EARTH MATERIALS AND PROCESSES
description are the following:
A. Minerals and Rocks
When the first portion of the Earth, the lithosphere, formed, it
was actually rock material. A rock is any solid, naturally-
occurring mixture of different minerals. Rocks are formed
through the rock cycle- a geologic process that repeats itself
through long period of time. This cycle results into the
formation of three basic types of rocks namely igneous,
metamorphic, and sedimentary.
IGNEOUS ROCKS are formed from magma, the hot and
molten form of the Earth’s mantle layer. Igneous rocks can
from above ground as lava spewing from volcanoes, in which
case, they are called as extrusive igneous rock. They may
also form below the surface when mounds of magma get stuck
underneath the Earth’s layer and as they get closer and closer
to the surface, the magma slowly cools forming what is called
intrusive igneous rock.
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS came from small particles of
extrusive igneous rocks and/or shells of sea animals that have
been subjected to weathering. Weathering is a physical
process that involves the combined action of wind and rain
beating on and rubbing against the surfaces of exposed rocks
until the particles of these uppermost layers wear off, become
blown and washed away to a new location. As these particles
also called sediments become piled up in certain areas, they
become tightly pressed together to form sedimentary rock.
METAMORPHIC ROCKS are those that form under intense
heat and pressure. They may start out as either igneous or
sedimentary that change in characteristics such as luster/light-
reflecting capacity, grain/particle arrangement, and hardness
after being buried and subjected to elevated temperature from
underneath the Earth or intense pressure in sea bottoms or
ocean floors.
A mineral is a naturally-occurring inorganic solid with
a definite chemical composition and an orderly crystalline
structure.
Eight most common mineral groups
1. Native Elements- composed of a single kind of atoms and
includes Antimony (At), Arsenic (As), Bismuth (Bi), Copper
(Cu), Sulfur (S), and Carbon (C), occurring as either
diamond or graphite.
2. Sulfides- Sulfur combined with other minerals and where
most metallic ores such as cinnabar (with Copper),
calcocite (with Mercury), galena (with Lead), and sphalerite
(with Zinc) belong. These minerals tend to be dense, brittle,
and metallic in appearance.
3. Oxides- consists of Oxygen that has combined with a metal
or with a metal and Hydrogen. This is a large group that
occurs mostly in geological environments/rock formations
and may consist of either common metal ores or precious
gems.
4. Carbonates-formed from the combination of Carbon,
Oxygen, and a metal or a metalloid. They are soft and are
acid-soluble.
5. Phosphates- contain Phosphorus (P), Oxygen, and other
metals or non-metals and are usually formed from the
weathering of other minerals.
6. Sulfates- are made up of one or more metals combined
with Sulfur and Oxygen which form from volcanically heated
water. They are soft and pale in color and are sometimes
transparent or transluscent.
7. Halides- are metals that have been combined with any of
the following halogens namely Chlorine (Cl), Bromine (Br),
Fluorine (Fl), Iodine (I), and Astatine (At).
8. Silicates- the most widespread of the minerals, they are
made up of Oxygen and Silicon which are the two most
abundant elements in the Earth’s crust. They are classified
either as Felsic (Fel for feldspar and sic for silica), those
that form in granites and are lighter in weight and in color
than other silicates because they contain less Iron (Fe) and
Magnesium (Mg)
Some of the most commonly considered properties in mineral
Color-the distinct hue of minerals, it is the one most commonly
used for mineral identification.
Streak- the color of the mineral in powder form and is
considered as the mineral’s true color. It may also be used to
differentiate between metallic and non-metallic minerals. The
streak of metallic minerals tend to be dark because they tend
to absorb light while that of non-metals tend to be lighter
because of their light-reflecting capacity.
Hardness- a measure of the mineral’s resistance to scratching
and is determined using the Mohs Scale which consists of a
set of 10 minerals with known hardness.
Cleavage and Fracture- cleavage may be defined in terms of
two criteria- the line at which the mineral breaks when it was
sharply hit by an instrument (clear lines constitute perfect
cleavage while lines that cannot be seen clearly after cutting
comprise an imperfect cleavage) and the shape formed by the
cut surfaces and may be any of the following: cubic,
rhombohedral, octahedral, dodecahedral, basal or prismatic.
Fracture describes the quality of the cleavage surface and is
described as any of the following: uneven or grainy fracture;
conchoidal (curved, shell-like lines) fracture, or hackly (rough,
jagged) fracture.
Crystalline Structure- also known as crystal lattice, it refers to
the arrangement of the atoms, molecules or ions that make up
the crystal and how they are joined.
amorphous-minerals that do not have any definite particle
arrangement
Transparency or Diaphaneity- refers to the mineral’s ability to
allow the passage of light which may be influenced by its
thickness.
Tenacity- is the description of the strength of the particles to
be held together or resist disintegration.
Magnetism- refers to the ability of a mineral to either attract or
repel other magnetic materials.
Luster- describes the capacity of the surface of a mineral to
reflect light which may be affected by the brilliance of the light
source.
In terms of luster, minerals may be described as belonging to
any of the following groups
Metallic- opaque and reflects light
Sub-metallic- opaque, dull and dark-colored
Non-metallic- does not reflect light and are further described as
follows: waxy (paraffin-looking), vitreous (looks like a broken
glass), pearly (appears iridescent), silky (looks fibrous), greasy
(seems like oil on water), resinous (resembles a hardened tree
sap), and adamantine (brilliant, like a diamond)
Odor- the olfactory characteristic that becomes manifested
only when a mineral is moistened, heated, breathed upon, or
rubbed.
Specific Gravity- a comparison or ratio of the weight of the
mineral to the weight of an equal amount of water. The weight
of the equal amount of water is found by finding the difference
between the weight of the mineral in air and the weight of the
mineral in water.