Rocks and Minerals

basalt

makes up most of the oceanic crust, low in silica, igneous rock

burial

putting more material on top, second step of sedimentary rock formation

carbonates

minerals containing the compound **CO3,** often bound to other minerals, react to hydrochloric acid

cementation

cementing it all together with minerals grown between the sediments, step four in the formation of sedimentary rocks

cleavage

tendency of a mineral to break along flat planes of weakness

***Do not confuse with crystal faces!  Crystal faces are just on the surface and may not repeat when the mineral is broken.*

color

can be helpful but also misleading, determining factors are chemical composition, weathering, and impurities

compaction

squeezing the pile of sediment under a lot of pressure, step three in the creation of sedimentary rocks

compound

substance made of two or more elements

crust

thin outer layer that is solid and brittle 

1% of the earth’s volume

subdivided into: 

* continental (averages \~40 km thick) 
* oceanic (\~7 km thick) \n

deposition

putting the sediment down somewhere, first step to creating sedimentary rocks

element

substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substance by chemical means, are made of atoms

Some minerals, such as copper, silver, and sulfur, are composed of single elements, these are called Native ------

erosion

earthen materials are worn away and transported by natural forces such as wind or water

feldspar

makes up the crust, one of the 30 most common rocks (rock-forming minerals), can be a component of granite, sulfate

foliation

a banded pattern, caused by extreme pressure squeezing the minerals into a parallel alignment

fracture

when minerals break unevenly along rough or curved surfaces

granite

makes up most of the continental crust, a rock made of (usually) quartz, feldspar, mica, and hornblende minerals

gravel

a loose __aggregation__ (cluster) of small water-worn or pounded stones

hardness

Refers to "scratchability" or resistance to being scratched, Moh’s scale

pressure

from heat and pressure, one way minerals form

* Existing minerals will change deep in the earth at tectonic plates to form new minerals 
* No melting! They break and change their bonds

igneous

form when hot, molten rock crystallizes and solidifies

* Intergrown individual mineral crystals OR glassy/gassy texture
* Sometimes mineral crystals too small to see
* NO patterns like bedding planes or foliation (more on that later)
* NO reaction to acid
* NO fossils

impurity

are elements that occur in low concentration in the gemstone, not present in the pure compound

inner core

Heavier materials, like Iron (Fe) and Nickel (Ni), are found here, solid (5,100 - 6,370 km depth)

inorganic

not alive or made by anything once alive, part of the 5 part def of a mineral

lava

hot molten or semifluid rock erupted from a volcano or fissure (break in the Earth’s surface), or solid rock resulting from cooling of this

luster

how a mineral surface reflects light, 2 major categories; metallic and non-metallic

magma

hot fluid or semifluid material below or __within the earth's crust__ from which lava and other igneous rock is formed on cooling

mantle

solid but has plasticity (solid but can flow like a liquid), 

85% of earth’s volume (base of crust - 2,900 km depth)

* peridotite = rich in the metals iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mg)


* denser than crust, even less SiO2

melting

becoming liquefied by heat

Ex. igneous and metamorphic rock to magma/lava

metamorphic

has transformed by heat, pressure, or other natural agencies from one rock to this

* Intergrown individual mineral crystals
* Can have **foliation** patterns 
* Some have lots of mica


* May have a reaction to acid
* May have fossils
* NO bedding planes

mineral

they make up the rocks of the solid geosphere


1. Solid
2. Naturally occurring *(****not made by people****)*
3. Inorganic *(****not alive or made by anything once alive****)*
4. Definite chemical composition
5. Atoms arranged in an orderly pattern

Moh’s Hardness Scale

used as a convenient way to help identify minerals, mineral's hardness is a measure of its relative resistance to scratching, measured by scratching the mineral against another substance of known hardness

mud

soft, sticky matter resulting from the mixing of earth and water

native elements

composed of single elements csuch as copper, silver, and sulfur

outer core

Heavier materials, like Iron (Fe) and Nickel (Ni), are found here, liquid (2,900 - 5,100 km depth)

core

* 14% of earth’s volume
* made of iron-nickel (Fe-Ni) alloy
* densest, least amount of SiO2

oxides

compounds of oxygen and metal, **hematite** (Fe2O3) and **magnetite** (Fe3O4) are common

pahoehoe

lava that in solidified form is characterized by a smooth, billowy, or ropy surface

aa

lava that has a rough, jagged, spiny, and generally clinkery surface

oxygen

a reactive element that is found in water, rocks, and free as a colorless tasteless odorless gas which forms about 21 percent of the atmosphere, that is capable of combining with almost all elements, and that is necessary for life see element

precipitation

formed from water with dissolved atoms/ions in it, usually formed by evaporation of the water (this is how salt is made!)

pyroclastic

a dense, destructive mass of very hot ash, lava fragments, and gases ejected explosively from a volcano and typically flowing downslope at great speed

quartz

a hard white or colorless mineral consisting of silicon dioxide (silicate), found widely in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. It is often colored by impurities (as in amethyst, citrine, and cairngorm

rock

a naturally-occurring solid object made up of one or more minerals, \*can\* have organic material in them, or a non-crystalline structure

sand

a loose granular substance, typically pale yellowish brown, resulting from the erosion of siliceous and other rocks and forming a major constituent of beaches, riverbeds, the seabed, and deserts

sedimentary

formed from deposits of pre-existing rocks or pieces of once-living organism that accumulate on the Earth's surface. If sediment is buried deeply, it becomes compacted and cemented

* often have rounded mineral grains
* Dull, earthy colors
* Bedding Planes
* React to acid
* Can have fossils
* NO foliation patterns
* NO intergrown crystals

sediments

solid material that is moved and deposited in a new location

silicates

Minerals that contain:


1. Silicon (Si)
2. Oxygen (O)

Can have other elements mixed in, but MUST have Si and O in the formula The most common types of minerals! 96% of the minerals in Earth’s crust

Ex. Feldspar and Quartz

silicon

a natural chemical element, part of silicates

solidification

a process of changing the substance from a liquid or gaseous state to a hard or compact mass of solid

silt

fine sand, clay, or other material carried by running water and deposited as a sediment, especially in a channel or harbor

streak

rub across a plate to get a color, vary color of mineral but all samples of a mineral type will exhibit the same color for this

sulfides

contains sulfur and metal

weathering

the process of wearing or being worn by long exposure to the atmosphere