1. Unit Introduction

2. Think pair share 1) What is a mineral?
2) Give 3 examples of minerals and what each is used for
3) Explain what a crystal is
4) what is the difference between rocks and minerals

3. VA SOL
ES 5 The student will investigate and understand how to identify major rock-forming and ore minerals based on physical and chemical properties. Key concepts include
b. use of minerals.

4. Objective 1. Identify the major elements of the Earth’s crust.
2. Identify common minerals and ores and their uses. Include: quartz, calcite, talc, gypsum, fluorite, feldspar, biotite, muscovite, hematite, galena, halite, pyrite, magnetite, sulfur, and graphite.
3. Identify Virginia’s major rock and mineral resources and their uses.

5. Minerals
What is a Mineral?

6. Enduring Understanding
Minerals are the building blocks of rocks.

7. Minerals
Earth’s crust is composed of about 3,000 different minerals. They play very important roles in civilization. Throughout history wars have been waged and empires have risen and fallen over the conquest of a select few minerals such as gold and silver considered to be precious.

8. Mineral Characteristics
Mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a specific chemical composition and a definite crystalline structure
Naturally Occurring means they are formed by natural processes

9. Mineral Characteristics
Synthetic diamonds and other materials developed in labs are not minerals

10. Mineral Characteristics
Inorganic means that they are not and never were alive
Salt is a mineral, sugar is not

11. Mineral Characteristics
Solid - means it has a definite shape and volume
No liquids or gases
can be minerals!!!

12. Mineral Characteristics
Specific Chemical Composition - means that since most minerals are compounds, the elements and their proportions are unique to that mineral
The chemical composition for Quartz is SiO2, with a chemical breakdown of approximately 46.7% silicon and 53.3% oxygen.  Quartz is easily transformed from low to high quartz at 573 degrees Celsius with only minor atomic adjustments and without breaking any of the Si-O bonds.

13. Mineral Characteristics
Some minerals such as silver are found as a single element

14. Mineral Characteristics
Definite Crystalline Structure - means the atoms are arranged in regular geometric patterns that are repeated over and over.
There are six major crystal systems:

15. Cubic

16. Tetragonal

17. Hexagonal
Beryl

18. Orthorhombric
Olivine

19. Monoclinic
Amphibole

20. Triclinic
Turquoise

21. Mineral Formation
Since minerals must form from natural processes there are two primary ways that they form here on Earth

22. Mineral Formation
Minerals can form from the cooling of magma which is the molten material found beneath Earth’s surface. As magma rises closer to the surface, the molten compounds no longer move freely and they begin to interact chemically to form minerals.

23. Mineral Formation
Small crystals means the magma cooled rapidly

24. Mineral Formation
Large crystals means the magma cooled more slowly

25. Mineral Formation
Minerals also form from solution such as when a liquid evaporates from the solution and the elements remain behind “Evaporites”

26. Mineral Formation
Minerals will precipitate (drop out) of a solution that becomes supersaturated meaning it can hold no more dissolved solids

27. Mineral Groups
Of the 3,000 minerals found in the crust only about 30 of these are common. Ten of these make up about 90% of the Earth’s crust

28. Mineral Groups
Silicates are the most abundant group (96%) containing the two most abundant elements in the crust Silicon (Si) and Oxygen (O)

29. Mineral Groups
Quartz and Feldspar are the most abundant minerals

30. Mineral Groups
Carbonates are minerals composed of one or more metallic elements with the carbonate compound CO3

31. Mineral Groups
Calcite and dolomite are common examples

32. Mineral Groups
Carbonates are the primary minerals in rocks such as limestone, coquina, and marble

33. Mineral Groups Oxides are compounds of oxygen (O) and a metal.
Hematite (Fe2O3) and Magnetite (Fe3O4) are common examples