ROCK

ROCK-FORMING MINERALS
How Is a mineral different from a rock?
Minerals
 are the building blocks of rocks

 They have been used for basic necessities and for decorative purpose since prehistoric times.
 This mineral that are common and abundant on Earth’s crust are known as “rock-forming minerals.
 The used of term ”mineral” is not exclusive to geology. It also used in health sciences as a substance that is
beneficial to the body.
 In the mining industry, any substance that has been extracted from a mine is called mineral.
 For geologists, mineral is a naturally-occurring, inorganic solid that exhibits a crystalline structure and can be
represented by a chemical formula.
Thus, to determine if an Earth mineral is a mineral, it should exhibit the following characteristics:
1. Naturally occurring It is a mineral if it has been formed by geologic process without any human intervention.
2. Inorganic- A mineral is inorganic if it is formed by inorganic process and does not contain any organic compounds.
However, Minerals like calcite and other shell-forming materials are formed through organic processes but are still
considered as minerals if they become part of a rock.
3. Solid- A mineral; should exhibit stability at room temperature, which can only be attained if it is solid.
4. Crystalline structure- Minerals look like crystals since the arrangement of their atoms is ordered and repetitive.
Thus, naturally-occurring, inorganic solids, such as obsidian, cannot be considered a mineral since they lack a
crystalline structure.
5. Can be represented by a chemical formula- Most minerals are chemical compounds and can therefore be
represented using a fixed or variable chemical formula. An example of a mineral with a fixed chemical formula is
quarts (SiO2). This indicates that the mineral quartz contains one silicon atom and two oxygen atoms. Olivine is
mineral that has a variable chemical formula. It can be represented as either Mg2SiO4 or Fe2SiO4.
The Characteristics of mineral are used to differentiate a mineral from a regular rack. But mineral is further identified
by its unique sets of properties due to its crystalline structure and chemical composition. These properties help in
identifying what kind of mineral is found.
The properties of mineral include optical properties (luster, light transmission, color and streak), mineral
strength (tenacity, hardness, cleavage, and fracture), and specific gravity.
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
Luster is the quality of light that is being reflected by the surface of a mineral.
It can be
 metallic luster (minerals that look like metals and are shiny)
 submetallic luster (minerals that develop a dull coating and are not as shiny)
 nonmetallic luster (minerals that are described as glassy, earthy, pearly, or greasy).
GALEMA AMBER QUARTZ

Figure 2-1, Examples of minerals with different luster : galema has a metallic luster, amber is resinous, and quartz is glassy
Light Transmission
A mineral’s ability to transmit light determines whether it is opaque, translucent, or transparent.
Opaque when the light that strike the object does not pass through
Translucent mineral some of light are passes through
Transparent mineral, almost all the light will completely pass through
Color
is the property of minerals that is easiest to identify. It is also considered an unreliable property to use in
identifying the mineral since slight impurities can affect color.
ROSE QUARTZ SMOKY QUARTZ PURPLE QUARTZ CLEAR QUARTZ

Figure 2-2. Mineral quartz that exhibits a variety of colors: rose, smoky, purple amethyst, and clear
Streak
Is the color of mineral in its powdered form. This property is often used in identifying the mineral since it is
very consistent, unlike color. Streak can be obtained by rubbing the mineral across a streak plate or a piece of
unglazed porcelain (Figure 2-3). However, minerals that are harder than porcelain cannot produce streak.
Figure 2-3. Streak plate is unglazed porcelain that shows the streak of a mineral.
MINERAL STRENGTH
 Mineral strength determines how easy the mineral breaks or deforms when exposed to stress.
 This can be determined by the chemical bonds between each crystal lattice.
 The terms used to describe mineral strength are tenacity, hardness, cleavage, and fracture.
Tenacity refers to the mineral’s resistance to breaking or deforming. These can either be brittle, malleable, sectile, or
elastic.
Hardness is the measure of a mineral’s resistance to abrasion or scratching. To determine the hardness of a mineral,
a comparative hardness scale assigning numerical values to the hardness of a mineral was made by Friedrich Mohs.
The Mohs hardness scale assigned 1 to talc, the softest mineral, and 10 to diamond, the hardest mineral.
Friedrich Mohs (1973-1989) is a German mineralogist who devised a scale to determined their hardness of minerals
determined their hardness, and used them as the basis for determining the hardness of unknown minerals.
Table 2-1. Mohs Scale of Hardness
Hardness Minerals
1 Talc
2 Gypsum
3 Calcite
4 Fluorite
5 Apatite
6 Feldspar
7 Quartz
8 Topaz
9 Corundum
10 Diamond
Cleavage is exhibited when a mineral break, and smooth flat surfaces are formed from the breakage
Figure 2-4
The different cleavage that a mineral can exhibit
Fracture is exhibited if the mineral does not have a cleavage plane. This is usually due to the equally strong bonds
between atoms of the mineral.
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
 Specific gravity is a measurement done by mineralogist to describe the density of a mineral.

 It represents the ratio of the mass of a mineral to the mass of equal volume of water.
 Most rock forming minerals have a specific gravity that is between 2 and 3.
Mineralogy is the study of the chemical makeup of the solid, inorganic, and naturally-occurring compounds.
Mineralogists identify, analyze, and classify all the minerals that have been discovered on Earth. They also help in
geology-related industries, such as mining, to make informed decision when dealing with the minerals on earth.

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ROCK-FORMING MINERALS

How Is a mineral different from a rock?

 are the building blocks of rocks

GALEMA AMBER QUARTZ

A mineral’s ability to transmit light determines whether it is opaque, translucent, or transparent.

ROSE QUARTZ SMOKY QUARTZ PURPLE QUARTZ CLEAR QUARTZ

 Specific gravity is a measurement done by mineralogist to describe the density of a mineral.

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