Rocks and minerals

II
• . ~~-~~. -~~~-.~~~-~~-. ~-~~.~~-~~-~~~~!. ............................
Rock - a mixture of minerals
The Earth's crust is made up of rocks and soils. Soils mainly come from the
breakdown of rocks. Rock is usually a mixture of minerals. In other words,
the Earth's crust is a source of minerals.

Minerals are naturally occurring substances that have a specific

Learning tip········:
chemical composition. Minerals may be elements, like gold and carbon
e primary source of :
e salts in oceans is (in the form of diamond), which are found free in rocks. See Figure 4.1.
;solved minerals More commonly, minerals are compounds of different elements. Silicon
ought by rivers and
and oxygen are two elements that form the major types of minerals in the
·earns. •
I • • e •••••• •. I I I I I. I I I • I I
Earth's crust.

. k The photo shows a piece of natural gold nugget.

Figure 4 •1 Gold is found free in roe ·

. 4 2) is a mixture of mainly three kinds of

The rock granite (Fig:;ca ~nd feldspar. Each of them is a compound.
minerals. They are quartz, .. d xygen Feldspar and mica are
.
Quartz is a comp
ound of silicon an
·1·
°
oxygen and other elements.
·
ds formed from si icon,
compoun

mica

. I - quartz, mica and feldspar.

k·nds
1 of mmera s
· three
. 4 2 Granite contains
Figure •

85
nugger 1Jdi
feldspar -!i:Ei quarrz :Ei~
mine ral i;J}~ nran/te 1E~ '6
 Planet Eart h

GI
~ - Extraction of metals
..................................... fr~-~ --~~~~~-~~-~~---------- ' •,
······...... ,,

Common ores
An ore is the type of rock that contains useful mineralS, from Whicn
1
metal can be extracted. Most of the metals used in daily life are extract~
from their ores. Figures 4.3-4.6 show four common ores.

re 4 .3 Bauxite Figure 4.4 Copper pyrite Figure 4.5 Haematite Figure 4.6 Galena

Table 4.1 shows six ores and the metals that can be extracted from
these ores. Metals can be extracted from their ores by physical methods
or chemical methods.

l
Major element or
Ore Metal extracted
compound in the ore
I

Bauxite Aluminium oxide Aluminium

Copper pyrite Copper iron sulphide Copper

Haematite Iron(III) oxide Iron

Galena Lead(II) sulphide Lead

I
Rock salt Sodium chloride Sodium
Gold ore Gold Gold
Table 4.1 Some ores and the metals that can be extracted from them

Physical methods used to extract metals from their

ores

A few very unreactive metals (e.g. gold and platinum) exist as free elements
in the Earth's crust. They can be extracted by physical methods like
mechanical separation. For example, gold can be extracted by panning
See Figure 4. 7.

i:.3±[1 mechanical separation II !i;}.a

yrite ili~-'- ore IIE
if/1~ panning ;!Jifi
e ;if, 11!11
 Rocks and minerals

rning tip ••······.

panning, since
s a high density, it
< to the bottom of
1. But other •
tis such as sand
1d will be shaken
he pan.
· .. · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Figure 4. 7 Gold panning

Cher: ~ rt"ieth. .s • .sed to extract metals from their

Metals that occur in nature in the form of compounds can be extracted

from their ores by using chemical methods. For metal ores in the form of
oxides, three chemical methods are commonly employed to extract the
metals from these oxides.

Heating the metal ore alone

ming tip•··· .. ··:
ity of metals will • Unreactive metals such as mercury and silver can be extracted by heating
Jssed in Book lC, ;
their ores alone. For example, silver can be extracted from silver oxide by
. ........ . ... .......
r 11. :
heating it strongly.
heat
silver oxide - - - - - silver + oxygen

Heating the metal ore with carbon

The more reactive metals, such as zinc, iron and lead, can be extracted by
heating their ores with carbon. For example, lead can be extracted from
lead(II) oxide by heating it with carbon strongly.
heat
lead(II) oxide + carbon - - - - lead + carbon dioxide

Electrolysis of the molten metal ore

The most reactive metals, such as sodium, calcium and aluminium, can be
extracted by electrolysis of their molten ores. For example, aluminium is
extracted from molten aluminium oxide by passing electricity through it.
electrolysis
aluminium oxide - - - - - aluminium + oxygen
(molten)

