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Mineral - A naturally occurring inorganic compound with a specific chemical makeup and a defined crystal structure
Mineral Tests
Hardness/Scratch Test - This test determines the hardness of the material (or its ability to resist scratching) by taking two materials; one where you
know the hardness and the other where you do not. By scratching them together you can determine which is harder. The material with the higher
hardness will be able to leave a scratch mark. For a reference of items and their hardness one can look to the Moh- Hardness Scale. The MohHardness scale takes 10 common minerals and rates them. The one that ranks number 10 is the most resistant and the one that ranks 1 is the least
resistant. This scale also defines hard minerals from soft minerals. All minerals above the mark of 5.5 are known as Hard Minerals all those under the
mark of 5.5 are known as Soft Minerals.
Hardness
Mineral
10
Diamond
Corundum
Topaz
Quartz
6.5
Streak Plate
Feldspar
5.5
Glass, knife
Apatite
Fluorite
3.5
Penny (copper)
Calcite
2.5
Finger nail
Gypsum
Talc
Streak Test - Often the color of a mineral is different form the color that is left by the minerals streak (aka the powdered residue) against an object
(most often a streak plate). When trying to identify two similarly colored minerals this test can come in handy. Often the streak colors of the minerals
will differ allowing for accurate identification. However this test only works on minerals that have a hardness of 6 or less.
Acid Test - If a mineral is a carbonate it will fizz when acid is dropped on it.
Magnetic Test - The mineral will be drawn to a magnet, therefore showing the presence of magnetic material.
Taste Test - Some minerals have specific tastes to them. By licking the mineral you can sometimes determine what it is. For example Halite tastes
like salt.
Smell Test - For those who do not wish to lick a mineral sometimes a mineral can also be identified by the smell it gives off. For example sulfur has a
very distinctive smell.
Mineral Proprieties
Luster - The appearance that a mineral gives off when light is reflected off it. There are many terms defining the type of luster a mineral gives off,
most are self explanatory.
Earthy - looks like something that would come from off the ground, like dirt
Color - The color that the mineral is on the outside. This is not always a good way to determine what mineral is. Often minerals can be comprised of
many colors or have a variety of colors.
Cleavage - Minerals that exhibit cleavage are able to break along parallel to sub parallel surfaces. A common example when explaining cleavage is
Mica. Mica is made up of thin individual planes that can break off easily because of their weak bonds. When a mineral breaks and has cleavage it will
break into pieces that haves the same geometry as each other. The type of Cleavage a mineral has is determined by the number of planes it has and at
what direction they are placed. Minerals that do not have any cleavage will Fracture when trying to be broken.
Example
1 (basal cleavage)
Mica
2 at 90
Feldspar
3 at 90 (cubic cleavage)
Amphibole
Dolomite
4 (octahedral cleavage)
Fluortie
6 (dodecahedral cleavage)
Sphalerite
Specific Gravity - Using the ratio of the weight of a mineral to the weight of an equal volume of water to determine what mineral it is. For example
if a mineral weighs 5 times as much as an equal volume of water then its specific gravity is 5.
Crystal Form - Each mineral has a distinct crystalline structure within it. By identifying the crystal structure of a mineral you can narrow down the
types of mineral it could be. There are about 64 different types of structures that are broken down into 6 groups.
Like cleavage there are many terms used in defining crystal forms.
Crypto crystalline- crystals in a mineral to small to see with the naked eye
Mineral Groups
Silicates - Minerals that have silicone and oxygen in their composition. There are four types of silicate structured minerals.
Silicates are also broken up into two different groups based on their color. Light (nonferromangesian) Silicates are light in color and have a specific
gravity around 2.7. Light Silicates contain amounts of aluminum, potassium, calcium and sodium. The other group of silicates is Dark
(ferromagnesian) silicates. These silicates are dark in color and have a specific gravity ranging from about 3.2 - 3.6. They also contain mostly iron
and magnesium.
Light Silicates
Group Name
Feldspar Group
3-D Framework
Two planes
meeting at 90
Quartz
3-D Framework
None
Muscovite
Sheet
1 plane (Basal)
Clay Minerals
Sheet
1 plane (Basal)
Olivine Group
3-D Framework
None
Pyroxene Group
Single Chain
Two planes
meeting at 90
Dark Silicates
Two planes at 60
and 120
Biotite
Sheet
1 plane (Basal)
Garnet
3-D Framework
None
Non-Silicates - All other minerals that are not silicates are put into the non-silicate group then broken down into subgroups of non-silicates. There are
6 subgroups.
Grain Size - The size of the grains in an igneous rock is an indicator on how fast the rock cooled. To be considered a coarse grained rock it has a ruff
exterior with grains between 1 and 10 cm. There are also fine grained rocks which often have grains that are less than 1mm and hard to see with the
naked eye. These rocks are very smooth to the touch. Rocks that are neither extremely coarse but are not fine grained are called medium grained. To
say something is coarse, fine, or medium grained are informal terms. To learn the more formal terms move on to the next definition.
