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1. What is mineral?
Geologists define a mineral as a naturally occurring, solid crystalline substance, usually
inorganic, with a specific chemical composition.

1. a naturally occurring
2. solid crystalline substance
3. usually, inorganic
4. a specific chemical composition

2. Describe the physical properties and uses of the following minerals: (i) Quartz (ii)
Gypsum, and (iii) Bauxite.
(i) Quartz
➢ Quartz is a chemical compound is
silicon dioxide (SiO2)
➢ It is highly resistant to both mechanical
and chemical weathering.
➢ It has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs
Scale which makes it very durable.
➢ It is chemically inert in contact with
most substances.
➢ It has electrical properties and heat
resistance that make it valuable in
electronic products.
➢ Quartz sand is used in the production of
container glass, flat plate glass,
specialty glass, and fiberglass.

(ii) Gypsum
➢ Gypsum is an evaporite mineral most
commonly found in layered
sedimentary deposits
➢ Mohs Hardness: 2
➢ Chemical Composition: CaSO4.2H2O
➢ Used to manufacture dry wall, plaster, joint compound, agricultural soil treatment.

(iii) Bauxite
➢ Bauxite is not a mineral. It is a rock composed mainly of aluminum-bearing minerals.
➢ Bauxite is the primary ore of aluminum. Almost all of the aluminum that has ever been
produced has been extracted from bauxite.
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➢ Bauxite does not have a specific composition. It is a mixture of hydrous aluminum

oxides, aluminum hydroxides, clay minerals
➢ Bauxite is typically a soft material with a hardness of only 1 to 3 on the Mohs scale

3. Explain the physical properties of minerals depending upon light.

Luster refers to the general appearance of a mineral surface to reflected light. Two general types
of lusters are designated as follows:
➢ Metallic - looks shiny like a metal. Usually opaque and gives black or dark colored
streak.
➢ Non-metallic - Nonmetallic lusters are referred to as
Type Appearance Example
vitreous looks glassy clear quartz, tourmaline
resinous looks resinous sphalerite, sulfur
pearly iridescent pearl-like apophyllite
greasy appears to be covered with a thin layer of oil nepheline
silky looks fibrous gypsum, serpentine,
adamantine brilliant luster diamond
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4. What is meant by "Hardness of mineral"? How can it be determined? What is Mohs

scale of hardness?
13. Write down the hardness values of ten minerals in ascending order
Hardness is the resistance of a mineral to scratching. It is a property by which minerals may be
described relative to a standard scale of 10 minerals known as the Mohs scale of hardness.
The degree of hardness is determined by observing the comparative ease or difficulty with which
one mineral is scratched by another or by a steel tool.

To Get Calcite from FAO Quickly Top the Corridor’s Diamond.

The ability to resist being scratched—or hardness—is one of the most useful properties for
identifying minerals.
6. What is mineraloid? Give some examples of mineraloids.
A is a naturally occurring, inorganic solid that does not exhibit crystallinity. Mineraloids
possess chemical compositions that vary beyond the generally accepted ranges for specific
minerals.
Example:
➢ Limonite (A Mixture of Oxides)
➢ Opal (Hydrated Silica)
➢ Pearl (Organically Produced Carbonate)
➢ Jet (Very Compact Coal)
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7. Define mineral and mineraloids. Classify minerals according to their properties and uses
Geologists define a mineral as a naturally occurring, solid crystalline substance, usually
inorganic, with a specific chemical composition.
A mineraloid is a mineral-like substance that does not demonstrate crystallinity. Mineraloids
possess chemical compositions that vary beyond the generally accepted ranges for specific
minerals.
For example, obsidian is an amorphous glass and not a crystal. Jet is derived from decaying
wood under extreme pressure. Opal is another mineraloid because of its non-crystalline nature.
Pearl, considered by some to be a mineral because of the presence of calcium carbonate crystals
within its structure, would be better considered a mineraloid because the crystals are bonded by
an organic material, and there is no definite proportion of the components.

8. Write down the name of four important types of structures in clay minerals with neat
sketches.
Dispersed Structure: If there is net repulsion the particles tent to assume a face-a-face
orientation.
Flocculated Structure: If there is net attraction the orientation of the particles tends to be edge-
to-face or edge-to-edge.
In turn these.

If there is face orientation and combine to form assemblages than there is two possible forms:
➢ Book house Structure:
➢ Turbostratic Structure:

Dispersed
Structure
Flocculated
Structure

Bookhouse
Turbostratic
Structure
Structure

9. State and discuss the synthesis pattern of clay mineral / Write down the synthesis pattern
of clay minerals.
Clay minerals most commonly form by prolonged chemical weathering of silicate-bearing
rocks. These clay minerals are mainly formed due to alterations or decomposition of the pre-
existing silicate minerals.
Example: The Kaolinite clay mineral is formed by the breakdown of feldspar (silicate
mineral) by the action of water and carbon dioxide.
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To some extent, the clay minerals are also formed by hydrothermal activity.
Most of the clay mineral particles are extremely fine grained and of colloidal size(< 0.002mm).

11. Define the following terms with example. (i) Cleavage (ii) Tenacity (iii) Streak (iv)
Fracture (v) Transparency
(i) Cleavage
Cleavage is the tendency of a crystal to split along planar surfaces.
The term cleavage is also used to describe the geometric pattern produced by such breakage.

Cleavage varies inversely with bond strength: strong bonds produce poor cleavage, while
weak bonds produce good cleavage. Because of their strength, covalent bonds generally
produce poor or no cleavage. Ionic bonds are relatively weak, so they produce good cleavage.
Even within a mineral that is entirely covalently bonded or entirely ionically bonded, however,
bond strength varies along the different planes.

