1. Minerals

2. A Mineral is… Naturally Occurring – made by nature – not by man

3. A Mineral is… Inorganic - not alive, never was alive, not made from a living process

4. A Mineral is… Solid – not a liquid or a gas

5. A Mineral is… Unique Chemical Composition – every mineral is different

6. A Mineral is… Crystalline Structure – atoms repeat in patterns

7. Crystal Shapes

8. Basics of Crystals Crystals are defined by the number of sides (faces) and the angles of these sides (geometry)

9. 1. Cubic cubic – all sides are square

10. 2. Tetragonal tetragonal – 4 rectangles, 2 squares

11. 3. Orthorhombic orthorhombic – all rectangles, 3 different sized rectangles

12. 4. Monoclinic monoclinic – 4 rectangles, 2 parallelograms

13. 5. Triclinic triclinic – all parallelograms

14. 6. Hexagonal hexagonal - six-sided prisms. When you look at the crystal on-end, the cross section is a hexagon

15. Mineral Groups Minerals are often grouped together by their composition (what they are made of) There are over 4,000 known minerals and only 7 groups

16. 1. Silicates (most common) Contain silicon and oxygen Ex. Quartz, Olivine, Augite

17. 2. Carbonates Contain CO 3 Ex. Calcite, Dolomite

18. 3. Oxides Contain oxygen bonded with 1 or more elements Ex. Corundum, Hematite

19. 4. Sulfides and 5. Sulfates Sulfides (contain Sulfur), Sulfates contain SO 4 Ex. Gypsum, Galena, Pyrite

20. 6. Halides Contain halogens (Fluorine, Chlorine, etc.) Ex. Halite, Fluorite

21. 7. Native Elements Mostly metals, found as individual elements Ex. Copper, Gold, Silver

22. How do Minerals form? 1. Cooling magma or lava 2. Hydrothermal 3. Evaporation of liquid solutions 4. Precipitate out of solution

23. 1. Cooling magma or lava

24. 2. Hydrothermal

25. 3. Evaporation of liquid solutions

26. 4. Precipitate out of solution

27. 5 Characteristics Used to Identify Minerals 1) Hardness 2) Break Tendency 3) Luster (metallic/non-metallic) 4) Streak 5) Color

28. 1) Hardness (Moh’s Scale) - how easily a mineral can be scratched

29. 2) Break Tendency Fracture- breaks along rough, jagged edges Cleavage – breaks along smooth, flat surfaces Conchoidal fracture – curved breakage

30. 3) Luster (metallic/non-metallic) - how light shines off of its surface MetallicNon-metallic

31. 4) Streak Color of a mineral when broken or powdered

32. 5) Color

33. Other ways to identify minerals Reactivity with acids Density/specific gravity Magnetism More special properties to come

34. Other Properties of Minerals Reactivity with Acid Magnetic Fluorescence Phosphouresence Density Crystal Shape Triboluminesence

35. Reactivity with acid Carbonate minerals fizz when acid is applied Magnetic Some iron rich minerals are magnetic

36. Fluorescence Phosphorescence

37. Triboluminesence