1. Unit: Earth Materials
Minerals

2. Albite is a mineral
because it meets 5
important conditions,
as do....

3. crystals
andalusite
almandine
apatite
augite
azurite

4. I. There are over 3000 DIFFERENT minerals identified in the earth’s crust.
a. Most rocks have a number of different minerals in them, and come from cooled magma or altered rocks.
b. The element oxygen is the most common element found in the Earth’s crust.
c. Silicon is usually found bonded with oxygen in most minerals.
d. The most common class of minerals contains the silicates, the basis of which is the silicon-oxygen tetrahdera.

5. Salt River Cobbles

6. a.Oxides contain elements, often metals, and oxygen
b.Sulfides are usually metals and sulfur
c.Calcium Carbonates include calcite
d.Ferrous minerals contain iron (Fe)

7. Write these in notes
Silicates make up the greatest number of minerals found in rocks
feldspars are the most common type of silicate
quartz is very common in many disguises

8. Just a few forms of Quartz

9. A few silicates

10. III. New York State minerals
NYS minerals are often sedimentary rock minerals.
Garnets-used as abrasives, found in metamorphic rock in Adirondacks
Gypsum, found where ancient seas
dried up in central/western NY
Halite and other salts, from deposits
left by evaporating seas
Wollastonite, shown, an evaporite.

11. Gems are valued because of their beauty,
Note in notes
Gems are valued because of their beauty,
crystal structure, rarity and durability.
Many gems are actually silicates that have a
unique combination of impurities, creating color,
and internal arrangement of atoms, giving them
a particular luster, hardness and crystal structure.
Semi-precious gems, such as amethyst and
tiger’s eye, are more common.

12. IV. The 5 properties of all minerals
Write on bottom of notes:
The properties of minerals are due to the internal arrangement of molecules.

13. 1. They are all solid.

14. 2. Crystal Structure: or orderly internal pattern of units.

15. 3. definite chemical composition: which means that their elements are always in the same ratio.

16. 4. They are inorganic (do not come from living things or the remains of living things).

17. 5. They are natural, not anthropogenic.(not man-made)

18. V. Mineral Identification: tests to determine the mineral
1. Luster- the manner in which the mineral shines in reflected light.
a. Metallic luster; the mineral looks like a metal
b. Non-metallic luster; anything that does not look like a metal.
Ex. Pearly, earthy, dull, glassy

19. 2. Specific gravity- compares the weight of the mineral in air to the weight of the mineral in water.
Or, compares the density of the mineral to the density of water.

20. 3. Hardness- a measure of the minerals resistance to being scratched.
Moh’s scale of hardness compares minerals to
each other. Talc is 1,
diamond is 10.

21. 4. Cleavage vs. fracture- description of the mineral’s tendency to break along definite angles and planes.
cleavage: clean break. predictable angle and flat surfaces.
Fracture: rough and unpredictable break.

22. 5. Streak- the color of the powdered form of a mineral, obtained from dragging it along an unglazed porcelain plate.
Metallic minerals have colored streaks.
Non-metallic tend to leave white or light.
Hard minerals leave no streak.

23. 6. Color- color is not always helpful
One mineral may have many colors,(calcite)
Many minerals may have the same color (white, grey, brown).
Some are distinct:
(malachite, azurite)

24. 7. Other specific tests/indicators such as:
Iron rusts
calcite (CaCO3) fizzes
even in weak acids
Acid test: calcite fizzes in even weak HCl acid.
And calcite shows refraction

25. magnetism:
fluorescence

26. Flame tests
Salty taste

27. 8. Crystal shape: how the axes and faces meet (need equipment and knowledge to do this properly)
6 basic systems:

28. Clockwise from top right
Wolfenite, olivine, turquoise,
labradorite, siderite, gypsum,
pyrite, uranite

29. Clockwise from top right
calcite, lapis lazuli, magnetite
ferrous mineral, titanite,
halite, hematite, polarized view
gypum