Minerals and Rocks.

Alright, so here goes another lesson we discussed, minerals and rocks. enjoy :)


Matter 

is anything that occupies space and has rest mass (or invariant mass). It is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects consist. Typically, matter includes atoms and other particles which have mass. Mass is said by some to be the amount of matter in an object and volume is the amount of space occupied by an object, but this definition confuses mass and matter, which are not the same. Different fields use the term in different and sometimes incompatible ways; there is no single agreed scientific meaning of the word "matter," even though the term "mass" is better-defined.

Mineral 

is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not have a specific chemical composition. Minerals range in composition from pure elements and simple salts to very complex silicates with thousands of known forms. 

Mineral Is defined as to have the following characteristics:

• 1.   Naturally occurring
• 2.   Solid substance
• 3.   Orderly crystalline structure
• 4.   Definite chemical composition
• 5.   Generally considered organic

How Minerals Form

1. Crystallization from magma
2. Precipitation
3. Pressure and temperature
4. Hydrothermal solutions

Mineral Groups 
-can be classified based on their compositions

1. Silicates -  Silicon and oxygen combine to form a structure called the silicon-oxygen  tetrahedron. This silicon-oxygen tetrahedron provides the framework of every silicate  mineral.
2. Carbonates -  Minerals that contain the elements carbon,oxygen, and one or more other metallic elements.
3. Oxide -   Minerals that contain oxygen and one or more other elements, which are usually metals
4. Sulfate and Sulfides -  Minerals that contain the element sulfur
5. Halide -  Minerals that contain a halogen ion plus one or more other elements
6. Native Element -  Minerals that exist in relatively pure form

Properties of Minerals

• Color

    Small amounts of different elements can give the same mineral different colors.

•     Streak

    is the color of a mineral in its powdered form.

•     Luster

    is used to describe how to light is reflected form the surface of a mineral.

• Crystal Form

    is the visible expression of a mineral's internal arrangement of atoms.

• Hardness

    is a measure of the resistance of a mineral to being scratched.

Mohs scale cosist of 10 minerals arrange from 10(hardest) to 1(softest).

• Cleavage

    is the tendency of a mineral to cleave, or break, along fat, even surfaces.

• Fracture

    Minerals that do not show cleavage when broken are said to fracture. 

Fracture-the uneven breakage of a mineral

• Density

    is a property o all matter that is the ratio of an object's mass to its volume.

Here is a video Identifying rocks and minerals.

Checked by Prof. Crisencio Paner