Topic Objectives

• Identify the 5 characteristics of a mineral.

• Describe how a mineral can form.

• Identify a mineral using its characteristics.

• Differentiate crystal structures.

Earth Science: Minerals

Why are minerals important to learn about?

• A huge portion of Earth is made of minerals (most rocks are a combination of minerals)

• Minerals provide nutrients to living things (like us)

• Minerals are used in business/technology (like computer parts)

What are minerals?

• Minerals are a type of matter and we know that all matter is made of?

• But more specifically, a mineral must meet five criteria to be called a mineral…

atoms.

Characteristic #1

• All Minerals are…

SOLIDWhich of the following could be a mineral?

Characteristic #2

• All minerals are

Inorganic= were never alive

Which of the following could be a mineral?

Inorganic- was never alive

Organic- are currently alive

Characteristic #3

• All minerals occur naturally.

•If that is true, which of the following is not made of minerals?

The two ways that minerals occur naturally…

1. From magma- when magma cools and hardens, the atoms in magma come together and form minerals

2. From pressure/temperature- materials exposed to high states of pressure and temperature break down to form new and different types of minerals

Mineral Formation

Characteristic #4

• All minerals have a definite chemical composition.

• This means that in each individual mineral, certain types of atoms will come together (bond) in certain ways

• Ex. this is similar to how 2 hydrogen's and one oxygen come together to form the most important molecule on Earth!

O

HH

Type of Atoms

• Metals- shiny, solid, conduct electricity

• Nonmetals- non-shiny, often a gas, do not conduct electricity

• Metalloids- Have properties of both metals and nonmetals

Where are metals, nonmetals and metalloids located in the periodic

table? 1. What type of atom is the most numerous?

2. Where are the metals, metalloids and non-metals?

3. Why does the position of metalloids make sense?

4. Label each type on your periodic table.

Identify the atom game…

H

Mg

C

O

Si

Ca

Cf

K

Zn

Ge

I

Te

What kinds of Bonds do metals and nonmetals make?

1. Two metals- metallic bond (sharing lots of electrons)

2. Two nonmetals- covalent bond (sharing pairs of electrons)

3. A metal and a nonmetal- ionic bond (charged from gaining or losing electrons)

Identify the Bond Game…

CrO

H2O

NaCl

CO

HgO

NaCo CaO

CfFe KClCrI

WFeSiO

Characteristic #5

• The atoms in minerals are arranged into orderly structures (specific shapes).

- Cubic

- Tetragonal

- Orthrohombic

- Hexagonal

Cubic

• Three axes (x, y, z) of equal length.

Tetragonal

• Three axes (x, y, z), with two of equal length and one of different length.

Orthrohombic

• Three axes (x, y, z), all of different length.

Hexagonal

• Three axes of equal length, one of different length (4 axes total!=6-sided).

Mineral ID Activity

• There are 5 pictures of objects on the power point. Decide which of the 5 mineral characteristics match and which do not for the objects in each picture. Then decide if the picture shows a mineral (has all 5 characteristics!).

• Mineral Characteristics• Solid• Inorganic• Occur Naturally• Have a definite chemical composition (ex. NaCl, MgO)• Arranged in orderly patterns (ex. cubes, hexagons)

Picture #1- Kitten

Picture #2- Sand

Picture #3- Rock Salt

Picture #4- Icebergs

Picture #5- Diamonds