1. Minerals

2. What is a mineral? Mineral Characteristics shared by all minerals:
1. Natural
occurs naturally
NOT manmade

3. What is a mineral? 1. Natural 2. Inorganic Is not alive
Was never alive

4. What is a mineral? 1. Natural 2. Inorganic 3. Crystalline
Atoms are arranged in an orderly pattern

5. What is a mineral? 1. Natural 2. Inorganic 3. Crystalline
4. Definite chemical composition
Chemical formula
SiO2 is Quartz

6. What is a mineral? 1. Natural 2. Inorganic 3. Crystalline
4. Definite chemical composition
5. Solid
Not a gas, not a liquid

7. How will we remember this?
Natural
Inorganic
Crystalline
Definite chemical composition
Solid

8. Mineral Characteristics shared by all minerals: Now I Can Define mineralS!
Natural
Inorganic
Crystalline
Definite chemical composition
Solid

9. How are minerals formed?
1. Crystallization of Molten Material
Magma (cools inside the crust) or lava (cools & hardens on the surface)
2. Crystallization of Solutions
When these liquids cool to a solid state, they form crystals.

10. Crystallization of Solutions
Two types: hot water solutions and evaporation
1. When magma heats water deep underground, elements and compounds in the surrounding rock will dissolve in the water, forming a solution. If that solution then seeps into cracks in the rock, those elements and compounds will leave the solution when the water cools. The cooling process causes them to crystalize and form minerals inside the rock. These are called veins.
2. If the liquid in a solution evaporates, crystals will form out of the “left behind” components. For example, when ocean (salt) water evaporates, it leaves behind salt crystals.

11. B. Physical Properties of Minerals
1. Color
First impression
Not very reliable because lots of minerals can occur in many different colors

12. Quartz
Purple Amethyst

13. Fluorite
Clear
Blue
Green
Purple

14. Physical Properties of Minerals
1. Color
2. Streak
The TRUE color of a mineral
Color of a mineral’s powder

15. Streak
Minerals with a hardness greater than “7” usually don’t create a streak on the streak plate because they are harder than the Porcelain tile (unless the streak plate is specially made).

16. Physical Properties of Minerals
1. Color
2. Streak
3. Hardness
A mineral’s resistance to being scratched
Mohs Hardness Scale from 1-10
Hardness depends on how “tightly packed” the atoms are

17. Mohs Hardness Scale Hardest Softest Talc Gypsum Calcite Fluorite
Apatite
Potassium feldspar
Quartz
Topaz
Corundum
Diamond
Hardest

19. Physical Properties of Minerals
1. Color
2. Streak
3. Hardness
4. Cleavage
Splits along definite planes

20. “Cleav” = to split
Cleaver

22. Physical Properties of Minerals
1. Color
2. Streak
3. Hardness
4. Cleavage
5. Fracture
Breaks irregularly, jagged edges

23. Fracture

24. Physical Properties of Minerals
1. Color
2. Streak
3. Hardness
4. Cleavage
5. Fracture
6. Luster
How light shines off a mineral
Metallic or Nonmetallic

25. Luster
Metallic
Nonmetallic

26. Physical Properties of Minerals: Used for Identification (I.D.)
Color
Streak
Hardness
Cleavage
Fracture
Luster

27. C. Special Properties 1. Magnetism Attracted to a magnet
Contains IRON, cobalt, or nickel

28. Special Properties 1. Magnetism 2. Double refraction
Looking through it, you see “double”
Ex. Calcite

29. Special Properties 1. Magnetism 2. Double refraction 3. Fluorescence
Glows under ultraviolet (UV) light

30. Fluorescence under ultraviolet, UV light

31. Special Properties 1. Magnetism 2. Double refraction 3. Fluorescence
4. Phosphorescence
Continues to glow even after the UV light has been removed

32. Special Properties 1. Magnetism 2. Double refraction 3. Fluorescence
4. Phosphorescence
5. Piezoelectric
Electricity is generated from Pressure
Example: Quartz

33. Piezoelectric (Pressure=Electricity)

34. Special Properties Magnetism Double refraction Fluorescence
Phosphorescence
Piezoelectric

35. D. Identification Tests
1. Hardness
2. Streak (True Color)
3. Acid Test
Use hydrochloric acid
Tests for carbonate (calcite)

36. Caves can form in rocks with calcite, like here in Harrisonburg!
Acid in groundwater dissolves the calcite

38. Why is it important to learn about minerals?
1. They are the building blocks of rocks, and the rock record is the key to the earth's past.
2. Used in fertilizers
3. Used to improve soil.
4. The water you drink uses minerals to make it clean.
5. Used in building houses, schools, libraries, hospitals, offices and shops
6. Airports, railway stations and shipping ports all use large amounts of construction minerals to build them.
7. Energy minerals – coal, oil, gas, uranium – are used to give you heat, hot water and electricity. Cars, buses and trains all use fuel which mainly comes from oil.
8.Technologies, such as computers and cell phones require a wide range of minerals and metals, including copper, gold, platinum, tantalum, tin, zinc and nickel.

39. Are Minerals a Renewable Resource?
Earth has renewable and nonrenewable resources.  Our demand for and use of resources sometimes exceeds the supply that is available.
Renewable resource: one that can be replaced in nature at the same rate in which we use it
Nonrenewable resource: one that exists in a fixed amount, or is used up faster than it can be replaced in nature *Once these are used, most are immediately destroyed!
*Each U.S. citizen consumes about 40,000 pounds of new minerals each year!
What for??  Building materials for homes, cars, roads, appliances, computers; fertilizers on food we eat; electricity; etc…

40. Are Minerals a Renewable Resource?
*Most minerals come from the rocks in the ground.
Ore: a rock that contains enough of a desirable element to make separation profitable
Ex.- iron ore, copper ore
Ore mineral: the valuable mineral that can be separated from the rock
Ex.- iron, copper
Mineral reserve: the known deposits of mineral in ores that are worth mining
– The place where a mineral is found

41. Are Minerals a Renewable Resource?
*All minerals are nonrenewable, so, how long until we run out??
-Depends on two things:
1. the size of the reserve (How much there is!)
2. the rate at which we are using it up! (How fast we are using it!)
Resource                     Est. Life Exp. in Yrs.              Uses          .
Coal                                                                (electricity)
Copper                                   36                                (electric wiring)
Iron                                         62                                (steel prod.)
Lead                                        25                                (batteries)
Natural Gas                        125                              (fuel; heat)
Oil                                           50                                (gasoline)
Silver                                     17                                (electric wiring)
Tin                                           31                                (cans; industry)
Uranium                               ???                               (electricity)

42. How Do We Recover These Resources?
-mining (tunnels or open-pit mines) into the Earth
-Very harmful to the environment!!  Destroys land, ecosystems; pollutes water sources, soil. . .
*Because these mineral resources are nonrenewable, we must plan for a day when they will disappear.

43. What Can We Do? 1. find alternative resources
2. develop efficient and reliable renewable resources
3. reduce our use and avoid waste
4. reuse what we can
5. recycle (collect and reuse materials from waste) what we can
-Examples:  hybrid/electric cars, carpool, walk/ride a bike, turn off unneeded lights/electrical appliances, don’t let H20 run, place recyclables in marked containers