Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
LIGAO NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Senior High School Program
Ligao City

EARTH SCIENCE
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS
WHAT IS A MINERAL?

Mineral - naturally occurring, inorganic solid with orderly crystalline structure and a definite chemical
composition. These are the basic building blocks of rocks.

FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A MINERAL

1. The substance must exist as a solid under normal conditions on earth.
2. The substance must be naturally occurring on earth, not man-made.
3. The substance must be inorganic, not living or made form living things.
4. The substance must have a fixed chemical formula, made of specific elements.
5. The atoms that make up the substance must be arranged in an orderly structure.

Note: All the physical properties of a mineral resulted from the mineral’s internal arrangement of
atoms.

Water is not a mineral since it is not solid and crystalline. Tube ice is not because it is not naturally occurring.
Snow flake meets all requirements in defining a mineral.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS

1. Luster – it is the quality and intensity of reflected light exhibited by the mineral
a. Metallic – generally opaque and exhibit a resplendent shine similar to a polished metal
b. Non-metallic – vitreous (glassy), adamantine (brilliant/diamond-like), resinous, silky, pearly, dull
(earthy), greasy, etc.

2. Hardness – it is a measure of the resistance of a mineral (not specifically surface) to abrasion.

The use of a hardness scale designed by German geologist/mineralogist Friedrich Mohs in 1812
(Mohs Scale of Hardness). The test compares the resistance of a mineral relative to the 10 reference
minerals with known hardness. It is simply determining the hardness of a mineral by scratching them
with common objects of known hardness (e.g. copper coin -3.0-3.5).
 What are the pros and cons in using the Mohs scale of hardness?

3. Color and streak – Color maybe a unique identifying property of certain minerals (e.g. malachite –
green, azurite – blue). There are also lots of minerals that share similar or the same color/s. In
addition, some minerals can exhibit a range of colors. The mineral quartz for example, can be pink
(rose quartz), purple (amethyst), orange (citrine), white (colorless quartz) etc. Streak on the other
hand is the color of a mineral in powdered form. Note that the color of a mineral could be different
from the streak. For example, pyrite (FeS2) exhibits golden color (hence the other term of pyrite
which is Fool’s Gold) but has a black or dark gray streak. Streak is a better diagnostic property as
compared to color. Streak is inherent to almost every mineral. Color maybe unreliable for
identification as impurities within the minerals may give the minerals a different color.

The different colors and varieties of Quartz is the result of impurities within the crystal structure. The
color of some minerals can also be modified by weathering.

4. Crystal Form/Habit –The external shape of a crystal or groups of crystals is displayed / observed as
these crystals grow in open spaces. The form reflects the supposedly internal structure (of atoms and
ions) of the crystal (mineral). It is the natural shape of the mineral before the development of any
cleavage or fracture. Examples include prismatic, tabular, bladed, platy, reniform and equant. A
mineral that do not have a crystal structure is described as amorphous.

The crystal form also define the relative growth of the crystal in 3 dimension which are its length,
width and height

5. Cleavage – It is the property of some minerals to break along parallel repetitive planes of weakness
to form smooth, flat surfaces. These planes of weakness are inherent in the bonding of atoms that
makes up the mineral. These planes of weakness are parallel to the atomic planes and appear to be
repeating within the mineral. When minerals break evenly in more than one direction, cleavage is
described by the number of cleavage directions and the angle(s) between planes (e.g. cleavage in 2
directions at 90 degrees to each other).

It is important to clearly differentiate a crystal habit from cleavage. Although both are dictated by
crystal structure, crystal habit forms as the mineral is growing, therefore relies on how the individual
atoms in the crystal come together. Cleavage on the other hand is the weak plane that developed
after the crystal is formed.

6. Fracture – Some minerals may not have cleavages but exhibit broken surfaces that are irregular and
non-planar. Quartz for example has an inherent weakness in the crystal structure that is not planar.
Examples of fracture are conchoidal, fibrous, hackly, and uneven among others.

7. Specific Gravity – It is the ratio of the weight of a mineral to the weight of an equal volume of water.
A bucket of silver (SG 10) would weigh 10 times more than a bucket of water (SG 1). It is a measure
to express the density (mass per unit volume) of a mineral. The specific gravity of a mineral is
numerically equal to density.

