What is a Mineral

Chapter 3 Minerals of Earth’s

Crust
 Mineral
• A naturally formed, inorganic solid that has
a definite crystalline structure
 Questions to ask yourself
• Is it a nonliving material?
– A mineral is inorganic, meaning it isn’t made of living things
• Is it a solid
– Minerals cant be gases or liquids
• Does it have a crystalline structure
– Minerals are crystals, which have a repeating inner structure that
is often reflected in the shape of a crystal. Minerals generally
have the same chemical composition throughout
• Is it formed in nature?
– Crystalline materials made by people aren’t classified as
minerals.
 What is an

• Pure substance that cannot be broken

down.
What is a Compound made of?
• Compound- a substance made of TWO or
more elements that have been
CHEMICALLY combined.
– Ex: Halite (NaCl)
 Crystals
• A solid whose atoms, ions, or
molecules are arranged in a definite
pattern
– Geometric forms of minerals produced by
a repeating pattern of atoms
– Shape is determined by arrangement of
atoms
 Two Groups of Minerals
• Most common classification of minerals is
based on chemical composition.
– Silicate Minerals
– Nonsilicate Minerals
 Silicate Minerals
• Minerals that contain a combination
of silicon and oxygen as well as
other elements.
• Make up more than 90% of the
Earth’s crust
• Other common elements they
combine with include: aluminum,
iron, magnesium and potassium.
Common Silicate Minerals

Feldspar

Quartz

Mica
 Nonsilicate Minerals
• Minerals that do not contain a combination of the
elements silicon and oxygen.
• Some include carbon, oxygen, fluorine, and
sulfur.
• Classes of nonsilicate minerals:
– Native Elements
– Carbonates
– Halides Spinel Gypsum
Halite
– Oxides
– Sulfates
– Sulfides Galena Hematite
Pyrite Calcite
 Native Elements
• Minerals composed of only one element
– Ex: copper, gold, silver
– Used in communications and electronic
equipment
 Carbonates
• Minerals that contain combinations of
carbon and oxygen in their chemical
structure.
• Used in cement, building stones and
fireworks
 Halides
• Compounds that form when fluorine,
chlorine, iodine, or bromine combine with
sodium potassium or calcium.
• Used in the chemical industry and in
detergents
 Oxides
• Compounds that form when an
element such as aluminum or iron
combines chemically with oxygen.
• Used to make abrasives, aircraft
parts and paint
 Sulfates
• Minerals that contain
sulfur and oxygen
• Used in cosmetics,
toothpaste, cement, and
paint.
 Sulfides
• Minerals that contain one
or more elements, such
as lead, iron or nickel,
combined with sulfur.
• Used to make batteries,
medicines, and electronic
parts.
 Assignment
• Section Review Chapter 3 Section 1
 Identifying Minerals
• We use several different properties to help
identify minerals
– Color
– Luster
– Streak
– Cleavage and Fracture
– Hardness
– Density
– Special Properties
 Color
• The same
mineral can often
come in a variety All 3 are Pyrite
of colors (fools gold)

• Not the best way

to identify a
mineral
 Luster
• The way a surface reflects light
• Minerals have metallic, submetallic or
nonmetallic luster
– Shiny = metallic
– Dull = submetallic or nonmetallic
 Types of Mineral Luster

Bright and Reflective

Dull and Plastic

Dull and Reflective

 Streak
• Color of a mineral in powdered form
• Found by rubbing the mineral against a
piece of unglazed porcelain called a streak
plate
• The color of the mineral’s streak is not
always the same as the color of the
mineral sample
• Good way to identify a mineral
 Different types of minerals break in different ways.
The way a mineral breaks is determined by the
arrangement of its atoms.

Cleavage
• The splitting of
a mineral
along smooth, Fracture
flat surfaces.
The manner in
which a mineral
breaks along either
curved or irregular
surfaces
 Hardness
• A minerals resistance to being scratched
• We use Mohhs Hardness scale to
determine the hardness
• To identify a mineral scratch the surface of
a mineral with the edge of one of the 10
reference minerals.
• If it scratches the reference mineral your
mineral is harder
Mohs Hardnes Scale
 Density
• Measure of how much matter is in a given
object
• Ratio of an objects mass to it’s volume
• Measured in grams per cubic centimeter
• Water is used as a reference because we
know it has a density of 1g/cm3
 Special Properties
• Some properties are particular to only a
few types of minerals.
 Assignment
• Section Review 3-2 page 73 #1-8