Instuderingsfrgor Del 1

1.) Reflectiononlastweekstopics.Askyourself:
- Howarethesilicatesgrouped?Givethreeexamplesforthreegroups.
1. Frameworksilicate;Quartz,Microcline(Kfeldspar),Albite(Plagioclase).
2. Chainsilicate;Diopside(Clinopyroxene),Enstatite(Orthopyroxene),
Tremolite(Amphibole).
3. Ortosilicate;Forsterite(Olivine),Almandine(Garnet),Zircon.
4. Sheetsilicate;Talc,Muscovite,Serpentine.
5. Disilicate;Epidote.
6. Ringsilicate;Beryl,Cordierite,Tourmaline.
- Howarethenonsilicatesgrouped?Givethreeexamplesforthreegroups.
1. Carbonates;Aragonite,Dolomite,Calcite.
2. Sulphates;Gypsum,Barite.
3. Oxides;Spinel,Hematite,Rutile.
4. Halides;Halite,Fluorite.
5. Sulphides;Sphalerite,Galena,Pyrite.
6. Phosphates;Apatite.
7. Tungstates;Scheelite,Wolframite.
- Givemineralname(s)forthefollowingformulas:SiO2,KAlSi3O8,KAlSi2O6,FeS2
Quartz,Kfeldspar(Microcline,Orthoclase,Sanidine),Leucite&Pyrite.
- Giveformulasforthefollowingminerals:Corundum,magnetite,nepheline
Al2O3,FeFe2O4,Na3K(Al4Si4O16)
- Whatfactorsarenecessarytoformaneconomicsulphidedeposit?
1. Water:Maybemeteoric(rain,snow),magmatic(evolvedfrommagma),
metamorphic(releasedduringmetamorphism)orconnate(trappedinsediment
pores).
2. Heat:Oftenprovidedbyigneousintrusions.
3. Sourceformetalsandotherelementsprecipitatedfromthewater.
4. Migrationpathways:Faults,fracturesandthenormalporespace.
5. Precipitationsiteforminerals.
- Listimportantoremineralsforthefollowingmetals:copper,lead,antimony,tin,
platinum
1. Copper(Cu)=Chalcopyrite
2. Lead(Pb)=Galena
3. Antimony(Sb)=Stibnite
4. Tin(Zn)=Cassiterite
5. Platinum(Pt)=Usuallyfoundasanativeelement.
- Pleaseexplainamiscibilitygap.Usefeldsparsasanexample.

Amiscibilitygapistheregioninaphasediagramforamixtureofcomponentswhere
thecomponentsarenotcompletelymiscible(mixable).

WhatisthedifferencebetweenanorderedandadisorderedKfeldspar?
Withorderdisorderpolymorphism,themineralstructureremainsmoreorlessthe
same.Whatchangesisthecationdistributionwithinstructuralsites.IftwocationsX
andYcanoccupytwoequivalentstructuralsitesA1orA2,thestructureisconsidered
disorderedifthereisanequalprobabilityoffindingXineitherA1andA2.IfallX
cationsarelocatedinsiteA1andallYcationsareinsiteA2,thestructureisconsidered
fullyordered.
KAlSi3O8

Differences;DisorderedSanidineiscreatedinanenvironmentwithhightemperatures
withallowsAltooccupymoreplacesintheatomicstructure,thaninordered
MicroclinewherealloftheAlisplacedinjustonespecificplaceintheatomic
structure.
Whyarezeolitesimportantinourdailylifes?
TheZeolitegroupisagroupofsilicatemineralsintheFrameworksilicatecategory
whichhavemultipleusagesindailylife.Mostoftheseusesdependontheunique
structuralandchemicalbehavioroftheseminerals.Atroomtemperature,thestructural
voidsinzeolitescanbeentirelyoccupiedbywatermoleculesandtheMandD
cations.Iftemperatureisincreased,however,thewaterwillbereleased.Asthe
temperaturedecreasesthevoidscanfillupwithwateragain.Thispropertymakes
zeolitesusefulasdesiccants.Zeolitescanalsobeusedaswatercleansers,foran
exampleinsewagetreatment.Anotheruseisasacatalystinchemicalprocesses,
particularlyinpetroleumrefining.
Whatisthedifferencebetweenspinelsensustrictoandspinelsensulato

Sensustrictorefertoaspecificendmember,inthiscasetheendmemberspinel.While
spinelsensulatorefertospinelinawidersenseandnotjustonlythespecific
endmember.
Whatarethetwooptionsstoringhydrogeninminerals?Whyisthatofprime
interestforunderstandinggeology?
ThefirstoptionisasanOHgroupinamineralstructure.Thesecondoptionisasa
wholeH2Omolecule.EitherasapartofthemolecularstructureasinGypsumwhereit
functionsasaweakHydrogenbonding.Oraswholehydrogenmolecularfoundinthe
voidofthemolecularstructureofringsilicates.Berylbeingoneexampleofring
silicates.
Thismightbeofinterestasithasthepossibilitytotellussomethingaboutthe
environmentwherethemineralwasformedasH+Omusthavebeenavailablewhen
themineralwasformed.

