Minerals Review –element –Atom Solid Formed in nature Non-living Crystalline structure A naturally formed, inorganic solid with a crystalline structure A pure substance that cannot be broken down by physical or chemical means –92 elements in the earth’s crust Smallest part of an element that has all the properties of that element

Review continued –Compound Crystals A substance of 2 or more elements chemically joined or bonded together A solid geometric form of minerals produced by repeating patterns of atoms that is present throughout the mineral

Crystalline Structure

Silicate Minerals Nonsilicate Minerals Identifying Minerals Color Minerals that contain a combo of silicon to oxygen plus other elements –90% of Earth’s minerals Feldspar Mica Quartz Minerals that do not have a combo of silicon & oxygen –copper Minerals come in many different colors & shades –Impurities color minerals –Weathering will color minerals –Not the most reliable

Luster Streak Cleavage Fracture Hardness The amount of light reflected off the surface The color of the mineral in powder form The tendency of some minerals to break along flat surfaces The tendency of some minerals to break unevenly along curved or irregular surfaces A mineral’s resistance to being scratched –Moh’s hardness scale

Density Special Properties The measure of how much matter is in a given amount of space –Mass per unit volume –Water = 1g/cm 3 –Specific gravity = 1g/cm 3 –i.e. gold=19 gold= 19=19 g/cm 3 Fluorescence – reaction to ultraviolet light (example: calcite turns blue) Chemical Reaction – calcite + acid =fizz Optical Properties – changes in how you see something (ex. Calcite over and image creates double vision) Radioactivity – minerals w/radium or uranium can be detected w/ Geiger counter Magnetism – natural magnetic minerals Taste – halite (rock salt) is salty