PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF ROCK - Forming Minerals (2.

1)
- A mineral can be in many different colors
- Minerals are the building blocks of ROCKS
Minerals
- homogenous
- naturally occurring
- solid, inorganic substances
- with definable chemical composition
- orderly arranged in a lattice (fixed pattern that repeats at regular interval/not random)
Rocks
- aggregates of minerals, many minerals, or mineral-like substances
Ex: Limestone is made from the mineral calcite
Granite is made from minerals such as quartz, feldspar or mica

Rocks: Physical Properties

> Color - result of a way minerals absorb light > Streak - the color of the mineral in
powder/pulverized form
> Luster - ability of the mineral’s surface

to scatter light; brilliant, dull, pearly

silky, greasy

> Hardness - the measure of mineral’s resistance to scratching (Moh’s Scale Test/ Moh’s
Hardness Scale)
> Specific Gravity - a measure of the density of a mineral, determines how heavy the mineral
is by its weight to water.

> Cleavage and Fracture - describe how minerals break into pieces (Fracture: breaks in a
direction without cleavage)
Cleavage in 1 Direction - Muscovite

Cleavage in 2 Direction - Feldspar

Cleavage in 3 Direction - Halite

> Crystalline Structure - crystal lattice(crystals are arranged) : octahedron (magnetite

crystals), dodecahedron (garnets), cubes (halite, fluorite crystals)
> Ability to transmit light/ Transparency or Diaphaneity - indicates the extent of light that
can pass through the mineral ; opaque (no light), translucent (small amt.), transparent (all light is
transmitted)

Breaking Properties: Cleavage or Fracture

> Cleavage - mineral that breaks along a flat surface or into sheets
> Fracture - when a mineral breaks with lots of jagged edges

Cleavage Fracture
*Additional Info
> Magnetism - indicates the ability of the mineral to attract or repel other minerals
> Tenacity - level of resistance or reaction of minerals to stress (crushing, bending, breaking,
tearing) ; brittle, malleable, elastic, etc.
> Odor - distinct smell of a mineral, usually released from a chemical reaction when subjected
to water, heat, air or friction (incense powder)

ROCKS: CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

> Oxide Class – called ore minerals because it contains relatively high amounts of metal atoms

- metal cations bonded to Oxygen anions

> Sulphide Class - metal cations bonded to sulfide S², the anion of sulfur; many have metallic
luster.
- Consist of metal cation bonded to SO²₄

> Halide Class - contains natural salt and includes fluorite, halide. Low hardness, transparent,
good cleavage, low specific gravities, poor conductors of electricity.

> Carbonate Class - mostly deposited in marine environments, from shells of dead planktons
or marine organisms, areas with high rates of evaporation. Molecules of O serves as anion. Ca
and Mg bond to this.

> Native Element - (A nugget of gold, silver, copper)

– pure masses of a single metal
The Formation of Minerals and Rock
- formed by the process of crystallization
*Minerals crystallized from 2 primary sources:
- Magma (molten rock) - Water Solutions

Rock Types:
Igneous Rock
- Latin word “ignis” (fire)
- molten materials - cooling and solidification of magma or lava

*Role of Heat - induce melting

*Role of Pressure - reduced pressure lowers the melting temperature of rock
*Role of Fluids - water cause rocks to melt at lower temperatures
Extrusive Igneous Rock (Volcanic Rocks)
– If magma erupts at the Earth’s surface and solidifies upon contact with the
atmosphere or ocean.
- comes out of volcano vent as lava before freezing
- When lava is exposed, rapidly cools down and turns to rocks.
- Because of rapid decrease in temperature, the mineral components of lava are
unable to form large crystals.
- So tiny, can only be seen under the microscope
- contain only small crystals and often display glassy appearance.
- Volatiles contained rapidly transforms into gas, leaving behind gas bubbles in
the rock.
Ex: Pumice

\Intrusive Igneous Rock (Plutonic Rocks)

- magma solidifying underground
- Intrusive because it is injected or pushed into existing rocks found in the Earth’s
crust.
- Horizontal or slanted layers of distinct rock types sandwiched between rocks of
different physical structure
- generally lodged below the surface, soil erosion occasionally exposes these.
Ex:
> Batholiths
- Also called plutons, huge mass of Plutonic rocks hundreds of kms long And 100
kms wide.
- forms below the surface
- But occasionally, discovered lying on the Earth’s surface
because the soil once covering them had eroded
> Sills
- Plutonic rocks that intruded into cracks and crevices of existing rocks.
Generally, smaller and formed horizontally.