~ Class practice 4.1

Write a word equation for the chemical reaction in each of the following
metal extraction processes.
(a) Extraction of mercury by heating mercury(II) o xide.
(b) Extraction of zinc by heating zinc oxide with carbon .

molttn ,.iHt~ 87
 Planet Eart h

·C8.. ~~~-~~--~-~~.!.~~~~~-~- -~~~~-'.~-~--~~~-~~-~~~-~............,

Limestone, chalk and marble
d mai·ble (Figure 4.8) are rocks which contain mainh,
Limestone, ch all{ an . '
. al ·t Calcite is a natural form of calcmm carbonate.
the mineral c ci e.

(a) (b) (c)

Figure 4 .8 (a) Limestone cave in Guangxi province, China, (b) chalk cliffs in Colorado, United States, and (c) marble gorge in Tami;
Taiwan

The skeletons and shells of sea animals are made up of calcium

carbonate (Figure 4. 9). When sea animals die, they sink to the bottom of
the oceans and are covered by mud and sand. Over millions of years, due
:i': Learning tip·•• •••••:.. to high temperatures, high pressures and earth movements, the calcium
: Marble is very hard. carbonate changes to chalk, limestone (Figure 4.10) and marble.
: Limestone is hard while ..
: chalk is slightly softer.
............................. .
.

Figure 4.9 Oyster shells are mainly Figure 4.1 O Limestone

made up of calcium carbonate.

Limestone blocks can be used to construct buildings and roads.

Limestone has other uses as well. They are used to make cement, make
glass, build sculptures, and to n eutralize acidic soil.

limestone :fiDZ:fi cave ;s;Jlj] cllff'-«tt: O VHPf ti

 Rocks and minerals

See Figures 4.11-4.14.

. ··' .....
· .. ,. -~-

...
..... .
'.,
;

. • ·r~·-
..,,.. ~-
-=-
.
• •,

1·· .
C

i':
, i,;· ...
~it

. -~llli
. -
' . . ~

Figure 4.11 Limestone is used as the Figure 4.12 Limestone is used to make
construction material for some footpaths. cement.

Figure 4. 13 This sculpture of Figure 4.14 Powdered limestone is used to

Buddha is built from limestone. neutralize acidic soil.

e Action of heat, water and acids on calcium

\ carbonate
..............................................................................................
Action of heat on calcium carbonate

D.Wfo@,111-6 Calcium carbonate is a white solid. It decomposes to calcium oxide and

carbon dioxide when it is heated strongly. This type of reaction is called
Investigating the actions
of heat, water and acids thermal decomposition.
on calcium carbonate
heat
calcium carbonate - - - - calcium oxide + carbon dioxide
.,~ Experiment video
Investigating the Quicklime, slaked lime and limewater
actions of heat,
water and acids on
The calcium oxide formed is a white solid and is commonly known as
calcium carbonate
quicklime. When water is added to calcium oxide, calcium hydroxide
(slaked lime) forms and a lot of heat is given off.

calcium oxide + water - calcium hydroxide

(quicklime) (slaked lime)

quicklime g:_ E/Ji thermal decomposition M:)}M<f'Fffi > 89

slaked lime J/\E /Ji
 ~,
Pla net Ea rth

. . htly solub le in water . When water is

·d s only s 1ig
Calciu m hydroxi e 1. ted soluti on with white suspension
. h drox1de a satura
added to calcium Y ' nsion is filtered , a colou rless soluti
. ) After the suspe 011
:OThink about it , ..... forms (Figure 4 ·15 · . (F' 4 16)
: Do you rememb er the
is obtain ed . The filtrate is limewatet igure . .
:
: differen ce bet ween :
( filtrate and residue? j
............................

Figure 4 . 15 Suspen sion of Figure 4 . 16 Limewa ter

calcium hydroxi de in water

Action of wate r on calciun1 carb onat e

When calcium carbonate is added to water, there is no observable change
.
Calcium carbonate is insolu ble in water (does not dissolv e in water)
.

