Unit 4Chapter 2MineralsMr. Cesaire

Martin Van Buren High School

• Aim: What is a mineral? • Do Now: Open to page 96 of the Earth Science

TEXT book and define mineral and write down the characteristics of a mineral in your notes:

• HW: Read pages 47 to 51. Answer questions 1-8 on page 52. WRITE OUT ALL QUESTIONS!

• We will have a weekly quiz based on reading assignments in UPCO. Quiz will be based on pages 47 to 51.

Minerals

• What is a mineral?• Defined as a naturally occurring inorganic

solid substance. • Where do we find minerals in our

environment?• Minerals are commonly found in rocks,

soils, and sand.

Minerals

• Where else in our homes do we find minerals?

• Watches• Clocks • Pencils• Glassware

• Read page 97 of your text and write down the ways minerals are formed in your notes.

Mineral Formation

• How do minerals form?• Minerals are formed by crystallization: • 1. Cooling and solidification of magma.• 2. From water- evaporation, chemical

reactions and temperature changes• 3. Minerals subject to change due to heat

and pressure.

Common Minerals

• The back of our reference tables contains information for common rock forming minerals.

• What are some information do the reference tables tell us about minerals?

• Describe the physical and visual properties of Biotite.

Potassium Feldspar• Describe the

properties of Potassium Feldspar.

Halite

• Describe the properties of halite.

• Aim: How are minerals identified?• Do now: Use the reference tables and

answer the following set of questions.• HW: .• Quiz on Wednesday. The characteristics

of a mineral and the ways to identify them

Mineral Identification

• How do we identify minerals?• Minerals are identified by their physical

and chemical properties.• Experienced geologists can easily identify

and classify minerals out in the field. They have achieved this ability through careful observations of the minerals physical properties.

• Open up to page 104 of your text book and glance through pages 104 to 107 and list and write a short sentence on the ways minerals are identified in your notes.

Mineral Identification• Geologists use the following to help identify

minerals:• 1. Color- the apparent color of the mineral• 2. Luster- Luster refers to how light reflects off

the surface of a mineral• 3. Streak- The streak refers to the powder left

by the mineral when applied to a hard surface. • 4. Hardness- The hardness of a mineral is

referred as the resistance to being scratched. • 5. Cleavage- Cleavage refers to how minerals

break along parallel planes. • 6. Specific gravity• 7. Chemical Tests

Color

• Color: When observing a mineral, the first thing that we notice is its color. The color may give us clues to what type of mineral we are looking at.

• However you can not go on color alone• Let’s look at two examples: Quartz and

Calcite

Color

• Notice how quartz is similar in color. • Some minerals may have the same color,

so we use other characteristics.

http://www.sci.ccny.cuny.edu/~kblock/minerals/calcite.jpg

http://www.sci.ccny.cuny.edu/~kblock/minerals/quartz.jpg

Color

• Quartz can appear in three colors:• Rose, Clear, Smokey• http://www.pitt.edu/~cejones/GeoImages/1Minerals/1IgneousMineralz/Quartz/Quartz_3Types.jpg

Luster

Galena-Metallichttp://resourcescommittee.house.gov/subcommittees/emr/usgsweb/photogallery/images/Galena%202_jpg.jpg

Sulfur- Nonmetallichttp://resourcescommittee.house.gov/subcommittees/emr/usgsweb/photogallery/thumbnails/Sulfur_jpg.jpg

Streak

• Notice the streak or powder left by galena

• Each mineral has a distinctive streak.

http://www.visualsunlimited.com/images/watermarked/311/311404.jpg

Cleavage

http://www.geology.sfasu.edu/minerals/galena01.jpg

http://www.sci.ccny.cuny.edu/~kblock/minerals/calcite.jpg

Cleavage

Potassium Feldspar