InstuderingsfrgorDel2
2.) Reflectiononthisweekstopics.Askyourself:
- Typesofbonding?Differences?
IonicBonding;Anionicbondisachemicalbondformedbytheelectrostatic
attractionbetweenpositiveandnegativeions.ThinkofHalitewheretheNaatom
easilygivesawayoneelectrontoachievenoblegasstructurewhiletheClatommisses
oneintheouterorbitalshell.(Jonbinding).Thestrengthofionicbondsisdepended
ontheelectronegativity.Thehigherthedifferencethestrongerthebondgets.
CovalentBonding;Covalentbondsarechemicalbondsformedbythesharingof
electronsbetweenatoms.Covalentbondingoccurswhentheorbitaloftwoatoms
overlap.Thestrengthofcovalentbondisfunctionofthedegreetowhichtheorbitals
ofadjacentatomsoverlap.
MetallicBonding;canbeconsideredtobeatypeofcovalentbondinginwhichthe
valenceelectronsaredelocalizedandarefreetomovefromatomtoatomthroughout
thecrystalstructure.Intheidealcasethemetalatomsconsistofpositivelycharged
sphericalcorespackedtogethertoformthestructureofthesolidmetal.Valence
electronsformamobilegluethatholdsitalltogether.Metalstendstoberelatively
softandmalleable.Conductelectricity.Further,becausethemetalatomshavetheir
valencerequirementssatisfiedbytheseaofvalenceelectrons,itsveryeasyforone
metaltosubstituteforanotherinthecrystalstructure.Whichiswhyitspossibleto
createdifferentalloys,whichismixturesofdifferentmetals.

BondsNotInvolvingValenceElectrons
VandeerWaalsBonding;VanderWaalsbondsaredependedonasymmetrical
chargedistribution.Achievedbyatanygiveninstantmoreelectronswillbeonone
sideoftheatomicstructurethantheotherside,producingapolarization.
HydrogenBonding;HydrogenbondsoccurbecausetheH2Omoleculeispolar.
Oxygenishighlyelectronegativesoitplacesagreaterclaimonthesharedelectrons
thanthehydrogenatomsdoes.Whichproducesanelectricalpolaritytothewater
molecule,whichholdstheatomstogether.
Howcanelectronegativitybeusedtodistinguishbetweenthem?
IngeneralIonicbondingcanbeexpectedifthereisabigdifferencein
electronegativitybetweentheatoms.CovalentandMetallicbondinginvolvesharing
electronswithsimilaraffinityforelectronsandshouldbeexpectedtohaveasmallor
zerodifferenceinelectronegativity.VanderWaalsandHydrogenBondingdoesnot
involvevalenceelectrons.
Examplesforseveralbondingtypesinonemineral
GraphiteCovalentbondingandVanderWaalsbondingbetweenlayers.
Relationshipbetweencoordinationnumberandionicradius?

Coordinationnumberisthenumberoftheatomsnearneighbors.Hencethe
coordinationnumberincreasesastheionicradiusincreases.Duetomorespacefor
neighborstoconnecttotheatom.
Whatcoordinationnumbersarerealizedinminerals?Whatarethenamesof
thosecoordinationtypes?
A,12fold;Cuboctahedral
B,8fold;Cubiccoordination
C,6fold;Octahedral
D,4fold;Tetrahedral
E,3fold;Triangular
F,2fold;Linearcoordination
Listthemostcommonvalences(oxidationstates)ofthefollowingelements
(distinguishbetweencationand/oranion):C,O,F,Na,Mg,Al,Si,P,S,O,Cl,K,
Ca,Ti,Mn,Fe
C
O
F
Na
Mg
Al
Si
P

+4(Cation)
2(Anion)
1(Anion)
+1(Cation)
+2(Cation)
+3(Cation)
+4(Cation)
+5(Cation)

S
O
Cl
K
Ca
Ti
Mn
Fe

2/+6(Anion)
2(Anion)
1(Anion)
+1(Cation)
+2(Cation)
+1/+2/+3+4(Cation)
+2/+3/+4/+5/+6/+7(Cation)
+2/+3(Cation)

Whatisaeuhedralcrystal?
Euhedralcrystalsarethosecrystalsthatarewellformed,withsharp,easilyrecognized
faces.Aneuhedralcrystalistheopposite.Acrystalwithnowellformedcrystalfaces.
Whatisaunitcell?
Thesmallestgroupofatomsinthemineralthatformstherepeatingpatternthatbuilds
upthecrystal,thebuildingblockofthecrystalforshort.
Whatarethesevenlatticesystems?
Triclinic
Monoclinc
Orthorhombic
Tetragonal
Rhombohedral
Hexagonal
Cubic
Whattypesofsymmetryoperationsarepossible?
Reflection;Areflectionisproducedbyamirrorplanethatpassesthroughacrystal
structuresothatthepatternononesideisamirrorimageofthepatternontheother.
Rotation;Rotationalsymmetryinvolvesrepeatingamotifbyasetofuniformrotations
aboutanaxis.

