Download Minerals

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Ask these questions to see if a substance is a
minerals:
 Is it a solid?
 Is it formed in nature?
 Is it nonliving material?
 Does it have a crystalline structure?
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A mineral is a naturally formed, inorganic solid
with a crystalline structure.
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Minerals are made up of elements.
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Most minerals are made of compounds (1 or
more elements).
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Minerals are also made of crystals.
 Crystals are solid, geometric forms of minerals
produced by a repeating pattern of atoms.
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Silicate – minerals that contain both silicon
and oxygen.
 Make up 90% of the Earth’s crust.
 Examples: Feldspar and Quartz
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Nonsilicate – minerals that do not contain
both silicon and oxygen.
 Examples: Calcite and Corundum
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Color – not a reliable indicator (pyrite – “fools
gold”)
Luster – the way a surface reflects light.
Streak – the color in powdered form.
Cleavage – the tendency to break along flat
surfaces.
Fracture – the tendency to break unevenly along
curved or irregular surfaces.
Hardness – resistance to being scratched.
Density – how much matter in a given space.
Talc – least hard 1
 Diamond – hardest 10
 Take the mineral you are identifying and
scratch it with one of the 10 reference
minerals.
 If the mineral you are trying to identify is
scratched by the reference mineral, then it is
harder than your mineral.
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Use a mnemonic device to remember the
minerals in the scale.
 Example: Terrible Giants Can Find
Alligators Or Quaint Tigers Conveniently
Digestible.
 Create your own: T _______ G _______
C_______ F _______ A _______
O _______ Q _______ T _______
C _______D _______
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Fluorescence – (ex. Glowing)
Chemical Reaction – (ex. Fizzing)
Optical properties – (ex. Double image)
Taste – (ex. Salty)
Magnetism
Radioactivity – minerals that contain radium
or uranium.
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Evaporating Saltwater – ex. Gypsum
 Salt water dries up
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Limestones – ex. Dolomite
 Crystallized materials that form in lakes and seas
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Metamorphic Rocks – ex. Calcite
 Changes in pressure, temperature, or chemical
makeup.
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Hot Water Solution – ex. Gold
 Dissolved metals and other elements crystallize
from magma heated water.
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Pegmatites – ex. Topaz
 Formed from teardrop shaped areas of magma.
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Plutons – ex. Mica
 Rising magma that stops and cools slowly.
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Ore is a mineral deposit large enough and
pure enough to be mined for a profit.
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Ore is mined two ways:
 Surface mining – mined near the Earth’s surface
(copper)
 Deep mining – mined deep within the Earth. (coal
and diamonds)
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Reclamation – returning the land to its
original state after the mining is completed.
 Costly and time consuming
 Recycle them or reduce the need for minerals is a
better option.
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Minerals are nonrenewable resources. This
means once you take them from the Earth,
they cannot be replaced.