Facts About Minerals

Minerals

      Minerals are the building blocks of rocks. They are non-living, solid, and, like all matter, are made of atoms of elements. There are many different types of minerals and each type is made of particular groups of atoms.

      Atoms are the smallest size pieces that elements come in. The nucleus is the central part of an atom and contains protons, which have positive electrical charges and neutrons, which have neutral electrical charges.

Why Atoms Bond

      When an atom's outermost energy level does not contain the maximum number of electrons. the atom is likely to form a chemical bond with one or more atoms.

      - A compound consists of two or more elements that are            chemically combined in specific proportions.

      - An ion is an atom that gains or loses electrons.

 Three Types of Chemical Bonds

1. Ionic bonds form between positive and negative ions.
2. Covalent bonds form when atoms share electrons.
3. Metallic bond form when metal ions share electrons.

Additional definition of mineral

1. Naturally occurring
2. Solid substance
3. Orderly  crystalline structure
4. Definite chemical composition
5. Generally considered inorganic

How Minerals Form

1. Crystallization from magma
2. Precipitation
3. Pressure and temperature
4. Hydrothermal solutions

Minerals can be classified based on their composition

1. Silicates - Silicon and oxygen combine to form a structure called the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron. This silicon-oxygen tetrahedron provides the framework of every silicate mineral.
2. Carbonates -  minerals that contain the elements carbon, oxygen, and one or more other metallic elements.
3. Oxides -  minerals that contain oxygen and one or more other elements, which are usually metals.
4. Sulfate and Sulfides -  minerals that contain the element sulfur.
5. Halides -  minerals that contain a halogen ion plus one or more other elements.
6. Native elements - minerals the exist in relatively pure form.

Properties of Minerals

1. Color -  small amounts of different elements can give the same mineral different colors.
2. Streak -  is the color of a mineral in its powdered form.
3. Luster -  is used to describe how light is reflected from the surface of a mineral.
4. Crystal Form - is the visible expression of a mineral's internal arrangement of atoms.
5. Hardness - is a measure of resistance of a mineral to being scratched.
6. Cleavage -  is the tendency of a mineral to cleave, or break, along flat, even surfaces.
7. Fracture -  Minerals that do not show cleavage when broken are said to fracture. It is the uneven breakage of a mineral.
8. Density -  is a property of all matter that is the ratio of an object’s mass to its volume.

This blog is checked by our professor Mr. Crisencio Paner. To know more about him, click here.