What is a Mineral?
What is a mineral?
• Solid
• Not liquid, gas, or plasma
What is a mineral?
• Naturally-occurring
• Not man-made
What is a mineral?
• Inorganic
• Never alive
What is a mineral?
• Fixed chemical composition: an element or a compound
What is a mineral?
• Crystal structure: atoms or molecules in an orderly pattern
Most minerals are compounds
• Quartz: silicon and oxygen –SiO2
–Most abundant in earth’s crust
• Halite: sodium and chloride –NaCl
Examples of minerals
Quartz
Halite (rock salt)
Mica
• There are more than 2,000 kinds of minerals, but fewer than 20 are common minerals that form rock
• 10 minerals make up 90% of the earth’s crust
2 Main Types of Minerals
• Silicates and Non-Silicates
Silicates• Contain atoms of silicon
(Si) and oxygen (O)• Forms a tetrahedron• Many contain one or more
different kinds of atoms• Ex. Feldspar – silicon and
oxygen with potassium• SiO2 - Quartz
• 96% of the crust is made of silicates
Non-Silicates: 6 Groups
Native Minerals
• Made up of single elements
Copper
Gold
Sulfur
Halides
• Cation: K, Na, or Ca with an Anion: Cl or F –
• Halite (NaCl)
Sulfides
• Contain an S atom• Ex: Pyrite (FeS2) Fools Gold
Carbonates
• Contains CO3 as part of the compound
• Ex: Malachite Cu2CO3(OH)2
Sulfates
• Contains SO4 as part of the compound
• Ex: Gypsum CaSO4·2H2O
Oxides
• Contains O atom except for silicates, carbonates, and sulfates
• Ex: Hematite Fe2O3