Inversion;Ifacrystalhasinversionorcentersymmetry,anylinedrawnthroughthe
originwillfindidenticalfeaturesequidistantfromtheoriginonoppositesidesofthe
crystal.
RotationwithInversion
Whatrotaionoperationsarepossible?Whynotmore?
Intwodimensionsrotationispossible6times.A1,A2,A3,A4andA6.
SOFAR;Crystalswithasymmetryof5,or7facesormorecannotforma
symmetricalsheetthatcanberepeatedintoinfinity.
Whatisapointgroup?Howmanydoexist?
Intwodimensionsthepossiblesymmetryelementsaremirrorsandrotations.
Inversionispossibleonlyinthreedimensions.Withtheadditionofthethird
dimension,inversionbecomespossibleandthenumberofdifferentcombinationsof
symmetryincreasesto32.Thesesymmetrycombinationsareknownasthe32point
group.
WhatisaMillerindex?
Themillerindexisasystemtodescribetheorientationofcrystalfacesand
crystallographicplanes.Caxisisalwaysthelongest,Baxisisthesecondlongestand
theAaxisistheshortest.
DrawaplanewithaMillerindex(111)andonewith(111).

Whyarethemoststablelatticeplanesoftennotvisibleinwelldeveloped
crystals?
Latticeplaneswiththehighestdensityarethemoststable,butexperienceslowgrowth
duetotheabundanceofatomsneededtoconstructthem.Thesestablefaceswill
appearatthenucleationstagesofgrowth(1),butthenwilldiminishduetofastgrowth
inthesedirections(24).ParadoxoftheGrowthofCrystalFaces

Whatareprismaticshapesandwhatisadipyramid?
Prismaticshape:Twopolygonsbasesconnectedbyaparallelogram.
Dipyrmaid:Twopyramids,oneoneachendofthecrystal.Thetwopyramidsare
relatedtoeachotherbyreflectionacrossamirrorplanebetweenthem.

Whatcausescolor?Pleasegivethreeexamples.

Mineral

Colour

Cause

InstuderingsfrgorDel3
3.) Reflectiononthisweekstopics.Askyourself:
- WhatisthemostcommonmineralintheEarthsmantle?
Bridgmanitemakesuparound38%oftheplanetstotalvolume,meaningthatsbyfar
themostabundantmineralonEarth.

Themostcommonmineralinthecontinentalcrustisquartzandthecrustsmost
commonmineralisprobablymineralsfromtheKfeldspargroup.
Whatarethethreepolymorphsinthealuminosilicategroup?Whyarethey
importantforinterpretingmetamorphicrocks?PleaseusethecoordinationofAl
toexplainstructuraldifferencesatdifferentpressureconsitions.Giveanother
examplewhereacoordinationchangeisinducedbypressure.
Kyanite,Sillimanite&Andalusite.Theyareimportantforinterpretingmetamorphic
rocksastheycanbeusedasanindicator(temperaturepressure)fortheenvironment
wheretheywerecreatedin.Seethediagrambelow.
Andalusite,SillimaniteandKyanitearereconstructivepolymorphswhosestructures
canbedescribedintermsofedgesharingchainsofaluminiumoctahedrasthatare
linkedlaterallythroughSiandAl,Almayoccurintetrahedraloroctahedral
coordinationsubstitutingforSi.Alas,theAlisineitheranoctahedralcoordination
(lowtemperatureandpressure,Andalusite)orinamixofoctahedralandtetrahedral
coordinationasthetemperatureallowsformorefreedomwithinthemolecular
structure,Silimanite.Asthepressureincreasesitdistortsthemolecularstructure
givingitamorecompactstructure,Kyanite.

Ananotherexampleofwhencoordinationchangesasthepressurechangesis,Quartz.

Whatisanaccessorymineral?
Amineralwhichexistsinsmallamountstogetherwithotherminerals.Zirconisan
example.
WhichmineralsareimportantforU/Pbdating?
UraniumleaddatingisusuallyperformedonZircon,thoughitcanbeusedonother
mineralsasmonazite,titanite.
Howaresheetsilicatesclassified?Usethetermsstackingandoctahedral
occupancy.Givemineralexamples.
Thesheetsilicatesareclassifiedbytheirmoleculararrangementeitheras
Trioctahedral(Mg2+)andDioctahedral(Al3+).Notethatthediandandtrireferto

theoccupancyoftheoctahedralsites,notthechargeofthecations.Theyarefurther
classifiedbytheirtetrahedralandoctahedralstacking.

