Geology 5/15 - Notes + Flashcard

Quiz Friday: 15.3 and 15.4

A mineral is…

1. Naturally Occurring

2. Inorganic

3. Solid

4. Definite Composition

5. Internal crystalline structure

Definite composition:

• Mineral halite is composed of…

  • sodium & chlorine

• Minerals like diamond and graphite have similar compositions (both are composed of carbon)… but in what ways do they tell apart?

  • diamond is harder because it is covalently bonded, while graphite is bonded by Van Der Waals interactions

Internal Crystalline Structure:

• Amorphis

  • No regular pattern of crystalline structure

• XDR: X-Ray Diffraction

  • The position of the atoms in the crystalline structure that gives an X-ray pattern

Crystal Growth

• What does slow solidification of a melt produce?

  • large crystals

• What does very fast solidification of a melt produce?

  • Glass

• Precipitation from a solution

• Each crystal starts out as a “seed” and grows atom by atom to form its structure

• What does the size of a crystal indicate?

  • the temperature in which it grew in

Additional Mineral Properties

• What is the color property of Sulfur

  • Yellow

• What is an example of a mineral that gives off a red streak?

  • Hematite

• What is an example of the hardest mineral on the Mohs scale?

  • Diamond

• Crystal form

  • Ex: Graphite vs. Diamond

• Cleavage

  • How a mineral/rock naturally breaks

• What is an example of cleavage?

  • Halite has 3 planes that are 90 degrees

Common Mineral Groups

• Silicate Minerals

  • Most common, most abundant, located on the crust

  • can form a variety of bonds, creating different types of forms of rock.

• Mafic (ferro) minerals:

  • lots of iron, dark-colored rocks, more dense

• Felsic (non-ferro):

  • Lots of quartz and silicon, light-colored rocks, less dense

• Non silicate Minerals:

  • Not as common, located deep inside the Earth

• Oxides:

  • metals bound with oxygen, iron ores

• Sulfides:

  • metals bound with sulfur

• Halides:

  • evaporate minerals

• Carbonates:

  • useful for creating sediment

• Phosphates:

  • Helps create fertilizer for plants

• Characteristics of silicate minerals are based off of…

  • how the tetrahedra is linked together.

Mineral Resources

• Mineral Resources: Metallic →

  • conduct electricity, metallic bonds bent/drawn/hammered, rare, popular for currency

• Smelting metallic minerals for purification →

  • separating metal from slag

• Mineral Resources: Nonmetallic →

  • kaolin, quartz, sand, gypsum, halite, also aggregates and building stone.

• Mineral Resources: Magmatic:

  • massive sulfide deposits

• Example of magmatic mineral resource

  • galena, mercury, zinc, nickel, silver.

• Mineral Resources: Hydrothermal deposits

  • o the accumulation of minerals in fractures and cavities resulting from the circulation of hot waters in the Earth's crust.

• Example of hydrothermal deposit resource

  • copper, gold

• Mineral Resources: Black smokers:

  • the heating of water and minerals below the surface, creating a black sulfide mineral cloud coming out in a chimney form

• Mineral Resources: Secondary Enrichment:

  • leaching and transport

• example of secondary enrichment resource

  • copper, zinc, and lead

• Mineral Resources: Sedimentary deposits:

  • minerals precipitate in sedimentary environment

• Example of sedimentary deposit resource

  • BIF’s manganese, nodules, kaolinite

• Mineral Resources: Residual:

  • left behind minerals getting carried away by a stream

• Example of residual mineral resource

  • bauxite, aluminum

• Mineral Resources: Placer deposit:

  • dense minerals accumulate inthe stream

• Example of placer deposits resource

  • gold, diamond

6.1-6.4 Wednesday

6.6-6.7 Friday

Rock Cycle

1. Weathering and erosion, sedimentation and lithification

   Few km, <200C

1. Melting, followed by cooling and solidification

   50-250 km, >800C

1. Heat and pressure accompanied by chemical activity

   In between

***Include pictures of rock cycle