Geology
Name _______________________________________
Guide to Section 9.1
Period ________ Due Date _____________________
Minerals of the Earth’s Crust
READ THE SECTION AS YOU ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS. DUE AT THE END OF THE
HOUR OR BEGINNING OF CLASS TOMORROW. DO IT NOW!!
What is a Mineral?
1. Define the word “mineral” _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
The book lists 4 requirements for a substance to be a “mineral”. What are they?
a) __________________________________ b) ________________________________________
c) __________________________________ d) ________________________________________
2. Give 3 examples of minerals (or more if you know some) _______________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
3. What does “inorganic” mean? _____________________________________________________
4. a) Can a mineral be an element? ___________ Name one _______________________________
b) Can a mineral be a compound? ___________ Name one ______________________________
5. Why is coal NOT a mineral? ______________________________________________________
6. Why is steel NOT a mineral? ______________________________________________________
7. Why is oil (petroleum) NOT a mineral (2 reasons)? ____________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
8. Why is concrete NOT a mineral? ___________________________________________________
Kinds of Minerals
9. About how many minerals are known? ________________
10. About how many minerals form the rocks of the earth’s crust? ________________
11. What are the two main types of minerals? ____________________ & ____________________
Silicate Minerals
12. What 2 elements are included in all silicate minerals? __________________________________
[Remember what 2 elements are most common in the earth’s crust – from last chapter?]
13. What is a common mineral that contains only Si and O ? _______________________________
14. What is the most common silicate mineral called? ____________________________________
15. There are 2 types of feldspar. What are they called, and how are they different?
a) _______________________________________________________________________
b) _______________________________________________________________________
[We’ll see both when we do the “mineral ID activity]
16. Silicate minerals make up _______________ % of the earth’s crust. So – Which kind of
minerals are more common in the crust– silicates or non-silicates? _____________________ (duh!)
Nonsilicate Minerals
17. What is a nonsilicate mineral? (Duh!) ______________________________________________
18. What are the 6 major groups of nonsilicate minerals?
1. ____________________________
2. ______________________________
3. ____________________________
4. ______________________________
5. ____________________________
6. ______________________________
19. Are any of the examples of nonsilicate minerals shown in Table 9-1 familiar to you? ________
Which ones? _____________________________________________________________________
20. What is another name for Halite (NaCl)? _________________________
[We’ll see this one too as part of the mineral ID activity]
Crystalline Structure
21. What is a crystal? ______________________________________________________________
22. In most minerals, can we see the crystal shape with the naked eye? _______________________
Why not (why are they so small)? ____________________________________________________
The Crystalline Structure of Silicate Minerals
[We will not go into much detail on this part]
23. What is the basic building block of silicate minerals? _________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Ionic, Chain, and Sheet Silicates – just remember that there are several forms of silicate minerals
(see pictures p. 162). The arrangement of the silicon-oxygen tetrahedra determine the properties of
the mineral. For example, MICA, a common sheet silicate, breaks apart easily into very thin, flat
sheets. We have an example in the front of the room.
Network Silicates
24. What is the network silicate that contains only Si and O ? _____________________________
[We have a model of diamond in the front of the room. Diamond has a very similar structure to
quartz. Remember that diamond is the hardest substance known. There is also a nice crystalline
quartz sample in the front of the room.]
25. Why is quartz such a hard mineral? _______________________________________________
26. Feldspars are also network silicates, but they are not as hard as quartz. Why not? ___________
________________________________________________________________________________
[Note of interest (?): Quartz breaks down to form sand grains. Feldspars break down to form the
particles in clay, which are much smaller. The difference is due the difference in hardness.]