Minerals

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Minerals

• The Basic Building Blocks of Earth!

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Minerals Video
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MineralsThe BIG Idea!

• Minerals are all around us.
• A mineral is identified by its properties.
• Minerals are valuable resources.

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How many different types of minerals are there?

• Thousands!
• Most are rare-only about 100 occurring in
  abundance. Of those 100 minerals, 15-30 make up
  the common rock-forming minerals and some of the
  remainder have some economic value.

Galena is a mineral used to make paints
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Minerals are everywhere and used daily

• Common salt is made from a mineral known as
  Halite.

• Pots and pans are made from metal stainless
  steel, cast iron, copper or aluminum. All of
  these come from minerals.

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Did you know

• Pencils contain a mineral called graphite.

• Toothpaste is made with a mineral Fluorite.

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Give me light

• When you switch on a light, electricity flows
  through copper wires and into a filament made of
  tungsten (which comes from a mineral called
  wolframite).
• The filament glows and shines through a light
  bulb of glass (made from quartz).Mineral
  teamwork!

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What are the five characteristics of Minerals?

• Forms in nature (by processes that do not involve
  living things).
• Is a solid.
• Has a definite chemical makeup.
• Has a 3-D crystal structure.
• They are inorganic

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How are minerals identified?

• 1. Color 1. Color
• 2. Streak
• 3. Luster
• 4. Cleavage
• 5. Fracture
• 6. Hardness

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Mineral Properties...Color/Appearance

• Color and appearance are two obvious clues
  that can be used to identify minerals. Color is
  one of the least reliable properties because a
  mineral may have a variety of colors.

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Mineral properties...Streak

• Streak is the color of the powder that a mineral
  produces.

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Mineral properties...Luster

• The way a mineral reflects light is known as
  luster.
• Luster can be
• ?metallic (like metal)
• ?nonmetallic (dull, pearly, silky, and glassy).

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Mineral properties...Cleavage

• Minerals that break along smooth, flat surfaces.

Calcite has cleavage.
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Mineral properties...Fracture

• Minerals that break with uneven, rough, or jagged
  edges have Fracture.

Sulfur
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Mineral properties ...Hardness The Mohs Scale

• A minerals hardness is its resistance to being
  scratched.

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Other Properties

• Light forms two separate rays when it passes
  through calcite, causing you to see a double
  image.

• Some minerals
• Have a magnetic quality, such as magnetite.
• React with a weak acid (bubble/fizz).
• Glow with a black light fluoresce

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Are minerals and rocks the same?

• No!
• Rocks share two characteristics with minerals
• ?They are solids
• ?Form naturally
• Rocks contain one or more minerals within them.
  

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Can you remember?
Minerals that contain silicon and oxygen are
__________.
A. magma B. opals C. silicates D. solutions
The answer is C. Silicates contain silicon and
oxygen and usually one or more other elements.
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Can you remember?
Which of these is a characteristic of minerals?
A. solid B. formed by life processes C.
indefinite chemical composition D. organic
substances
The answer is A. Minerals are solids. Only a
solid can be a mineral, but not all solids are
minerals.
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Can you remember?

• Minerals that break easily along smooth, flat
  surfaces have __________.

A. cleavage B. fracture C. luster D. Streak
The answer is A. Cleavage is determined partly by
the arrangement of the minerals atoms. Minerals
that break with uneven surfaces have fracture.
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Can you remember?
Minerals that break into irregular, jagged
pieces, have __________.
A. cleavage B. fracture C. luster D. streak
The answer is B. Minerals that break with uneven
surfaces have fracture.