MINERALS
Diamonds are forever…
What are minerals?
• Silently record your initial thoughts about
what a mineral is on your paper.
• Now discuss with your neighbor your answer.
Do you have any things in common?
• Watch the video clip on the next slide and
record the definition they give in your notes.
What are minerals?
• The video defined a mineral as a naturally
occurring, inorganic compound, with a
definite composition and structure.
• Here’s another way to describe minerals:
• A mineral is a naturally formed, inorganic
solid with a crystalline structure.
• These 4 characteristics are true of all
substances considered minerals.
• Minerals are the building blocks of rocks.
Rocks are not the same thing as minerals.
The 4 Characteristics
• Minerals must be
made in nature – they
can’t be made by
people and considered
a true mineral.
• All minerals contain
one or more of the 92
elements present in
the Earth’s crust.
• Minerals have
predictable chemical
formulas.
Au
Emerald = Be3Al2(SiO3)6
The 4 Characteristics
• How do minerals form on Earth?
• Discuss this with your table group. Come up
with some ideas. Be ready to share.
– Magma (hot liquid rock) from deep inside the
Earth rises and cools before reaching the surface
– Magma heats up underground water sources,
causing dissolved minerals to crystallize
– Minerals crystallize at the bottom of lakes and
seas
– Seawater evaporates leaving mineral crystals
behind
The 4 Characteristics
Halite (rock
salt) that
has formed
in Death
Valley, CA
where
water
evaporates
quickly
The 4 Characteristics
Magma inside
the Earth can
slowly melt its
way through
solid rock and
Minerals
crystallize in
the process
The 4 Characteristics
• Minerals must be inorganic – this means that
they aren’t made of living or once living
things
Am I a
mineral?
Bones are organic –
they were once part
of a living being (they
contain minerals, but
are not minerals)
X
The 4 Characteristics
• Minerals must be solid. So, water is not a
mineral, but naturally forming ice is.
The 4 Characteristics
• Minerals must have a
crystalline structure.
• This means that the
atoms or compounds
that make up the
mineral have a
repeating pattern that
creates a distinctive
crystal shape.
The 4 Characteristics
• Draw and name the following crystal shapes
(systems):
(Gold)
(Zircon)
(Feldspar)
Which crystal
shape if your
favorite?
(Topaz)
orthorhombic
(Emerald)
(Gypsum)
(Ruby)
The 4 Characteristics
(Gold)
(Zircon)
(Emerald)
(Feldspar)
(Gypsum)
(Topaz)
(Ruby)
The 4 Characteristics
• The size and shape of a crystal depends on the
conditions where it forms - things like
temperature, pressure, impurities and the
amount of space it has to grow.
• To increase their value, mineral crystals need
to be cut and polished. (we’ll learn more
about this later).
The 4 Characteristics
• The structure
of a crystal
influences how
a mineral
reacts to
electrical
forces and
light, its
hardness, its
color, and how
quickly it
conducts heat.
Both are made of pure carbon
Diamond
Graphite
Types of Minerals
• Chemical composition is a typical way to
classify minerals into groups.
– There are two big groups:
• Silicate minerals = minerals that have both silicon (Si)
and oxygen (O) as part of their chemical formula (90%
of the minerals in the Earth’s crust)
• Nonsilicate minerals = minerals that do not have both
silicon and oxygen as part of their chemical formula
• Summarize this video clip:
Gemstones
• As the video said, minerals with well-formed
crystals are considered semi precious.
• Gemstones are typically minerals that are rare,
beautiful, and hard, capable of being used in
jewelry.
• Gemstones can be precious or semi precious. The
four precious gems are: diamond, ruby, emerald,
and sapphire.
• Sometimes gemstones are made of rock or
organic material (pearls or amber).
Birthstones (gems to celebrate birthday)
Gemstones
• Here are
the
traditional
gemstones
used to
celebrate
the number
of years of
marriage.
List some everyday minerals and their uses after
watching this clip
What is a mineral?
• Tell your neighbor two of the four characteristics that
are true of all minerals. Have your neighbor tell you the
other two characteristics.
• Discuss the most interesting thing you learned today.
• Draw the letter of the day and write one sentence
summarizing something important from today’s
presentation.
• What questions do you have right now about minerals?
Record them at the bottom of this page.
• Share your questions with your neighbor. Do you have
any shared wonderings? Can you answer anybody’s
question?
Video Source
• All clips from: Earth Science for Students:
Minerals, Gems, and OresEducational
Activities, 2000 . Full Video.
Discovery Education. Web. 16 March
2014. <http://www.discoveryeducation.com/>.
Image Sources
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Slide 1: http://famousdiamonds.tripod.com/starofafrica2.jpg
Slide 1: http://famousdiamonds.tripod.com/starofafrica.jpg
Slide 1: http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/featured/mojang/minecraft/steve/steveminecraft_610.jpg
Slide 5: http://financesonline.com/top-10pgold-producing-countries-in-the-world/
Slide 5: http://old.irocks.com/render.html?id=J11-29
Slide 7: http://geologycafe.com/images/devilsgolf1.jpg
Slide 8: http://astro.wsu.edu/worthey/earth/html/im-resources/ore-vein-formation.gif
Slide 9: http://pitchingtheworld.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/4170bone.jpg
Slide 10: http://mycitymusings.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/ice_crystals.jpg
Slide 11: http://callisto.ggsrv.com/imgsrv/FastFetch/UBER2/00160082
Slide 12: http://callisto.ggsrv.com/imgsrv/FastFetch/UBER2/00160082
Slide 13: http://nevada-outback-gems.com/prospect/gold_specimen/octagonal_gold.jpg
Slide 13: http://www.daviddarling.info/images/zircon_crystals.jpg
Slide 13: http://www.healthstones.com/mineraldata/mineraldirectory/f/feldspar/feldspar.jpg
Slide 13: http://www.healingcrystals.com/images/Topaz-Crystals---Imperial-Topaz-Points-Brazil-07.jpg
Slide 13: http://johnbetts-fineminerals.com/jhbnyc/gifs/53100det.jpg
Slide 13: http://www.newark.osu.edu/facultystaff/personal/jstjohn/Documents/Commonminerals/Gypsum_files/image005.jpg
Slide 13: http://www.allaboutgemstones.com/images/gems_ruby_crystal_system_habit.jpg
Slide 14: http://www.all-color-gem-stones.com/images/gemstones-cuts-shapes.gif
Slide 15: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Diamond_and_graphite.jpg
Slide 19: http://www.restorejewelry.com/birthstones.png
Slide 20: http://www.restorejewelry.com/aniversarygifts.png
Slide 22: http://www.list-of-birthstones.com/February%20Birthstone.html