Action of acids on calcium carb onat e

Unlike water, acids can dissolve calcium carbo nate. When
dilute
hydrochloric acid is added to calcium carbo nate, they react. Durin
g the
reaction, calcium chloride, carbo n dioxide and water are produ
ced. As
carbo n dioxide is produ ced, efferv escen ce occurs . See Figure 4.17.

calcium carbo nate + dilute hydrochloric acid - calciu m chlori de + carbo n dioxid e + water

adding dilute
hydrochloric acid effervescence
... occurs when
calcium carbonate
reacts with dilute
hyd1 ochlonc acid

calcium carbonate ii
Figure 4.17 Carbon dioxide evolves when calcium carbonate reacts
with dilute hydrochloric acid.

limewater 6 1.kl./<
suspension IJ ;'f 1PJ
 Roc ks and min e rals

W ea th er in g of limestone
by acidic substances
~~ nw ate r is slightly acidic
because car bo n dioxide in air
In lt, for mi ng carbonic dissolves Slightly
acid.
car bo n dioxide + water -
car bo nic acid
acid ic
Th e car bo nic acid formed rea
cts with calcium car bo na te in
lim est0ne.
cal ciu m car bo na te + carbonic
acid - calcium hydro ge nc
Figure 4.1 8 This limest
one arb on ate
statue has been weath Ca lci um hy dro ge nc arb on ate
ered is sol ub le in wa ter an d
by rainwater. lim e st0ne is slowly wo rn aw thu s the
ay. Th is natural we ath eri ng
da ma ge to limest on e sta tue pr oc ess cau ses
s (Figu re 4.18).

Cl as sif yin g so me pro ce

ss es as phys ica l change
s or chemica l changes
Explain wh eth er eac h of the
following changes is a ph ysical
(a) He ati ng silver oxide cha nge or a che mical cha nge
.
(b) He ati ng a pie ce of gold
(c) Di sso lvi ng car bo n dioxid
e in wa ter
(d) Di sso lvi ng ox yg en in wa
ter
Solut ion
(a) Ch em ica l ch an ge . Ne w
sub sta nc es (silver an d oxygen
oxide. ) are produced during the he
ati ng of silver
(b) Ph ysi cal ch an ge. Go ld
ha s no reaction with air eve
pro du ce d. n on str on g heating. No new
sub sta nc e is
(c) Ch em ica l ch an ge . A ne
w sub sta nc e (carbonic acid)
is pro du ced wh en car bo n dio
water. xide dis solves in
(d) Ph ysi cal ch an ge. Ox yg
en ha s no rea cti on wi th water
. No new sub sta nc e is pro du
ced .

Class practice 4 .2 /.
1. (a) Write a word equation
for each of the reaction tha t occ
(i) calcium carbonate is hea ted urs wh en
strongly.
(ii) water is ad de d to calcium
oxide.
(b) State any he at cha ng e in
each of the above processes .
2. In an experiment, excess
dilute hydrochloric acid was
tub e with a small piece of cha ad de d to a test
lk in it.
(a) State the major com po un
d pre sen t in chalk.
(b) State TWO ex pe cte d obser
vations in this exp eri me nt.
(c) Was the cha ng e involved
a physical or chemical ch an ge
answe r. ? Expla in you r

carbonic acid 6/;t Mi weathering F.rHI:: <fl: ffl >

calcium hydrogencarbonate
!ilifti!!iM~
91
~ 1'1., no t E,, rth

.,
~ Test for carbon dioxide
:~ : Le a rni ng tip .... ... .
:;.,"" I • • ••• • • • • • •

Carbon dioxide is a colourless

a ••• •• • t • • ················ ············ ··· ····················
and odourless gas . Wh en car
··················I. I I

Llm ew. iter is a satu rate d bubbled into limewater for a bon dio xide ~
few seconds, a wh ite precipit
sol utio n of calcium ate of calciull\
hydroxid e. It is colo urle ss.
carbonate forms.
... .. .. ....... .... . ..... ..
~ calcium hydroxide+ car bo n
dioxide - calcium car bo na
colourless solut,on te+ water
whi te precipitate

