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
Halite
(rock salt)
Quartz
Mica
Not minerals
• 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
Gold
Copper
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