Name ______________________________
Minerals
Atoms, Elements, Compounds, & Mixtures
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________________- Basic unit of matter, smallest part of an element
________________- Consists of only one type of atom
o Cannot be broken down by ____________ or ______________ means
________________- 2 or more elements chemically combined
o Cannot be broken apart by ______________ means
________________- Two or more substance combined, but they each retain their own
identity
o Can be broken apart by ______________ means
____________
 ________________ 
_______________ 
_______________
Characteristics:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
________________: An inorganic, naturally occurring solid with a definite chemical
composition and crystalline structure.
________________: A solid with atoms arranged in a specific patterns
Crystallization:
Minerals can form in one of the following ways:
1. ___________________- Cooling and hardening of a molten material such as magma
(igneous rock)
2. _______________: Water is turned into gaseous state leaving minerals behind (ex. salt)
3. __________________- When concentrations of mineral atoms is too much for water to
hold, minerals will naturally form in water
Properties of Minerals:
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Properties are based on physical features and the arrangement of atoms
________________ ________________ _____ ____________ is responsible for most
properties!!
These properties help us with the identification of various minerals
1. Color Easiest to _________________, but the____________ useful property
 This is because many different minerals may have the____________ color or one
mineral may have many________________ colors (ex. Quartz)
 ________________ trapped in the mineral during formation cause various colors
2. Luster The way a mineral _______________
 _________________: Shiny, appears like a______________ (ex. pyrite, graphite)
 _________________: Various appearances- can be shiny, glossy, greasy, pearly,
etc., but will not look like a metal (ex. diamond, sulfur)
3. Hardness Based on ______________ _______________ __________
 Minerals are rated 1-softest to 10- hardest
 This scale measures a mineral’s resistance to being scratched
4. Cleavage/Fracture
A. _______________- Breakage of a mineral that retains a smooth plane or crystal
shape
 Due to weakness in ____________
 Results in ______________ sides/edges
 When broken, pieces of the mineral appear similar
B. ________________- Breakage that does NOT occur on cleavage planes
 Can be uneven, jagged, smooth, etc.
 No two pieces will appear exactly the same after broken (think of glass)
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Cleavage types:
There are repeatable shapes when minerals break along cleavage ____________
These shapes are based on their _____________ ____________ of atoms (crystalline
structure)
o Patterns how their atoms are arranged
A. ________________ Cleavage
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Breaks into sheets
Ex. Muscovite
B. _________________ Cleavage
 Breaks into cubes
 Ex. Halite
C. _________________Cleavage
 Breaks into rhombohedra shapes ( “slanted cube”)
 Ex. Calcite
* DON’T MIX UP THE WAY A MINERAL BREAKS FOR THE WAY IT GROWS DUE TO IT’S
CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE!
6. Streak
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Color of the _______________ of a mineral
Perform “streak test” by rubbing a mineral on a __________________ plate and
examining the color left behind
The streak color is often _______ the same as the color of the mineral, but a much
better property to use when identifying
Minerals in Earth’s Crust
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Of the approximate ______________ minerals on Earth, only about ______ are common
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Most minerals are ___________, ex. gold, diamonds, etc.
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Rocks are _____________ of minerals. On page 8 and 16 of your ESRT, the rocks and
minerals that make up Earth’s crust are listed

On page ______ of your ESRT, the most common _____________ in the earth’s crust are
listed
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Only ______ elements make up 97% of earth’s crust
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The 2 most abundant elements are ______________ and ______________
Rock-Forming Minerals
Silicates
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Most ______________ minerals in Earth’s crust
Made of ______________ (Si) and ________________ (O)
90% of Earth’s minerals
o Feldspar
o Quartz
o Micas
Remember, on page 1 of your ESRT, there is a chart for Earth’s most abundant elements. The
two most abundant are Oxygen and Silicon.
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________________ __________________- Basic structure for silicate minerals (SiO4)
 One silicon bonded to four oxygen in a specific pattern
 Tetra= ________ in greek
Carbonates
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2nd most abundant group
Mainly ________________ (CO3)
Calcite (CaCO3) is common mineral
Oxides
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Contain Oxygen
____________ _____________ (Fe2O3)
Name _____________________________
Pd. ________
Minerals
1. What is a mineral?
2. What are the 5 characteristics of minerals?
3. What’s the difference between metallic and non-metallic luster?
4. What’s the difference between fracture and cleavage?
5. What’s the softest mineral on the Moh’s hardness scale? The hardest?
6. Why is relying on color a poor choice when identifying minerals?
7. What are 3 property TESTS you would perform when trying to identify a mineral?
8. What mineral has a hardness of 7, comes in many colors, and is used in glass, jewelry, and
electronics?
9. What mineral is commonly found in pencil lead?
10. What mineral commonly has a brassy-yellow color, but leaves a green-black streak?
11. What mineral has a chemical composition of CaCO3? What is this mineral’s common use?
12. What 2 minerals are common ores of iron?
Rock Forming Minerals
13. What are the 2 most abundant ELEMENTS in the earth’s crust?
14. What are the 2 most abundant MINERLAS in the earth’s crust?
15. Which mineral family contains the most minerals?
16. What’s the basic structure of silicate minerals?
17. The formula for Iron Oxide is Fe2O3. Keeping that in mind, what’s the common name for the
process of oxidation?
18. What CHARACTERISTIC of a mineral is responsible for most of a minerals properties?