Therefore, carbon dioxide tur

ns lirnewater milky (Figure
Th is is a simple test for carbo 4.19(a)).
n dioxid e.
Wh en ex ces s carbon dioxid
e is co nti nu ously bu bb led int
the milky solution tur ns co lou o limewaier
rle ss. Th is is because the ins
carbonate rea cts with the exc oluble calci~
ess carbon dioxide and water
calcium h yd rogencarbonate to for m solubk
. See Figure 4. 19(b) .
calcium carbonate + carbon dio
xid e + water - calciu m hydro
white precipitate gencarbonat
colourless soluhon e

bubble carbon
dioxide into bubble excess
carbon dioxide
'A-\t~,t,
limewater
into limewater

- H
,,mewater l limewater
turns
limeywater
mtlk
becomes
l -·
1
,-~

.1
milky colourless

(a)
Fig ure 4 .19 (a) Test for (b)
carbon dioxide using lime
dio xid e is bub ble d into it. water. (b) The milky limewater becom
es colourless when excess
cartioo

"'irK
' ey point
I/ Ca rbo n dioxide is a colou rle
ss an d od ou rless gas. It tu rn
milky. s limewater \

Inv es tig ati ng the ac tio ns

of acids and water on calci
um carbonate
In an ex pe rim en t, a stu de nt ad de d som
e dilute hydrochloric acid to
ca rbo na te po wd er. a test tub e containing calciu
m
(a) W ha t wo uld the stu de
nt ob ser ve in the test tub e?
(b) W rit e a wo rd eq ua tio
n for the rea cti on between cal
ciu m carbo nate and dilute hy
(c) W ha t will the stude nt drochloric acid .
ob ser ve if he /sh e uses water
instead of dilute hydrochlori
c acid?
 Rocks and minerals ~
~

Solution
d . ffervescence
(a) The calcium carbonate powder dissolved. Colourless gas bubbles evolve 01 e
occurred.
·
(b) ca IC1Um car .
• acid - calcium
· bonate + d'llute hydrochlonc · + cai•bon dioxide+ water
chlonde
(c} The calcium carbonate does not dissolve in water. A white suspension forms.

. I .
Summary of changes .involving ca c1um
carbonate
. . I . calcium carbonate
Figure 4.20 summarizes the chemical changes mvo vmg
mentioned in this chapter.

e pass carbon dioxide

mto II Qimewa~ calcium carbonate ---------
O strong heat
carbon dioxide
~ given off

calcium hydroxide solution calcium oxide

(limewarer) (quicklime)

0 add mo,ewat~
well and then filter
calcium hydroxide
(slaked Ii.me)
----/4.dd a little wate,

Figure 4.20 Some changes involving calcium carbonate

Refer to the following flow chart.

Calcium strong heating

p
carbonate

add water and filter

Q
Calcium hydroxide
solution

(a) What are substances P and O?

(b) What would be observed when O is added to calcium hydroxide
solution?
(c) Write a word equation for the reaction involved in (b).

93
 Pla net Ear th

Th e presence of calcium in a sam

ple can be sho wn
by the flame test (Refer to Ch apt
er 3, p.6 7 for the
procedure of a flame test.) . Ca
lcium com pou nds
give a brick-red flame wh en it is
hea ted strongly in
a non -lu min ous flame in the
flame tes t (Figure
4.21) .

Figure 4.21 Calcium compounds

give a brick-red flame in the flam
e test.

er, Test for the presence of ca

\. sample
rbonate in a
............ .... .................................... ....
..................................' ..
i 3:M§li11M,ICfw!\ Wh en carbonates react with dilu
te hydrochloric acid, car bo n dio
xide is
Per form ing chemical given off. To tes t for the pre
sen ce of car bon ate in a sample
test s for calcium hydrochloric acid is add ed to the , dilute
carbonate sam ple . lf a col ou rle ss and odo
gas evolves and it tur ns lim ew urless
ate r mi lky , l'. :1 rb 0na t1.: is pr1.:sen
sample. See Figure 4.22. t in th~
Experiment video
Perf orm ing
che mic al test s for
calc ium carb ona te
I ,1,, 't'f tube
delivery tube

dilu te hyd roch loric

acid

solid sam ple llmewater

under test

solid sample under test

Fig ure 4.2 2 Test for the presen
ce of carbonate using limewater
test

~ Key point
Jr Urn:stonc, cha lk and
0

1 ma rbk all giv1.: a bri ck -re d fla

me in thl'
fla me tes t. Bl.'s idc s. up on add
itio n of dil ute hyd roc hlo ric aci 11
dt
the ir sa mp ks, all of the m pro du
ce a col ou rle ss gas whk h tu.1" 5
11
lim cw atc r milky.

