Transcript Lab 2: Minerals and Mineral Identification

Minerals, Rocks and
Fossils
What is a mineral?
• Naturally occurring
• Non-organic
• Characteristic chemical composition
• Distinctive physical properties
• Crystalline structure
Mineral properties
• Color
• Luster
• Habit (Shape)
• Cleavage & Fracture
• Streak
• Hardness
• Other
Color:
Not mineral specific
Luster:
How minerals reflect light
Metallic
Nonmetallic
Mineral Habit (Shape)
Shape a mineral
takes if grown
unimpeded
Mineral Java Applet
Cleavage & Fracture
Cleavage: planes of weakness
along which minerals can
break
Fracture: surfaces along which
minerals can break
Cleavage & Fracture
Best identified on a fracture surface
Streak:
The powdered form of a mineral
Hardness:
Based on Moh’s scale of hardness
Other Properties
• Specific gravity
• Reaction to acid
• Striations
• Magnetism
Classifying Rocks
• Rocks are classified by how they formed and
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what they’re made of
There are 3 general classes of rocks
Igneous Rocks…are formed when lava and
magma crystallize to form solid rock
Metamorphic Rocks…are formed when an
existing rock is partially melted, squeezed, or
both
Sedimentary Rocks…are formed when
sediments (sand clay, and silt) are
compressed and become solid rock
Igneous Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
Gneiss
Schist
Sedimentary Rocks
Shale
Conglomerate
Sandstone
Fossils
The remains or imprints of living things of the past
found in Sedimentary rocks.
Fossils provide information about life and
conditions in the past.
Fossils of Sea Creatures
• Oceans once
covered the
area
• What part of
the ocean
Fossils of Plants
• Plant fossils can
tell us about the
ancient
environment
Animal Fossils
• Animal fossils can
tell us
– About past
environments
– What the animal ate
– How they lived