Minerals and Rocks

The Physical Setting: Earth Science

Name: ___________________________________________
Date: __________________________ Period: ___________
Class Notes: Minerals and Rocks
I. Minerals
•
•
Minerals are the ingredients needed to form the different types of rocks
Rock - ! ______________________________________________________________________________
!_____________________________________________________________________________________
Mineral - !_____________________________________________________________________________
!_____________________________________________________________________________________
Inorganic - !___________________________________________________________________________
!_____________________________________________________________________________________
Crystalline - !__________________________________________________________________________
!_____________________________________________________________________________________
Minerals form by three methods:
•

•
1. Crystallization - a process of organizing ________________ to form crystalline solids
2. Recrystallization - the cooling and hardening of _________________ or magma into minerals
3. Rearrangement - the realignment of atoms in minerals under high !______________________
and _________________________
•
Most rock forming minerals are silicates that result in a tetrahedron shape
•
Four-sided units of 4 ____________________ and 1 ____________________
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Class Notes: Minerals and Rocks
•

•
Crystal structure or “_____________________________________________________” are responsible
for the physical and chemical properties a mineral possesses
Each mineral has a set of physical and chemical properties that can be used to identify the sample
•
The methods we use to classify minerals are:
1. Color - a visual attribute of an object based on perception
•
•
One of the most obvious, but not the most reliable
Many of the 4000 known minerals share similar colors
2. Streak - !_______________________________________________________________________
!______________________________________________________________________________
•
Weathering changes the outside color, but streak gives the true color
3. Luster - !_______________________________________________________________________
!______________________________________________________________________________
•
Two types of luster:
•
•
Metallic Luster - shines like stainless steel
Nonmetallic Luster - earthy or dull shine
4. Density - !______________________________________________________________________
!______________________________________________________________________________
•
Sample Problem: a student measures the mass of a mineral to be __________ g
and calculates the volume to be __________ mL. What is the density?
Write the Formula:

Show All Work:

Answer:
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Class Notes: Minerals and Rocks
•
The methods we will use are (continued):
5. Hardness - !____________________________________________________________________
!______________________________________________________________________________
•
Mohs Hardness Scale is used to classify hardness
Hardness
Mineral

Talc
Test
1

2
Finger nail scratches easily

Finger nail scratches

Gypsum

Calcite
3
Copper penny scratches

Steel knife scratches easily

Steel knife scratches

4
Fluorite

Apatite

Feldspar

Quartz
5
6
Steel knife will not scratches

Will scratch glass and steel

Harder then any common mineral

Scratches topaz
7
8
Topaz
9
Corundum

Diamond
10
Hardest mineral
6. Cleavage - !____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
•
Mohs Hardness Scale is used to classify hardness
7. Fracture - ______________________________________________________
!______________________________________________________________________________
•
Tends to lack preferred zones of weakness
8. Acid Test - ! ____________________________________________________________________
!______________________________________________________________________________
•
Calcite and Dolomite both react with acid
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Class Notes: Minerals and Rocks
II. Igneous Rocks
•

•
Igneous Rocks - !______________________________________________________________________
!_____________________________________________________________________________________
Methods to classify igneous rocks:
1. Environment of Formation - !______________________________________________________
!______________________________________________________________________________
•

•
Magma - !_______________________________________________________________
! _______________________________________________________________________
Plutonic - !_______________________________________________________________
! _______________________________________________________________________
Intrusive - !_______________________________________________________________
! _______________________________________________________________________
Lava - !__________________________________________________________________
! _______________________________________________________________________
Volcanic - !_______________________________________________________________
! _______________________________________________________________________
Extrusive - !______________________________________________________________
! _______________________________________________________________________
Lava / Extrusive
Plutonic Rock
Magma / Intrusive
Volcanic Rock
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Class Notes: Minerals and Rocks
2. Color - !_______________________________________________________________________
!______________________________________________________________________________
3. Composition - a mixture of materials that make up an igneous rock
•
Felsic -! _________________________________________________________________
! _______________________________________________________________________
Mafic -!__________________________________________________________________
! _______________________________________________________________________
•
4. Texture - !______________________________________________________________________
!______________________________________________________________________________
•
Vesicular - !______________________________________________________________
! _______________________________________________________________________
Porphyritic - !____________________________________________________________
! _______________________________________________________________________
•
5. Crystal Size - !__________________________________________________________________
!______________________________________________________________________________
•
Crystal size is an important factor to determine the environment of formation
•
The _______________ the cooling time the _______________ the crystal size
(coarse or very coarse)
•
The _______________ the cooling time the _______________ the crystal size
(glassy or fine)
Fine Grained
Coarse Grained
Class Notes: Minerals and Rocks

