GEO 124- Introduction
to GEOLOGY
Kambai
[email protected]
+267 71986361
WORD OF THE DAY
‘’You can’t cheat the Grind…it knows how
much you have invested. It won’t give you
anything you haven’t worked for’’
Course Outline
Divided into four (4) parts (Part 2 of 4)
Part 2:
Introduction to Minerals
Rock types and their formation process
-Sedimentary Rocks
-Igneous Rocks
-Metamorphic Rocks
Minerals
Geology- the study of rocks and minerals.
In geology, the definition of a mineral is: naturally
occurring, inorganic substance, solid at room
temperature with a regular crystal structure and defined
chemical composition.
Then what is a Rock?
A rock is a substance that contains one or more minerals or
mineraloids.
There are three types of rocks:
Igneous (rocks crystallizing from molten material),
Sedimentary (rocks made of products of mechanical weathering
(sand, gravel, etc.), chemical weathering (precipitated from solution)
Metamorphic (rocks produced by alteration of other rocks by heat and
pressure).
Eight Most Abundant Elements in the Earth’s
Continental Crust % by weight (Source: USGS).
Element Symbol Abundance %
Oxygen O 47%
Silicon Si 28%
Aluminum Al 8%
Iron Fe 5%
Calcium Ca 4%
Sodium Na 3%
Potassium K 3%
Magnesium Mg 2%
ATOM
An atom with a net positive or negative charge as a
result of gaining or losing electrons is called an ion
In general, the elements on the left side of the table lose
electrons and become positive ions, called cations .e.g
The elements on the right side tend to gain electrons.
These are called anions e.g
Elements Bonding
Ionic Bonding
Chemical Bonding
Covalent Bonding
Ionic Bonding
Atoms of two opposite charges attract each other
electrostatically and form an ionic bond
For example, one atom of sodium (Na+1) and one atom of
chlorine (Cl-1) form an ionic bond to make the compound
sodium chloride (NaCl)
Chemical Bonding
Most minerals on Earth are compounds containing
multiple elements
The common mineral calcite has the chemical formula
CaCO3, indicating the molecule consists of one calcium,
one carbon, and three oxygen atoms.
Covalent Bonding
Ionic bonds are usually formed between a metal and
a nonmetal.
Formation of Minerals
Minerals form when atoms bond together in a crystalline
arrangement. Three main ways this occurs in nature are:
1.Precipitation directly from an aqueous (water)
solution with a temperature change
2.Crystallization from a magma with a temperature
change
3.Biological precipitation by the action of organisms
(sedimentary rock limestone.)
Silicate Minerals and Non Silicate
Silicate minerals form the largest group of minerals on
Earth, comprising the vast majority of the Earth’s mantle
and crust.
The silicon-oxygen tetrahedron (SiO4) ion
These are generally called the rock-forming minerals.
Composed of silicate mineral groups.
Silicates
The silicon-oxygen tetrahedron (SiO4) ion
Silicates Classification
The following are some of the silicate classifications
based on the structure:
• Neosilicates /Orthosilicates
• Inosilicates
• Phyllosilicates/ Sheet Silicates
• Tectosilicates/ Framework silicates
Neosilicates /Orthosilicates
Minerals with independent tetrahedral structures are
called neosilicates (or orthosilicates).
Common neosilicate minerals include olivine, garnet,
topaz, kyanite, and zircon
Neosilicates /Orthosilicates
The Olivine Family
The chemical formula is (Fe,Mg)2SiO4
Iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mg) indicate these two elements
occur in a solid solution.
Different mineral names are applied to compositions between
these end members
Olivine has a pure iron end-member (called fayalite) and a
pure magnesium end-member (called forsterite).
Inosilicates
Inosilicate, any of a class of inorganic compounds that
have structures characterized by silicate tetrahedrons
(each of which consists of a central silicon atom
surrounded by four oxygen atoms at the corners of a
tetrahedron) arranged in chains.
Inosilicates
Pyroxene Family
Inosilicates
Amphibole Family
Amphibole minerals are built from polymerized double
silica chains and they are also referred to as inosilicates.
