1. Minerals
S6E5. Students will investigate the scientific view of how the earth’s surface is formed.
B. Investigate the contribution of minerals to rock composition.

2. Chapter 3 Vocab to Know Mineral Element Compound Crystal
Silicate mineral
Nonsilicate mineral
Luster
Streak
Cleavage
Fracture
Hardness
Density

3. EQ: What is a Mineral?
A mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic solid made up of elements with a definite crystalline structure.

4. Inorganic Inorganic means never living Ice Silver Diamond Talc Topaz
Mineral examples include: Diamond, Silver, Talc, Ice, Topaz, and many others
Ice
Silver
Diamond
Talc
Topaz

5. Mineral Structure page 66
Elements are pure substances that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by ordinary chemical means.
All minerals contain one or more of the 92 naturally occurring elements.

6. Atoms & Compounds
An Atom is the smallest part of an element that has all the properties of that element.
A compound is a substance made of 2 or more elements that have been chemically joined or bonded.
A mineral composed of only 1 element is a Native Element.

7. Types of Minerals: There are 2 types of minerals.
Silicates contain both silicon and oxygen and one or more metals
Non-Silicates do not contain both silicon and oxygen.
There are 6 types of Non-Silicates.

8. Non-Silicates Halides- salts
Native Elements- made of only one element (gold, silver, etc.)
Sulfides- contain elements that combine with sulfur
Sulfates- contain sulfur and oxygen
Oxides- contain a metal and oxygen
Carbonates- contain both carbon and oxygen

9. Crystals
Crystals are solid, geometric forms of minerals produced by a repeating pattern of atoms or molecules that is present throughout the mineral.
Determined by the arrangement of atoms or molecules
All minerals have a definite crystalline structure!
All minerals can be grouped into crystal classes

10. Properties of Minerals:
There are several properties of minerals, but 7 main categories.
Luster Streak Hardness
Color Cleavage/fracture Density
Crystalline structure

11. Luster page 70 Luster is the way a mineral reflects light
Metallic or non-metallic
Shiny or dull
Earthy, waxy, pearly, or glassy

12. Streak page 71 Streak is the color of the powder
Considered more reliable than color because the streak is not always the same color as the mineral
Example: Pyrite has a gold color but a greenish black streak

13. Hardness page 72
The measure of how easily a mineral can be scratched is it’s hardness.
Mohs Scale: the scale from 1-10 to determine a mineral’s hardness. Talc is a 1 and is the softest mineral. Diamond is a 10 and is the hardest mineral.
Developed by Friedrich Mohs
Determined by the atomic structure of the mineral

14. Color page 70
The color of light reflected is the color of the mineral.
Impurities and weathering can change a mineral’s color.
Not very useful in identifying minerals.
Can be due to minerals coming in various colors. Example: Quartz

15. Density page 72
Density is the ratio of the mass of a substance to the volume of the substance.
The weight of a specific mineral.
Certain minerals contain a specific density regardless of their size.
Write the formula for density here:
Density= mass divided by volume

16. Cleavage/Fracture page 71
Cleavage & Fracture is the way a mineral breaks apart.
If a mineral splits easily along a flat surface, the mineral has cleavage.
If a mineral breaks in random or irregular patterns, it has fracture.
Fracturing of a mineral often crumbles into pieces.

17. Crystalline Structure page 67
Amorphous-without structure
Crystalline- regular, repeating patterns
6 crystal groups based on number and angles of the faces

18. Special Mineral Properties: page 73
Magnetic-Magnetite & Pyrrhotite
Fluorescent-Calcite & Fluorite (they glow under UV light)
Distinct taste-Halite (tastes salty)
Radioactive-minerals that contain Radium or Uranium (detected by the Geiger counter)
Chemical Reaction- Calcite (bubbles/fizzes)

19. Gemstones: Very valuable Due to their beauty and rarity
Important Gemstones: Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Topaz, Opal, Emerald, Aquamarine