Chapter 2 Lecture

Earth Science
Fourteenth Edition

Matter and
Minerals

Jennifer Mangan
James Madison University

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Minerals: Building Blocks of Rocks

• Definition of a mineral
– Natural
– Inorganic
– Solid
– Possess an orderly internal structure of atoms
– Have a definite chemical composition
• Rock – any naturally occurring solid mass of mineral
or mineral-like matter

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Rocks are Aggregates of Minerals

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Atoms: Building Blocks of Minerals

• Atoms
– Smallest particles of matter

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Atomic Structure

• Nucleus – central part of an atom that contains

– Protons – positive electrical charges
– Neutrons – neutral electrical charges
• Electron shells
– Surround nucleus
– Contain electrons – negative electrical charges

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Atomic Structure

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Atoms

• Atomic number
– Number of protons in an atom’s nucleus.

• Ions
– Positively or negatively charged atoms due to electron
gain or loss

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Composition and Structure of Minerals

• Elements
– Basic building blocks of minerals
– Over 100 are known
– Defined by their number of protons
– Groups of the same type of atoms

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Periodic table of the elements

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Atomic Bonding

• Valence shell
– An atom’s outermost shell

• Octet rule
– Atoms gain, lose, or share electrons until their valence
shells have 8 electrons

• Chemical bond
– Transfer or sharing of electrons to achieve full valence
shell

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Atomic Bonding

• Ionic bond
– Atoms bond together when oppositely charged ions attract

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Atomic Bonding

• Covalent bond
– Sharing of a pair of electrons between atoms

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Atomic Bonding

• Metallic bond
– Packed metal atoms have valence electrons free to
move throughout the structure.

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Minerals

• Physical properties of minerals

– Habit – common crystal shape
– Luster – appearance in reflected light
– Color
– Streak – color of mineral in powdered form
– Hardness – ability to resist scratching or abrasion
– Cleavage – tendency to break along planes of weak
bonding

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Metallic Luster: Galena

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Color

• Color can be unreliable due to variations.

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Streak

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Crystal Shape, or Habit: Pyrite

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Hardness: Mohs Scale

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Cleavage: Micas

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Minerals

• Physical properties of minerals

– Fracture – random pattern of breakage
– Specific gravity – mineral density
– Tenacity – resistance to cutting, breaking, bending, and
deformation

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Conchoidal fracture

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Minerals

• Other properties
– Taste
– Smell
– Elasticity
– Malleability
– Double refraction
– Magnetism
– Feel
– Reaction with hydrochloric acid

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Mineral Groups

• Rock-forming minerals
– Only a few dozen
– Most abundant atoms in Earth’s crust are oxygen (46.6%
by weight) and silicon (27.7% by weight)

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Mineral Groups

• Eight elements compose most rock-forming

minerals:
– oxygen (O),
– silicon (Si),
– aluminum (Al)
– iron (Fe)
– calcium (Ca)
– sodium (Na)
– potassium (K)
– magnesium (Mg)

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Composition of Continental Crust

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Mineral Groups

• Rock-forming silicates
– Most common mineral group
– Contain the silicon-oxygen
tetrahedron
• Four oxygen atoms
surrounding a much smaller
silicon atom
• Combines with other atoms
to form the various silicate
structures

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Mineral Groups

• Rock-forming silicates
– Groups based upon tetrahedral arrangement
• Olivine – independent tetrahedra
• Pyroxene group – tetrahedra are arranged in chains
• Amphibole group – tetrahedra are arranged in double chains

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Hornblende: An Amphibole

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Mineral Groups

• Rock-forming silicates
– Groups based upon tetrahedral arrangement
• Micas – tetrahedra are arranged in sheets
– Two types of mica are biotite (dark) and muscovite (light)
• Feldspars – Three-dimensional network of tetrahedra

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Mineral Groups

• Rock-forming silicates
– Groups based upon tetrahedral arrangement
• Feldspars – most abundant group of minerals in Earth’s crust
• Quartz – three-dimensional network of tetrahedra

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Potassium feldspar

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Rose Quartz

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Mineral Groups

• Nonsilicate minerals – major groups

– Oxides
– Sulfides
– Carbonates
– Halides
– Native elements

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Common Nonsilicate Mineral Groups

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Minerals

• Mineral groups
– Nonsilicate minerals
• Carbonates
– A major rock-forming group
– Found in the rocks limestone and marble
• Halite and gypsum are found in sedimentary rocks
• Many have economic value

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Natural Resources

• Renewable
– Can be replenished in relatively short time spans
• Corn, wind, water, etc.

• Nonrenewable
– Earth has fixed quantities
• Oil, aluminum, natural gas, coal

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Natural Resources

• Mineral resources
– Mineral resources are occurrences of useful minerals that
will eventually be extracted
– Ore deposits are concentrations of metallic minerals that
can be mined at a profit
– Economic factors may change and influence a resource

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Copper Mining

© 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.