Examples:

Mg2+
Serpentine
Talc

Al3+
Kaolinite
Muscovite

Whycanthesheetsilicatechrysotileoccurinfibrousaggregates,inwhichformit
isanasbestosmineral?Pleasegiveanotherexampleofanasbestosmineral.
Itcanoccurinfibrousaggregatesbecauseitsmolecularstructureisslightlyshorter
ononesidewhichgivesthestructureaslightbend.Asthecrystalgrowsitwillstart
wrappingarounditself,forminganeedleshape.

Crocidolite,aNaamphibole,isanotherexampleofanasbestos.
Listfourclayminerals.Whyareclaymineralsrelevantformankind?
1. Kaolinte
2. Smectite
3. Illite
4. Chlorite
Clayhavebeenusedsincebeforetherecordedhistoryandhavemultipleuses.Ithas
beenusedasbuildingproducts,ceramicsandformstogetherwithsandafertilesoilto
growfoodon.

BrieflydescribeXraydiffractionanditsroleinmineralogy.
Xraydiffractionisamethodfordeterminetheatomicandmolecularstructureofa
crystalbyshootingbeamsofXraysintothemineralandmeasuringtherefractedrays.

Whichcanbeusedasatooltoanalyzeandidentifysmallsamplesofunknown
minerals.

Xraydiffractionhadabigimpactonmineralogyasitmadeitpossibletostudythe
detailedarrangementofatoms/ions.
Writedownfourmineralendmembersofpyroxene(withchemicalformulas).
Diopside
CaMgSi2O6
Hedenbergite
CaFeSi2O6
Jadeite
NaAlSi2O6
Enstatite
Mg2Si2O6
Whatarethecoupledsubstitutionsneededtogetthoseendmembers,starting
fromdiopside?

Mg1
Ca1
Ca1Mg1
Ca1Mg1
Mg1Si1
-

Fe+1
Mg+1
Na+1Al+1
Na+1Fe+1
Al+1Al+1

Mg1
Ca1
Ca1Mg1
Ca1Mg1
#1Si1

Ca
Ca
Mg
Na
Na
Ca

Mg
Fe
Mg
Al
Fe3+
Al

Si2
Si2
Si2
Si2
Si2
AlSi

O6
O6
O6
O6
O6
O6

Writedownfourmineralendmembersofamphibole(withchemicalformulas).
Tremolite
Ca2Mg5Si8O22(OH)2
FeActinolite
Ca2Fe5Si8O22(OH)2
Glaucophane
Na2Mg3Al2Si8O22(OH)2
Riebeckite
Na2Mg3Fe3+2Si8O22(OH)2
Whatarethecoupledsubstitutionsneededtogetthoseendmembers,starting
fromtremolite?
-

Diopside
Hedenbergite
Enstatite
Jadeite
Aegirine
Catschermakite

Fe+1
Mg+1
Na+1Al+1
Na+1Fe+1
Na+1Al+1

Tremolite
Fetremolite
Anthophyllite
Glaucophane
Riebeckite
Edenite

Ca2
Ca2
Mg2
Na2
Na2
NaCa2

Mg5
Fe5
Mg5
Mg3Al2
Mg3Fe3+2
Mg5

Si8
Si8
Si8
Si8
Si8
AlSi7

Whatareaugite,pigeoniteandhornblende?
?
Whydophosphatesgenerallyhavegreaterhardnessthancarbonates?
?
Whichmineralscanbeformedbyorganisms(biomineralization)?
Acoupleofexamples;
Carbonates

O22(OH)2
O22(OH)2
O22(OH)2
O22(OH)2
O22(OH)2
O22(OH)2

Aragonite
Calicte
Dolominte
Rhodochrosite
Siderite
Sulfates
Gypsum
Barite
Celestine
Sulfides
Pyrite
-

Whyarecarbonatesrelevantforunderstandingclimatechangeinthegeologic
past?CarbonateshavethepotentialtostoremassiveamountsofCO2asasolid
material,slowlydrainingtheatmosphereofonethegreenhousegases.Aswellasthe
opposite,slowlyincreasingtheamountofCo2intheatmospherewhenthesolid
carbonatesreleaseCo2.Sounderstandingthatprocessesisvitalifyouwantto
understandtheclimatechangesinthepast.

Listimportantoremineralsforthefollowingelements:tungsten,copper,boron,
zirconium.
Wolframite,Chalcopyrite,Kernite,Zircon.