NAME_________________________________________PER________ GEOSCIENCE
Minerals
Section 2-2
Use you textbook to complete this notes organizer.
1. Examine Fig 9B and its caption. What minerals are represented by the salt shaker?
Quartz = mineral container; Bauxite provides minerals for the cap.
2. Based on what you saw, why do you think it's important for people (society?) to understand minerals?
Minerals are used to make every day materials
3. Complete this table to summarize the Five Characteristics of Minerals (p. 45).
Characteristic
Description? Details? examples?
Naturally Occurring
Made by natural geologic processes (cooling magma; precitpitaion; etc.)

Man-made gems like synthetic diamonds (cubic zirconium)
Solid
Orderly Crystalline
Structure
Atoms or ions are arranged in orderly repetitive way.
*Opal is not a mineral for this reason (lacks internal structure)
Definite Chemical
Composition
Have a definite chemical composition (NaCl or SiO2); elements are in set
ratios.
Generally considered
inorganic
Does not come from or is part of a living thing.
Exception: CaCO3 = calcium carbonate= shells of marine organisms and
coral.
4. Cubic zirconia is manufactured to look like a diamond. Why is it not a mineral?
It is man-made.
5. Why is magma erupting from a volcano NOT a mineral?
It is a melted rock; a liquid; minerals must be solid.
6. Examine Figure 5C on page 41. In what way was does the picture support salt's classification as a
mineral?
It has an orderly crystal structure.
7. Glass is an amorphous (disorganized) solid. Is glass a mineral? Why or why not.
It lacks orderly and repetitive crystal structure.
8. True/False. All minerals are compounds. Some are elements
9. True/False. Elements like gold and silver, which can be found in pure form, are considered minerals.
10. Based on the description on p. 45, what do the terms organic and inorganic mean in geology?
Organic = part of a living thing; Inorganic = not from a living thing
11. Why is the term "generally inorganic" used to describe minerals? Explain the example.
The mineral that makes shells (calcium carbonate) is considered inorganic. This mineral can be secreted
by marine organisms, but it can be made by precipitation as well.
How are minerals formed? (4 ways) (p. 45)
12. Complete this chart about mineral formation processes that are described in your text.
Mineral Forming
Process
Description of Process/Examples
(at least 3 bulleted pieces of information should suffice)
Crystallization from
Magma
As magma cools, elements combine to form minerals.
Iron, magnesium, and calcium minerals form first in high temperature magma (make
olivine & amphiboles)
Sodium, potassium, and aluminum form later in cooler magmas(make plagioclase,
micas, and quartz last)
Precipitation
Water in shallow ponds or caves have dissolved substances; as water evaporates or
leaves, dissolved substances react to form minerals.
Ex: Halite (salt) forms as water evaporates out of shallow lakes; Stalagmites form in
caves.
Pressure & Temp.
Metamorphism forms new minerals from existing ones;
If minerals are under pressure or experience enough heat to cause minerals to
migrate (but not melt), and react in new ways to make new minerals.
Hydrothermal
Solutions
Hot mixture of water and dissolved substances where chemical reactions take place
to form new minerals.
Usually found at the bottom of the ocean (“black smokers”)
Sulfur minerals; quartz; pyrite
True/False: Minerals can form almost anywhere on Earth and below the surface.
13. Describe the phase change that is meant by the term "crystallize" from magma.
Liquid  Solid
14. Look at the periodic table (and info from the table you just made). Minerals that contain elements
from Group 2 tend to crystallize [first; second] in cooling lava while minerals that contain elements from
Group 1 tend to form when the lava is [cooler; hotter].
15. True/False. When water evaporates on Earth, the salts dissolved within change to gas also.
16. Can you correct the previous statement? Remain as solids (form minerals)
17. During the rock cycle, metamorphic rock forms from other types of rocks. Which process above do
you think changes the minerals during metamorphosis? Heat and pressure
18. Where on Earth do you think one finds hydrothermal solutions? At the bottom of the ocean; in hot
springs in volcanic areas.
