Judilla James Daniel A.

NCE 1202- 1CE

M2-Activity No.2: Minerals and Rocks
1. List and explain the physical properties of minerals that are most useful
for identification.
Color, luster, streak, hardness, cleavage, fracture, and crystal form are the
most useful physical properties for identifying most minerals.

1. Hardness- The ability to resist being scratched—or hardness—is one of the

most useful properties for identifying minerals.
2. Luster is how a mineral reflects light. The terms metallic and nonmetallic
describe the basic types of luster.
3. One of the most obvious properties of a mineral is color. Color should be
considered when identifying a mineral but should never be used as the
major identifying characteristic.
4. Streak is the color of the powdered mineral, which is usually more useful
for identification than the color of the whole mineral sample.
5. Specific gravity is the ratio between the mass (weight) of a mineral and
the mass (weight) of an equal volume of water.
6. The way in which a mineral break along smooth flat planes is called
cleavage.
7. When a mineral break irregularly, the breaks are called fractures. The
breaks can be described as grainy, hackly (jagged), conchoidal (curved), or
splintery.
8. A crystal form is a set of crystal faces that are related to each other by
symmetry.

2. Why is color often an unreliable property for mineral identification?

It is common for one mineral to be naturally found in more than one color.
Different minerals may also be the same color. Different minerals often have the
same color. For example, if you used color alone to identify the two minerals below,
you might conclude this was the same mineral, but the first one is barite and the
second is dolomite. Using color alone to identify a mineral could lead to an
inaccurate conclusion. The hardness of the mineral, luster, cleavage, fracture, how
it reacts to an acid, and other traits can be used to identify what the mineral is.
3. List the rock-forming minerals. Why are they called rock-forming? Which
are silicates? Why are so many of them silicates?

Rocks consist of minerals. A mineral is a material that occurs naturally and

is generally strong, crystalline, stable and inorganic at room temperature. There
are many known mineral species, but the vast majority of rocks are formed by
combinations of a few common minerals, called “rock-forming minerals.” The
minerals that form rock are: feldspar, quartz, amphiboles, micas, olivine, grenade,
calcite, pyroxenes. Rock-forming mineral, any mineral that forms igneous,
sedimentary, or metamorphic rocks and that typically, or solely, forms as
an intimate part of rock-making processes. The vast majority of the minerals that
make up the rocks of Earth’s crust are silicate minerals. These include minerals
such as quartz, feldspar, mica, amphibole, pyroxene, olivine, and a great variety
of clay minerals. The variety and abundance of the silicate minerals is a result of
the nature of the silicon atom, and even more specifically, the versatility and
stability of silicon when it bonds with oxygen.

4. Make a table with two columns. list the basic silicates structures in the
left column. In the right column, list one or more examples of rock-forming
minerals for each structure.

Basic silicates structures examples

Quartzs Amethyst, rock crystal, rose quartz,

smoky quartz

Feldspar Albite, sanidine, anorthite, plagioclase

Mica Muscovite, phlogopite, biotite,

lepidolite

Amphibole Nephrite, hornblende, actinolite,

inosilicate

Pyroxene Aegirine, augite, burnettite, davisite

Olivine Forsterite, fayalite, monticellite,

tephroite
5. Explain how mining can release harmful or poisonous materials from
rocks that were benign in their natural environment.

When the sulfides in the rock are excavated and exposed to water and air
during mining, they form sulfuric acid. This acidic water can dissolve
other harmful metals in the surrounding rock. If uncontrolled, the acid mine
drainage may runoff into streams or rivers or leach into groundwater.

6. Explain what rock cycle tells us about Earth processes.

The rock cycle is a concept used to explain how the three basic rock types are
related and how Earth processes, over geologic time, change a rock from one type
into another. Plate tectonic activity, along with weathering and erosional
processes, are responsible for the continued recycling of rocks.

7. How do the three main types of rocks differ from each other?

Rocks are classified into three basic types based on how they are formed.

• Igneous - A rock formed by the cooling and crystallization of magma

(molten rock) at or below the Earth's surface.
• Sedimentary - A rock formed as a result of the weathering process, either
by compaction and cementation of rock mineral fragments, or the
precipitation of dissolved minerals.
• Metamorphic - These rocks form as existing rocks are subjected to
intense heat and/or pressure, usually over long periods of time.

8.Describe and explain the differences between plutonic and volcanic rock

Volcanic rocks Plutonic rocks

• Volcanic rocks are igneous • Plutonic rocks are igneous
rocks that are formed above rocks that are formed deep
the ground from the lava. under the Earth's surface from
• They are formed from the hot the magma.
lava that erupts from the • They are formed from the hot
volcano onto the surface of the magma that penetrates into
Earth. other rocks below the Earth's
• It is generally a dark coloured surface.
rock. • It is generally a dark grey
coloured rock.
 9. Describe how sediments becomes lithified.

Lithification is the hardening of layers of loose sediment into rock.

Lithification is made up of two processes: cementation and
compaction. Cementation occurs when substances crystallize or fill in the
spaces between the loose particles of sediment. These cementing substances
come from the water that moves through the sediments. Sediments may also
be hardened into rocks through compaction. This occurs when sediments are
squeezed together by the weight of layers on top of them. Sedimentary rocks
made of cemented, non-organic sediments are called clastic rocks. Those that
form from organic remains are called bioclastic rocks, and sedimentary rocks
formed by the hardening of chemical precipitates are called chemical
sedimentary rocks.

10. What is metamorphic foliation? How does it differ from sedimentary

bedding?

Foliation is the presence of parallel planar surfaces or layers in metamorphic

rock. Under sufficient differential stress, platy or elongate grains are broken down
and regrown in a preferred orientation perpendicular to maximum compressive
stress.
BEDDING

Water and air are responsible for bedding. These can carry sediment (small
particals) from one place to another place with a particular sequence. With the
passage of time source of rock or sediment can change which create different
layers known as bedding. It requires sufficient amount of time.

FOLIATION

FOLIATION means alignment in the rock due to temperature and pressure. When
this sedimentary rock buried by younger sedimentary rock. With passage of time
pressures and temperatures increase which create foliation in the rock. At this
stage sedimentary rock changes into Metamorphic rock which is known as rock
cycle