SchemeforIgneousRockIdentification
CRYSTAL
SIZE
TEXTURE
Obsidian
(usually appears black)
Non-
vesicular
Basaltic glass
Glassy
Pumice
Scoria
Vesicular
(gas
pockets)
Vesicular
andesite
Vesicular rhyolite
Vesicular basalt
Fine
Basalt
Rhyolite
Andesite
Diabase
Peri-
dotite
Non-
vesicular
Diorite
Coarse
Granite
Gabbro
Very
coarse
Pegmatite
LIGHTER

LOWER
COLOR
DARKER
DENSITY
HIGHER
MAFIC
(rich in Fe, Mg)
100%
FELSIC
(rich in Si, Al)
COMPOSITION
100%

75%

50%

25%

0%
Potassium
feldspar
(pink to white)
75%

50%
25%

0%
Quartz
(clear to
white)
Plagioclase feldspar
(white to gray)
Pyroxene
(green)
Biotite
(black)
Olivine
(green)
Amphibole
(black)
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Class Notes: Minerals and Rocks
III. Sedimentary Rocks
•

•
Sedimentary Rocks - !__________________________________________________________________
!_____________________________________________________________________________________
Lithification - !_________________________________________________________________________
!_____________________________________________________________________________________
•
Methods to classify sedimentary rocks:
1. Texture - ! _____________________________________________________________________
!______________________________________________________________________________
•
Texture is the main factor in sedimentary rock identification
•
Clastic - ! _________________________________________________________
!_________________________________________________________________
•

•
Crystalline - ! ______________________________________________________
!_________________________________________________________________
Bioclastic - !_______________________________________________________
!_________________________________________________________________
Bioclastic
Contains Shell Fragments
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Class Notes: Minerals and Rocks
•
Methods to classify sedimentary rocks (continued):
2. Formation - !___________________________________________________________________
!______________________________________________________________________________
•
Most sedimentary rocks form under large bodies of water by the following:
•

•
Cementation - !____________________________________________________
!_________________________________________________________________
•
Occurs as water between sediments dissolves and the remaining
materials hold the clasts together
Compaction - !_____________________________________________________
!_________________________________________________________________
•
Usually results in a decrease in pore space and sediments become
more tightly packs
Chemical Action - !_________________________________________________
!_________________________________________________________________
3. Characteristics - !_______________________________________________________________
!______________________________________________________________________________
•
•
•
Form at or near Earth’s surface where weathering can break down rocks into pieces
Forms in horizontal layers
May contain fossils
Horizontal Layers
Fossils
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Class Notes: Minerals and Rocks
SchemeforSedimentaryRockIdentification
INORGANIC LAND-DERIVED SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
TEXTURE
GRAIN SIZE
COMPOSITION
COMMENTS
ROCK NAME

Conglomerate

Breccia
MAP SYMBOL
Pebbles, cobbles,
and/or boulders
embedded in sand,
silt, and/or clay
Rounded fragments
Mostly
quartz,
Angular fragments

Fine to coarse
feldspar, and
clay minerals;

....
may contain
fragments of

.
other rocks
and minerals
Clastic
(fragmental)
Sand
Sandstone

Siltstone

Shale
(0.006 to 0.2 cm)
.
.
.
.
.
. . . .
.