19. Examine Figure 12. What are bornite and chalcopyrite? Sulfur minerals formed in hydrothermal
vent solutions.
Mineral Groups (p. 47)
20. (KEY) Common minerals, together.... with the thousands of others that form on Earth, can be
classified into groups based on their composition.
21. (a) There are 6 major groups of minerals. Of them, which is the most abundant. silicates
(b) Look back at Table 1. What two elements are most abundant in the crust? Oxygen and silicon
MINERAL GROUPS
Silicates
KEY: Silicon + Oxygen
form a “tetrahedron”
= 1 Silicon + 4 Oxygen
Other Details:
Most common on
Earth
Carbonates
KEY: contain Carbon,
oxygen, and one or
more other metallic
elements
KEY: contain oxygen
and one or more other
elements, which are
usually metals.
(C + O + metal)
(Oxygen + metal)
Other Details:
Quartz (SiO2) = most
common
Sulfate/Sulfides
Halides
Native Elements
KEY: contain sulfur
KEY: Halogen ion +
other element(s)
KEY: contain only one
element or type of
atom
Other Details:
Other Details:
Other Details:
Other Details:
Can react with acid.
Can form as magma
cools deep beneath
Earth’s surface; or as a
result of
metamorphism
Form when mineralrich waters evaporate
or when in thermal or
hot-water solutions.
Halogens (Group 7A
on periodic table) =
fluorine, chlorine,
bromine
Provided examples:
Calcite (CaCO3) = most
common
Dolomite (contains
magnesium & calcium)
Provided examples:
Provided examples:
Provided examples:
Provided examples:
Rutile = TiO2
Corundum = Al2O3
Hematite = Fe2O3
Anhydrite (CaSO4) and
gypsum ( CaSO4 *
2H2O) form thru.
Evap.
Halite; NaCl
Fluorite; CaF2
Gold (Au); Silver (Ag);
Copper (Cu); Sulfur (S)
Carbon (C )
Form single chains;
double chains; sheets;
and 3D networks
Provided examples:
Oxides
Limestone
Marble
Galena (PbS) and
(FeS2) form in hot
water.
NOTE: examples should be the names (and chemical formulas?) of minerals provided on these pages of text. These are not the names of rocks.
NOTE: Other details might include info about how these minerals often form or where they are found, how they are used, etc.
23. Sketch a picture of the silicate tetrahedron (SiO4) and label the atoms. Use Fig 13 as a guide. (NOTE:
this shape is important because of all the different ways silicates combine to make minerals)
24. What are the ways silicates tetrahedrons combine (Fig 14)? Single chains; double chains; sheets; 3d
structures
25. What kinds of ROCK are made of carbonate? Calcite, dolomite, limestone, and marble
26. Oxides that form on the surface of Earth when exposed to air. What gas makes this possible?
oxygen
27. What sulfide mineral fooled many a miner during the Gold Rush of the 1800s? pyrite
28. Use a periodic table to name the halogens (Group 17 or 7A): fluorine, chlorine, bromine
29. What are two native forms of carbon? Diamonds and graphite
30. The text mentions hydrothermal solutions as a source of native elements. Can you guess one
element that would fall into that category? (Hint: it's a yellow nonmetal) sulfur
31. Being able to determine mineral type from a chemical formula is useful for this course. Name the
mineral group (one of the 6 above) that each of these minerals belongs too. You don't need to know
what it looks like, just analyze the chemical formula for the KEY part that indicates the mineral group.
(a) CaCO3
carbonate
(i) SiO2
silicate
(b) Au
native element
(j) CaMg(CO3)2 carbonate
(c) MgSO4
sulfate
(k) Cu
native element
(d) FeS2
sulfate
(l) MgF2
halide
(e) Mn2O3
oxide
(m) Fe3O4
oxide
(f) CaFeSiO4
silicate
(n) BaCO3
carbonate
(g) Mg3Si4O10
silicate
(o) S
native element
(h) NaBr
halide
(p) TiO2
oxide