For example, all of the bonds in diamond are covalent bonds, which are very strong, but some
planes are weakly bonded than others. Thus, diamond, the hardest mineral of all, can be
cleaved along these weaker planes to produce perfect planar surfaces.

(ii) Tenacity
Tenacity refers to a mineral’s resistance to breaking, bending, or otherwise being deformed.

A mineral may be
➢ Brittle (easily broken or crushed to powder);
➢ Malleable (easily hammered into thin sheets) (such as copper or gold);
➢ Sectile (Sectility is the ability of a mineral to be cut into thin pieces with a knife;
➢ Flexible (easily bent without breaking and then staying bent);
➢ Elastic (bending but resuming its original shape once pressure is released).

Tenacity is particularly useful in telling some of the metallic minerals apart. Gold is malleable,
pyrite (and most other look-a-likes) is not. Gold is also sectile and – in thin sheets –
flexible. Galena is brittle, while platinum is malleable and sectile.

(iii) Streak
Streak, the color of a mineral in its powdered form.
It is usually obtained by rubbing the mineral on a hard, white surface, such as a tile of
unglazed porcelain. The color of the streak is usually constant for a given species of mineral,
even though the mineral may vary considerably in color as it occurs in the field. Indeed, the
color of a streak may differ considerably from the color of the unpowdered mineral. Streak
is one of the more useful diagnostic properties, since it is a quick way to distinguish between
different species of minerals that are otherwise similar in appearance.
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(iv) Fracture
Fracture is the tendency of a crystal to break along irregular surfaces other than cleavage
planes.

All minerals show fracture, either across cleavage planes or—in such minerals as quartz—with
no cleavage in any direction. Fracture is related to how bond strengths are distributed in
directions that cut across cleavage planes.

Cleavage is the property of a mineral that allows it to break smoothly along specific internal
planes (called cleavage planes) when the mineral is struck sharply with a hammer. Fracture is
the property of a mineral breaking in a more or less random pattern with no smooth planar
surfaces.
(v) Transparency
The amount of light able to be passed through a mineral determines its transparency.

Light is able to pass through transparent minerals; translucent minerals partially let light pass
through; and opaque minerals do not let any light through. Gypsum is translucent and the gold
is opaque.
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12. Which property of minerals is used to classify them in the field? Describe them.

14. Differentiate between -(i) Color & Strike (ii) Cleavage & Fracture (iii) Minerals &
Mineraloids
Streak Color
Streak is the color of a mineral’s powder. Color is rarely very useful for identifying a
Streak is a more reliable property to identify mineral.
minerals.

Same minerals that are the different in color Same minerals have different color.
have same colored streak.

Calcite occurs in many different colors, Quartz, fluorite, calcite they all have multiple
shapes, and varieties. But every single variety varieties of colors.
of calcite has a white streak

Streak does not vary in any condition. Minerals colors may change due to
weathering, exposed to light, heat, or
radiation.
Orpiment will crumble into a light - yellow
powder if exposed to light

Cleavage Fracture
Cleavage refers to flat planes along which Fracture refers to rough or irregular surfaces
some minerals break along which the mineral breaks randomly.
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Cleavage varies inversely with bond strength: Fracture is related to how bond strengths are
strong bonds produce poor cleavage, while distributed in directions that cut across
weak bonds produce good cleavage. cleavage planes.

Mineral Mineraloid
A mineral is a naturally occurring chemical A mineraloid is a mineral-like substance that
compound, usually of crystalline form does not demonstrate crystallinity

It has a definite chemical compound Mineraloids possess chemical compositions

that vary beyond the generally accepted
ranges for specific minerals.

Minerals must have a definite shape and It doesn’t have an ordered atomic structure.
volume.

Minerals are solid. Mineraloids can be liquid (mercury, water)

Example: feldspars, quartz, amphiboles, Limonite, opal, Pearl, Jet, pumice, obsidian
micas, olivine, garnet, calcite, pyroxenes.

15. Show that only six minerals constituted about 94% of rocks.

Rocks are composed of minerals. A mineral is a naturally occurring substance which is usually
solid, crystalline, stable at room temperature and inorganic.

There are almost 5000 known mineral species, yet the vast majority of rocks are formed from
combinations of a few common minerals, referred to as “rock-forming minerals”. The rock-
forming minerals are: feldspars, quartz, amphiboles, micas, olivine, garnet, calcite, pyroxenes.
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Gypsum forms when seawater evaporates. During evaporation, Ca2+ and SO42-, two ions that are
abundant in seawater, combine and precipitate as layers of sediment, forming calcium sulfate
(CaSO4 • 2H2O)

Formation of mineral:

1. Cooling of magma
Fast cooling: mineraloid (No Crystals)
Medium Cooling: Small Crystals
Slow cooling: large crystals

2. Minerals can also form from dissolved water.

Chemical composition of Mineral:

According to their chemical composition there are seven classes of minerals:

Silicates: Composed of silicate and oxygen. Example: Olivine, Pyroxene, Feldspar etc.
Carbonates: Carbonates are minerals composed of carbon and oxygen. Example: Calcite or
Calcium carbonate (CaCO3).
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Oxides: Oxides are compounds of the oxygen anion (O2-) and a metallic-cations like Fe2+ or
Fe3+. Example: Hematite or iron oxide (Fe2O3).
Sulfides: Chief ores such as copper, zinc, and nickel are members of the sulfide class.
Sulfates: The most common sulfide mineral is pyrite (FeS2), often called “fool’s gold”. Another
common sulfate mineral in Gypsum. It forms form evaporation of seawater.

Ore forming mineral:

Ore-forming minerals are those which have great economic value. Diamond is a mineral of
economic value.
There are chief ores such as copper, zinc, and nickel. These are members of the sulfide class.