Silt
.
.
.
Very fine grain
(0.0004 to 0.006 cm)
Clay
Compact; may split
easily
(less than 0.0004 cm)
CHEMICALLY AND/OR ORGANICALLY FORMED SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
TEXTURE
GRAIN SIZE
COMPOSITION
COMMENTS
ROCK NAME
MAP SYMBOL
Halite
Rock salt
Fine
to
coarse
crystals
Crystals from
chemical
precipitates
and evaporites
Crystalline
Gypsum
Rock gypsum

Dolostone
Dolomite

Calcite
Precipitates of biologic
origin or cemented shell
fragments
Crystalline or
bioclastic
Limestone
Microscopic to
very coarse
Compacted
plant remains
Bioclastic
Bituminous coal
Carbon
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Class Notes: Minerals and Rocks
IV. Metamorphic Rocks
•

•
Metamorphic Rocks - ! _________________________________________________________________
!_____________________________________________________________________________________
Parent Rock - !________________________________________________________________________
!_____________________________________________________________________________________
•
Heat
•
•
•
Rock expands when heated causing the atoms to break apart and move freely
As temperature decreases atoms join with other atoms to form different compounds
The result is a structural and chemical change
•

•
Pressure
Under extreme pressure at great depths inside the Earth, atoms bonds are broken and re-
arranged into a denser and more compact structure
•
Methods to classify metamorphic rocks:
1. Texture - the general appearance of the rock
•

•
Foliation -!_______________________________________________________________
! _______________________________________________________________________
Banding -!_______________________________________________________________
! _______________________________________________________________________
Non-foliated -!____________________________________________________________
! _______________________________________________________________________
Foliated
Banding
Non-foliated
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Class Notes: Minerals and Rocks
•
Methods to classify metamorphic rocks (continued):
2. Grain Size - ! ___________________________________________________________________
!______________________________________________________________________________
3. Composition- !__________________________________________________________________
!______________________________________________________________________________
4. Type of Metamorphism-
•
Regional Metamorphism -!_________________________________________________
! _______________________________________________________________________
•
Most metamorphic rocks form regionally under a mountain or deep in-
side the Earth
•
Contact Metamorphism -!__________________________________________________
! _______________________________________________________________________

SchemeforMetamorphicRockIdentification
GRAIN
SIZE
TYPE OF
TEXTURE
COMPOSITION
COMMENTS
ROCK NAME
MAP SYMBOL
METAMORPHISM
Low-grade
metamorphism of shale
Fine
Slate
Regional
(Heat and
pressure
increases)
Foliation surfaces shiny
from microscopic mica
crystals
Phyllite

Schist

Gneiss
Fine
to
medium
Platy mica crystals visible
from metamorphism of clay
or feldspars
Medium
to
coarse
High-grade metamorphism;
mineral types segregated
into bands
Metamorphism of
bituminous coal
Fine

Fine
Carbon
Regional
Anthracite coal
 Hornfels
Various rocks changed by
heat from nearby
magma/lava
Various
minerals
Contact
(heat)
Metamorphism of
quartz sandstone
Quartz
Quartzite
Fine
to
coarse
Regional
or
Calcite and/or
dolomite
Metamorphism of
limestone or dolostone
Marble
contact
Various
minerals
Pebbles may be distorted
or stretched
Coarse
Metaconglomerate
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Class Notes: Minerals and Rocks
V. Rock Cycle
•
Rock Cycle - !_________________________________________________________________________
!_____________________________________________________________________________________
•
•
Any rock type can change into another rock type
Therefore any rock could contain materials that were one part of another rock
•

•
Igneous Rock - !_______________________________________________________________________
!_____________________________________________________________________________________
Sedimentary Rock - !___________________________________________________________________
!_____________________________________________________________________________________
Metamorphic Rock - ! __________________________________________________________________
!_____________________________________________________________________________________
Driving Forces - the processes that create uplift, weathering, erosion, pressure, and melting to form
the different rock types
•
•
•
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
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