94
 Planet Earth

t P'rogress check
.
After studying this chapter, you should be able e of minera1s
to:
h .
thei r ores suc h as the P ysical methOd
recognize that rocks are an important. sourc f etals from
,
describe the methods for the extract10n ° m
.
hearing alone and heating with carbon b ·
. g word equaoons fi of calc ium car ona te m nature
describe chemical changes usin ble are different onnfsheat water and acid .
d . s
recognize tha.t limestone, chalk an mar '
hr h the actio n o
t
understand that chemicals may change. t. oug f lcium carbona e
list the products of thermal decomposmon ° ca
h fi carbon dioxide and carbonate in a sample
demonstrate how to can y out t e test oral .
c th esence of c c1um
demonstrate how to cany out tests 1or e pr

.,, ~ e-Di ction ary Page

t Key terms (For Chapter 4)
Page
-0:..

86
88 7. ore fil:O
1. calcium carbonate ~~f i5 89
88 8. quicklime ~:013<
2. chalk B~ 85
88 9. rock :5:fi
3. limestone EY<E 89
90 10. slaked lime 1.-!!E'!l<
4. limewater E !R.71< ffl> 89
88 11. thermal decomposition ~J tM <f'l=
5. marble :;k!]!!:fi
85
6. mineral llJW

t Key concepts
.J..1 Wh at are rocks and min eral s?

1. Rock is usuaJly a mixture of minerals.

that have a spec ific chemical composition.
2. Min eral s are naturally occurring substances

4.2 Extraction of metals from thei r ores

extracted
An ore is the type of rock that contain
s useful minerals, from which a metal can be
3. and haematite .
Common ores include bauxite, copper pyrite
following methods:
4. Metals can be extracted from their ores by the
• Physical methods
• Heating the metal ore alone
• Heating the metal ore with carbon
• Electrolysis of the molten meta l ore

98
 Rocks and mine rals

4.3 Rocks conta ining calciu m carbo nate

the mineral calcite. Cakite is a
S. Lime5tone, chalk and marbl e are rocks which contai n mainly
natura l form of calciu m carbo nate.
uses.
6. Limestone is a very useful rock. Refer to p.88-8 9 for some of its

4.4 Actio n of heat, water and acids on calcium carbonate

and carbon dioxid e.
7. On strong heatin g, calciu m carbonate decom poses to calciu m oxide
. heal
ca lc1um carbo nate - calciu m oxicje + carbon dioxid e
to calciu m hydro xide (slake d
8. When calciu m oxide (quick.lime) is treated with water, it changes
lime).

calciu m oxide + water - calciu m hydrox ide

qulckllme slaked limo

9. Calciu m carbo nate is insolu ble in water.

m chlori de, carbo n dioxid e
10. Calciu m carbo nate reacts with dilute hydro chlori c acid to give calciu
and water.

calciu m carbon ate + dilute hydro chlori c acid - calciu m chlori de + carbo n dioxid e + water

4.5 Test for ca: bon dioxid e

the colour less soluti on turns
11. When carbo n dioxid e is bubbl ed into limew ater for a few secon ds,
milky. H ence, this can be used to test for carbon dioxid e.

calciu m hydroxide+ carbo n dioxid e - calciu m carbon ate + water

colourless solution white prec,plla te

solutio n turns milky and

12. When excess carbo n dioxid e is bubbled into limew ater, the colo urless
m carbo nate reacts with the
then turns colour less again. This is becau se the insolu ble calciu
rbona te.
excess carbo n dioxide and water to form solubl e calciu m hydro genca

calciu m carbo nate+ carbo n dioxid e + water - calciu m hydro genca rbona te
colourless solution
white precipitate

4.6 Test for the prese nce of calciu m in a samp le

13. Calciu m comp ounds give a brick- red flame in a flame test.

4.7 Test for the prese nce of carbo nate in a samp le

carbo nate, carbo n dioxid e is
14. When dilute hydro chloric acid is added to a sample contai ning
produ ced, which turns limew ater milky.

99