> Dikes
- Plutonic rocks that intruded into cracks and crevices of existing rocks but are
slanted

*Additional Info
> Igneous Rocks:
- Classification is based on the rock's texture and mineral constituents
Texture
- Size and arrangement of crystals
Types
Fine-grained – fast rate of cooling Porphyritic (two crystal sizes) – two rates of cooling
Coarse-grained – slow rate of cooling Glassy – very fast rate of cooling
Naming Igneous Rocks
> Basaltic Rocks
- Contain substantial dark silicate minerals and calcium-rich plagioclase feldspar
- Also referred to as mafic: magnesium and ferrum (iron)
- Common rock is basalt

Sedimentary Rocks
- “sediments” (remaining particle)
- form from sediment (weathered products)
- about 78% of current land surface
- but only constitutes 8% of the entire volume of Earth’s crust
* Strata - deposited in layers * Bedding – entire layers displayed by a rock
outcrop
Economic Importance (Natural Resource)
- Coal - Sources of Iron and Aluminum
- Petroleum and Natural Gas - Resources for construction materials
and chemical products
Used to Reconstruct Much of Earth's History
- Clues to past environments - Rocks often contain fossils
- Provide information about sediment transport
Ex:
> Conglomerate
- Made up of rounded pebbles which are cemented together

> Breccia
- Made of angular pebbles which are cemented together
> Sandstone
- Sand cemented together forming a solid stone

> Siltstone
- Silt is a solid, dust-like sediment that water, wind and ice transport and deposit.
(smaller than sand and larger than clay)
- Silt cemented together to form a solid stone

> Shale
- Similar to siltstone but is composed of even finer grains of silt

*Additional Info
> Sedimentary Rocks
Classifying Sedimentary Rocks
- Two groups based on the source of the material
Chemical Rocks
- Derived from material that was once in solution and precipitates to form sediment
- Directly precipitated as the result of physical processes,
- Through life processes (biochemical origin)
*Common Sedimentary Rocks
> Limestone – the most abundant chemical rock
- Microcrystalline quartz (precipitated quartz) known as chert, flint, jasper, or agate
- Evaporites such as rock salt or gypsum
> Coal

Limestone - Formed from skeletal

remains of organisms millions of years ago.
They are used for building materials,
component of concrete,
filler of toothpaste and paints
Features of Sedimentary Rocks
- Strata, or beds (most characteristic)
- Bedding planes separate strata
- Fossils
- Traces or remains of prehistoric life
- Are the most important inclusions
- Help determine past environments
- Used as time indicators
- Used for matching rocks from different places

Metamorphic Rock
- Metamorphic- (Greek)“meta”- (after); “morph” (form/shape)
- exposure to high temperature, pressure or both that undergo chemical and
physical changes
- type of rock that arose from either igneous or sedimentary
- Forms only 12% of Earth’s land surface but together with igneous rocks
compose 92% of Earth's crust.
- Range of temperature and pressure in which a protolith (parent rock or original
rock) transforms into metamorphic: 200 to 300 degree Celsius 300 to 600 Mpa
(megapascals)
Ex:
> Gneiss
- Formed by highgrade metamorphosis.
- foliations display alternating dark and light colored bands, called gneiss banding
> Slate
- Fine-grained foliated metamorphic rocks derived from shale sedimentary rocks

> Marble
- Non-foliated metamorphic rocks formed from limestone

> Schist
- Medium-grade metamorphic rocks with medium to large, flat, sheet-like grains

> Quartzite
- Hard non-foliated metamorphic rock formed from quartz sandstone (a
sedimentary rock)

*Additional Info
> Metamorphic Rocks
- Metamorphism occurs via recrystallization and mechanical deformation.
Degrees of Metamorphism
Exhibited by rock texture and mineralogy
Low-grade (e.g., shale becomes slate)
High-grade (obliteration of original features)
Texture
> Foliated texture
- Minerals are in a parallel alignment
- Minerals are perpendicular to the compressional force
*Slate
- Fine grained; splits easily
*Schist
- strongly foliated; “platy”; types based on composition (e.g. mica, schist)
*Gneiss
- strong segregation of silicate materials; banded texture
> Nonfoliated texture
- Contain equidimensional crystals
- Resembles a coarse-grained igneous rock
*Marble
- parent rock is limestone; large, interlocking calcite crystals
- used as a building stone; variety of colors
*Quartzite
- parent rock is quartz sandstone; quartz grains are fused

Rock Cycle
- shows continuous succession of forming, break down and reform of rocks
- Molten rock rises from the depths of Earth, cools, solidifies, and eventually returns to
become magma again.