen (plus one or more other elements).  Silicon and oxygen are the two most abundant elements in Earth’s crust.  These two elements alone combine to form the basic building blocks of most of the minerals in Earth’s crust and mantle.

7. HOW DO MINERALS FORM? Cooling of Magma Magma works its’ way up through the cracks in the crust, collects and cools During the cooling process, atoms rearrange and lock in place forming crystals. The chemical makeup of the magma determines the type of minerals that form. The rate at which it cools determines the size of the crystals. Slower cooling=larger crystals Faster cooling=smaller crystals

8. IMAGINE… Imagine magma rising from deep within the earth to just beneath the surface where it forms a magma chamber. As the magma cools, where would you find the largest crystals? (deeper within earth, or toward the surface?)

9. olivine plagioclase Feldspar Quartz

10. HOW CAN THEY BE FOUND? Mining Erosion Uplift Faulting Folding

11. PRECIPITATION Minerals dissolved in liquids form mixtures called solutions. When the liquid part of the solution evaporates, the minerals are left behind. This is called precipitation!

12. Water + Sodium Chloride + Evaporation= Halite Ocean Halite

14. CRYSTAL STRUCTURE Determined by the arrangement of atoms. The minerals characteristic shape is the most stable way that the atoms can arrange. Shape stays the same no matter how large they are. If they are larger, the shape is easier to see.

15. BASIC CRYSTAL SYSTEMS CubicTetragonal Orthorhombic

16. BASIC CRYSTAL SYSTEMS Monoclinic TriclinicHexagonal