Lesson 5:

Minerals and Rocks

 Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the learners will be able to:
1. demonstrate understanding about physical and
chemical properties of minerals and will be able to
identify certain minerals using specific tests;
2. identify some common rock-forming minerals; and
3. classify minerals based on chemical affinity.
 At the end of the lesson:
a. I can describe how much minerals are part of our
daily lives.
a. I can describe minerals as a life-long hobby
(gemstone collectors).
b. I can describe the importance and use of minerals
to human development.
c. I can develop a systematic way of identifying
minerals.
Do you consider water a
mineral? How about snowflake
or tube ice?
Examples of mineral use in
our
daily lives:
1. halite (salt) for cooking
2. graphite (pencil) for writing
3. diamond and gold as jewelry
 What is a Mineral?
naturally occurring, inorganic solid
with orderly crystalline structure
has a definite chemical composition
basic building blocks of rocks
 Water is not a mineral since it is not
solid and crystalline.
Tube ice is not a mineral because it is
not naturally occurring.
Snow flake is a mineral because it is
 Solid
 Crystalline
 Naturally occurring
MOTIVATION: WATCH VIDEO CLIP
Identify the different mineral
properties described in the
video.
Different Mineral
Properties
 1. Luster
- It is the quality and
intensity of reflected light
exhibited by the mineral
 1. Luster
a. Metallic – generally opaque and exhibit
a brilliant shine similar to a polished metal
b. Non-metallic – vitreous (glassy),
adamantine (diamond-like), resinous
(gummy), silky, pearly, dull (earthy), greasy
 2. Hardness
- It is a measure of the
resistance of a mineral to
abrasion or scratch.
 3. Color and streak
•What is the difference
between COLOR and STREAK?
 COLOR

-It is a unique identifying property of

certain minerals
e.g. malachite –green
azurite – blue
 COLOR
-some minerals can exhibit a range of colors.
ex: mineral quartz can be -
pink (rose quartz),
purple (amethyst),
orange (citrine),
white (colorless quartz)
 STREAK
•the color of a mineral in powdered form
•note that the color of a certain mineral could
be different from the streak.
example,
pyrite exhibits golden color (Fool’s Gold)
but has a black or dark gray streak.
 STREAK
•Streak is a better diagnostic property as
compared to color
•Streak is inherent to almost every mineral.
•Color maybe unreliable for identification as
impurities within the minerals may give the
minerals a different color.
 4. Crystal Form/Habit
• It is the external shape of a crystal or groups of crystals
• It is the natural shape of the mineral before the
development of any cleavage or fracture.
Ex: prismatic, tabular, bladed, platy,
reniform and equant
• A mineral that do not have a crystal structure is
described as amorphous.
 5. Cleavage
• It is the property of some minerals to break along
parallel repetitive planes of weakness to form smooth,
flat surfaces.
• When minerals break evenly in more than one
direction, cleavage is described by the number of
cleavage directions and the angle(s) between planes
ex: cleavage in 2 directions at 90 degrees to each other
1 2 3
 Mineral cleavage:
#1 photo shows one cleavage direction
(biotite).
 #2 photo has cleavage in 2 directions at 90°
(orthoclase).
#3 photo has 3 cleavage directions at 74°
(calcite).

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org License

 6. Fracture
•Some minerals may not have cleavages but
exhibit broken surfaces that are irregular and
non-planar.
•Examples:
conchoidal, fibrous, hackly, uneven
 7. Specific Gravity
• It is the ratio of the weight of a
mineral to the weight of an equal
volume of water.
 7. Specific Gravity
•A bucket of silver (SG 10) would weigh 10
times more than a bucket of water (SG 1).
•It is a measure to express the density (mass
per unit volume) of a mineral.
•The specific gravity of a mineral is numerically
equal to density.
 8. Other Properties
• These are certain unique properties of minerals that
actually help in their identification.
ex: magnetism,
odor,
taste,
tenacity,
reaction to acid, etc.
 Properties of salt or halite
Mineral Name HALITE (TABLE SALT) Chemical Composition NaCl

Luster non-metallic – vitreous;

Hardness Color white transparent to translucent
Streak Crystal Form / Habit soft (2-2.5)
Cleavage perfect cubic White
Specific Gravity Cubics
Other Properties alty taste; very soluble;
produces reddish spark in
flame
How do you think can we
group minerals together?
Mineral Groups
 1. Silicates
• minerals containing 2 of the most abundant
elements in the Earth’s crust, namely, silicon and
oxygen.
• When linked together, these two elements form
the silicon oxygen tetrahedron – the fundamental
building block of silicate minerals.
• Over 90% of the rock-forming minerals belong to
this group.
2. Oxides

– minerals containing Oxygen anion (O2-)

combined with one or more metal ions
3. Sulfates –

- minerals containing Sulfur and Oxygen

anion (SO4)- combined with other ions
4. Sulfides

- minerals containing sulfur anion (S2)-

combined with one or more ions.
- Some sulfides are sources of economically
important metals such as copper, lead and
zinc.
5. Carbonates

- minerals containing the carbonate anion

(CO3)2- combined with other elements
6. Native Elements –
• minerals that form as individual elements
a. Metals and Inter-metals – minerals with high
thermal and electrical conductivity, typically with
metallic luster, low hardness (gold, lead)
b. Semi-metals – minerals that are more fragile
than metals and have lower conductivity (arsenic,
bismuth)
c. Nonmetals – nonconductive (sulfur, diamond)
7. Halides

–minerals containing halogen elements

combined with one or more elements
Activity 2.
• Group the students into 3-4 teams. The teacher to print and provide each team a copy of
• the Mineral Decision Tree and Mineral Identification Charts
(https://gln.dcccd.edu/Geology_Demo/
• content/LAB03/LAB_Man_03.pdf). Based on the discussed topics and examples, select
ten (10)
• different rock-forming minerals (known or unknown to students) and determine the
different
• properties that can be used to identify them. Write the data in a Manila paper using
markers. Include
• which chemical family group these minerals belong. The team will then select a leader to
present
• their output to the class.
• ENRICHMENT
ENRICHMENT

• Homework to be submitted on next meeting. Think of 5 minerals and

their common uses and identify
• the specific property/properties that made them for that purpose
(e.g. graphite, having a black streak
• and hardness of 1-2, is used in pencils due to its ability to leave marks
on paper and other objects).
EVALUATION
A. Summary questions related to the lesson
(Questions in bold font are difficult questions):
1. What are the characteristics that define a mineral?
2. Which among the following mineral groups, if any, contain silicon: halides,
carbonates or sulfides? Explain.
3. Which is more abundant in the Earth’s crust: silicates or all the other mineral
groups combined? Explain.
4. An unknown opaque mineral has a black streak and has a density of 18g/cm3. Is
the mineral metallic or non-metallic?
5. What is the difference between a mineral's streak and color? Why is streak more
reliable for rock identification?
6. Differentiate habit and a cleavage plane.
7. Is it possible for a mineral to have a prismatic habit without having any cleavage?
Why or why not? If yes, give an example.
• hardness scale designed by German geologist/mineralogist
• Friedrich Mohs in 1812 (Mohs Scale of Hardness). The test compares
the resistance of a mineral
• relative to the 10 reference minerals with known hardness. It is
simply determining the ha
• It is simply determining the hardness of a
• mineral by scratching them with common objects of known hardness
(e.g. copper coin -3.0-3.5).
3.