Texture - The feel of a rock based on the size, shape, and arrangement of the grains and other parts of the rock. For igneous rocks this is determined
by the cooling rate. An igneous rock that cools faster will have smaller grains and therefore a smoother texture then one that cools slowly and forms
bigger grains. There are many different terms to describe the type of texture an igneous rock has.
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Pegmatitic - Very coarse, very slow cooling. Grains greater then 1 cm.
Aphanitic -Very fine and fast cooling. Grains less than 1mm
Glassy - no crystals
Vesicular - rock that contains gas pockets, look like little tiny voids in the rock
Felsic - Felsic igneous rocks are light in color and are mostly made up of feldspars and silicates. Common minerals found in felsic rock include
Quartz, Plagioclase feldspar, Potassium feldspar, and Muscovite. They contain about 0-15% mafic mineral crystals and have a low density.
Mafic - Mafic igneous rocks are dark colored and consist mainly of magnesium and iron. Common minerals found in mafic rocks include Olivine,
Pyroxene, Amphibole, and biotite. They contain about 46-85% mafic mineral crystals and have a high density.
Ultramafic - Ultramafic igneous rocks are very dark colored and contain higher amounts of the same common minerals as mafic rocks. They contain
about 86-100% mafic mineral crystals.
Intermediate - Intermediate are between light and dark colored. They share minerals with both felsic and mafic rocks. They contain 16-45% mafic
minerals.
Sedimentary Rocks - Rocks which are an accumulation of fragments of many pre-existing rocks.
Sediment - Fragment of a rock on the earths surface
Weathering - The process by which rocks are broken down into sediments. There are two types of weathering:
Mechanical - weathering in which physical process such as frost wedging and unloading break down rocks.
Chemical - weathering in which chemical processes such as oxidation break down rocks.
Transport - method by which sediments are moved across the surface. Types of transport include fluvial, glaciers, wind, and gravity.
Depositional Environment - area in which the sediment comes to rest, there are many different groups and subgroups classifying depositional
environments. Most often they are very straightforward. For example a marsh environment would be called a marsh depositional environment. The
three main groups however are:
Marine - ocean
Lithification - process by which sediments come together to form a sedimentary rock. There are three ways in which this is done:
Compaction - intense weight and compression squishes sediments together to form a sedimentary rock
Silica
Carbonate
Clay Minerals
Organic Matter
Evaporites
Rock Particles
Heavy Minerals
Feldspar
Shapes of Sediments
Sizes of Sediments
Clay - <1/256mm
Boulder - >256mm
Sorting of Sediments
Sedimentary Structures - Features in sedimentary rocks that reflect on what type of transportation created the sedimentary rock.
Graded Bedding - bedding in which the size of the sediment increases as the depth does; marine environments
Mud Cracks
Raindrops
Trace Fossils
Metamorphic Rocks - rocks that change form through the influence of heat, pressure, and/or chemical activity
Types of Metamorphism
1. Contact metamorphism - changes in the rock due to heat from nearby magma
2. Regional metamorphism - causes change through intense heat and pressure
3. Hydrothermal metamorphism - chemical changes in the rock due to the circulation of hot liquids through the rock fractures
4. Fault Zone metamorphism - metamorphic changes caused by fault movements
Degrees of Metamorphism - The quality of the rock is based on the amount of heat and pressure it had applied to it during the metamorphic
processes
A. High Grade - high amounts of heat and pressure
B. Intermediate Grade - medium amounts of heat and pressure
Re crystallization - occurs when small crystals join together to create larger crystals of the same mineral
Neomorphism - new minerals are created from the original mineral composition
Foliated Texture - layers due to heat and pressure; occurs mostly at regional metamorphism spots. Types of foliation can be used
to correctly identify rocks.
Foliated Textures
Texture
Grade
Grains
Other Features
Slaty
Low grade
Fine grained
micas
Sheet separation
Phyllitic
Schistose
Intermediate grade
Medium to
coarse grained
micas, chlorites,
and quartz
Gneissic
Intermediate grade
Medium to
coarse grained
Migmatitic
High grade
Glossy with a
wrinkled look
Alternating dark
and light layers
Grains
Other Features
Crystalline
Medium to Coarse
Microcrystalline
Fine
Microscopic crystals
Sandy
Medium to Coarse
Fused grains
Glassy
No visible grains
There are also Features that occur in both Foliated and Non Foliated Metamorphic Rocks
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Stretched/Sheared grains - pebbles, fossils, or crystals that have been stretched, shortened, or sheared
Lineations - lines on the rock at the edge of foliation, shear planes, slay cleavage, folds, or aligned crystals
Parent Rock
New Rock
Sandstone
Quartzite
Limestone
Marble
Basalt
Schist or Amphibolite
Shale
Slate
Granite
Schist
Rhyolite
Schist