Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic solids with a defined chemical composition and crystalline structure that make up rocks. The physical properties of minerals, such as color, hardness, streak, luster, cleavage, and crystal structure can be used to identify different types of minerals. Minerals are also classified based on their chemical composition into classes including silicates, carbonates, sulfates, halides, oxides, and sulfides. Understanding the physical and chemical properties of minerals provides clues about how the three main types of rocks - igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic - form.

2. Minerals
 Are the ingredients of rocks.
 Naturally formed, generally
inorganic, crystalline, solid and
has a definite chemical
composition building blocks of
rocks

3. Physical Properties of Minerals
- can be used to easily identify a
mineral.

4. COLOR
 Minerals can be many different
colors or the same color.
 Usually the property used to
identify minerals easily. It is
the result of the way minerals
absorb light.

5. SOME COLOR OF QUARTZ

6. HARDNESS
Refers to the measure of the mineral’s
resistance to scratching. Minerals
with higher numbers will scratch
minerals below. To measure the
relative hardness of minerals, the
Moh's scale is used.
Mohs’
Hardness
Scale

7. HARDNESS TEST
Mohs’ Hardness Scale

8. STREAK
Is the color of the mineral in
powder form. For opaque
minerals, if you rub the sample
across a streak plate, it will leave
a colored powder.

9. LUSTER
Refers to the reaction of a
mineral to light. It determines
how brilliant or dull the mineral
is.

10. Categories: Metallic or Non-Metallic
Metallic
Luster of metal – shines like a
hard metal
Non-Metallic
minerals are SHINY because they
are transparent or semi-
transparent

11. Cleavage and Fractures
 Used to describe how minerals
break into pieces.
 Some minerals split along flat
surfaces (called cleavage
planes) when struck hard--this
is called mineral cleavage.
 Other minerals break unevenly
along rough or curved
surfaces--this is called fracture

13. Crystalline structure
 Crystal lattice, tells how a
mineral’s crystals are
arranged. A hand lens is a
necessary tool in checking for
crystalline structure.

14. Crystal Solid
 Form regular repeating three
dimensional crystal lattice
Amorphous Solid
 Forms aggregates that have
particular order or
arrangement

15. Transparency or Diaphaneity
 Indicates the extent of light
that can pass through the
mineral.

16. Magnetism
 Indicates the ability of a
mineral to attract or repel
other minerals.
Tenacity
 Level of resistance or reaction
of minerals to stress such as
crushing, bending, breaking,
or tearing.

17. Odor
a distinct smell of a mineral that is
usually released from a chemical
reaction when subjected to water,
heat, air or friction.
Specific Gravity
is a measure of the density of a
mineral. Determines how heavy the
mineral is by its weight to water.

18. CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF
MINERALS
Another way of identifying and
classifying minerals is according to
their chemical composition. This
classification was first used in 1848
by James Dwight Dana (1813-
1895).

19. CHEMICAL
PROPERTIES OF
MINERALS

20. Silicate Class
 Largest and most abundant
group containing Si and O with
some Al, Mg, Fe, and Ca. (Ex.
feldspar, quartz, pyroxene, mica,
garnet, olivine and amphibole.

21. Carbonate Class
 Mostly found deposited in marine
environments.
Sulphate Class
 Forms in areas with high
evaporation rates and where salty
waters slowly evaporate.
(Ex. anhydrite, celestine, barite,
gypsum)

22. Halide class
Contains natural salts includes
fluorite, halite, sylvite and salt
ammoniac components. Usually
form in lakes, and salt ammoniac
components.

23. Oxide class
Is a diverse class. In science, these
minerals are important as that carry
histories of changes in Earth's
magnetic field. They are formed as
precipitates close to Earth's surface
or as oxidation products of minerals
during the process of weathering.

24. Sulphide class
Has important metals such as
copper, lead and silver which are
considered economically significant.
Phosphate class
Contains minerals with phosphorus.
Considered as important biological
mineral found in teeth and bones in
many animals.

25. Native element class - contains
metals and
intermetallic elements, semimetals
nonmetals
or natural alloys and constituents of
a few rare
meteorites.

26. 4. Minerals offer clues about how
a rock forms.

27. The three main types of rocks are
igneous, sedimentary, and
metamorphic.

28. 5. A rock that forms from melted
rock is igneous rock.

29. 6. Melted rock, called magma,
cools and hardens to form
igneous rock.

30. 7. Igneous rocks are classified by
how quickly they cool and the size
of the mineral grains that form.

31. 8. Layers of substances are pressed
and cemented together to form
sedimentary rock.

32. 9. Scientists compare the position
of layered rocks to find a rock’s
relative age.

33. 10. A rock layer and any fossils in
that rock have the same relative
age.

34. 11. Heat and pressure form
metamorphic rock.

35. 12. Metamorphic rocks can form
from igneous and sedimentary
rocks, or from other metamorphic
rocks.

36. 13. Metamorphic rocks are
different than their original form
because their properties change.

37. 14. Rocks change from one form
to another in the rock cycle.

39. 15. People use rocks and
minerals as resources.

40. 16. Rocks and minerals are used
for building schools and other
structures, and to make steel,
aluminum products, silicon
chips, and jewelry.

41. Which type of rock (metamorphic,
sedimentary, or igneous) do you
think is most useful?

42. Sedimentary rocks are the most
useful. They can be used to
make glass, bricks, china,
pottery, chalk, and building
blocks.