Sheet Silicates/phyllosilicates
Micas and clays are common types of sheet silicates,
Tectosilicates
• They are built with a three-dimensional framework of
silica tetrahedra in which all four corner oxygens are
shared with adjacent tetrahedra.
• Quartz and feldspar are the two most abundant
minerals in the continental crust
Non- Silicate Minerals
The crystal structure of non-silicate minerals (see table)
does not contain silica-oxygen tetrahedra. Many non-
silicate minerals are referred to as salts
Native elements gold, silver, copper Au, Ag, Cu Jewelry, coins, industry
Carbonates calcite, dolomite CaCO3, CaMg(CO3)2 Lime, Portland cement
Fe2O3, Fe3O4, a mixture of Ores of iron & aluminum,
Oxides hematite, magnetite, bauxite pigments
aluminum oxides
Halides halite, sylvite NaCl, KCl Table salt, fertilizer
Sulfides galena, chalcopyrite, cinnabar PbS, CuFeS2, HgS Ores of lead, copper, mercury
Sulphates gypsum, epsom salts CaSo4·2H2O, MgSO4·7H2O Sheetrock, therapeutic soak
Phosphates
Mineral Identification
Physical properties:
Luster and color
Streak
Hardness
Crystal habit
Cleavage and fracture
Some special properties
Luster and Color
The first thing to notice about a mineral is its surface
appearance, specifically luster and color. Luster describes
how the mineral looks. Metallic luster looks like a shiny
metal such as chrome, steel, silver, or gold. Submetallic
luster has a duller appearance.
Luster and Color
Vitreous/glassy- Surface is shiny like glass
Earthy/dull- Dull, like dried mud or clay
Silky- Soft shine like silk fabric
Pearly- Like the inside of a clamshell or mother-of-pearl
Submetallic-Has the appearance of dull metal, like pewter.
These minerals would usually still be considered metallic.
Submetallic appearance can occur in metallic minerals
because of weathering.
Streak
Streak examines the color of a powdered mineral and can
be seen when a mineral sample is scratched or scraped
on an unglazed porcelain streak plate.
Hardness
Hardness measures the ability of a mineral to scratch
other substances.
Crystal Habit
Minerals can be identified by crystal habit, how their
crystals grow and appear in rocks.
A euhedral crystal has a perfectly formed,
unconstrained shape
When minerals are constrained so they do not develop
their typical crystal habit, they are called anhedral.
Subhedral crystals are partially formed shapes
Crystal Habit
Typical crystal habits of various minerals
Bladed
long and flat crystals e.g gypsum, kyanite
Crystal Habit
Botryoidal/mammillary
Blobby, circular crystals- Malachite
Crystal Habit
Cubic
Cube-shaped crystals
Crystal Habit
Layered, sheets
stacked, very thin, flat crystals- mica
Crystal Habit
Hexagonal
crystals with six sides
Crystal Habit
Prismatic/columnar
very long, cylindrical crystals
Crystal Habit
Massive/granular
Crystals with no obvious shape, microscopic crystals
Cleavage and Fracture
Minerals often show characteristic patterns of breaking
along specific cleavage planes
Meaning they will break preferentially along these planes.
Graphite has its carbon atoms arranged into layers with
relatively strong bonds within the layer and very weak
bonds between the layers. Thus graphite cleaves readily
between the layers and the layers slide easily over one
another giving graphite its lubricating quality.
Cleavage and Fracture
Special Properties
Taste
A simple identifying special property is taste, such as the
salty flavor of halite or common table salt (NaCl).
Specific Gravity
Specific gravity measures the weight of a mineral
specimen relative to the weight of an equal volume of
water.
Special Properties
Reaction with Acid (HCL)
A simple test for identifying calcite and dolomite is to
drop a bit of dilute hydrochloric acid (10-15% HCl) on the
specimen. If the acid drop effervesces or fizzes on the
surface of the rock, the specimen is calcite.
Magnetic
Some iron-oxide minerals are magnetic and are attracted
to magnets. Magnetite is strongly attracted to magnets
and can be magnetized.