8. Others – There are certain unique properties of minerals that actually help in their identification (e.g.
magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid, etc.). Magnetite is strongly magnetic; sulfur has
distinctive smell; halite is salty; calcite fizzes with acid as with dolomite but in powdered form.
CLASSIFICATION OF MINERALS BY CHEMICAL COMPOSITION

MINERAL CLASSIFICATION
• Native Elements
• Silicates Oxides
• Sulfides Halides
• Sulfates Carbonates
• Phosphates Mineraloid

Approximately 85% of the Earth's crust is composed of oxygen and silicon.

Together they form the silicon oxygen tetrahedron, which is the basic building
block of silicate minerals. Silicates are also termed as (common) rock forming
minerals.

8 elements
comprising almost
99% of the minerals
making up the
Earth’s crust

NATIVE ELEMENTS
1. Minerals that form as individual elements and categorized as pure minerals.
2. Types of Native Elements
a. Metals and Inter-metals – minerals with high thermal and electrical conductivity, typically with
metallic luster, low hardness (gold, lead).
b. Semi-metals – minerals that are more fragile than metals and have lower conductivity (arsenic,
bismuth).
c. Nonmetals – nonconductive (sulfur, diamond)

SILICATES
1. Silicates – minerals containing 2 of the most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust, namely, silicon
and oxygen. When linked together, these two elements form the silicon oxygen tetrahedron – the
fundamental building block of silicate minerals. Over 90% of the rock-forming minerals belong to
this group. Aside from Si (46.6 % by wt.) and O (27.7%), the other most common elements that make
the earth’s crust are Al (8.1), Fe (5.0), Ca (3.6), Mg (3.1), Na (2.8) and K (2.6).
2. This is the largest group of minerals. Silicates are made from metals combined with silicon and
oxygen. There are more silicates than all other minerals put together.
3. A more modern approach to classifying silicates is by their structure. This class of minerals uses
SiO4 molecules connected as tetrahedrons. A tetrahedron is a triangular based pyramid. The oxygen
 atoms occupy the corners of the tetrahedron with the silicon atom in the center. The arrangement of
this basic shape is the basis for classification.

SULFIDES
1. Minerals containing sulfur anion (S2)- combined with one or more ions.
2. Some sulfides are sources of economically important metals such as copper, lead and zinc.

SULFATES
1. The sulfates are made up of one or more metals in combination with sulfur and oxygen.
2. The sulfur and oxygen atoms form a
unit with one sulfur atom in the center
and four oxygen atoms forming a
square around it. These atoms form a
tetrahedron crystal pattern. The
chemical formula of the group is: SO4
3. This class of minerals tends to be
evaporates or forms from
volcanically heated water. As a
group they are soft and pale in color
and sometimes transparent or
translucent. There are many
minerals in the sulfate group but most
are rare in occurrence. Anhydrate,
barite, and gypsum are minerals that
are common in this class.

PHOSPHATES
1. The phosphate minerals contain
phosphorus and oxygen in a 1:4
ratio.
2. Written as PO4 this compound
combines with other elements to form
phosphates.
3. There are over 200 phosphates.
 4. The most common use of phosphate minerals is for fertilizer. It is also used as a supplemental
animal feed, food preservative, fungicide, and in cosmetics.

OXIDES
1. Oxides are mineral compounds combining a metal with oxygen or a metal combining with
oxygen and hydrogen.
2. This is a large group of minerals that occur in most geological environments and rock types. They
span a wide range of characteristics from common metal ores to precious gems.
3. At the other end of the spectrum are the corundums. Corundum is one of the hardest minerals
and produces both rubies and sapphires.
4. All of the members of the quartz family are oxides. With the chemical formula SiO2
5. Silicon dioxide is one of the most abundant minerals on earth.
6. The quartz family includes quartz, amethyst, rose quartz, citrine, aventurine, smoky quartz, and all of
the agates to name a few.

HALIDES
1. Halides are formed by combining a metal with one of the five halogen elements, chlorine, bromine,
fluorine, iodine, and astatine.
2. Many of these compounds will dissolve in water. Because of this solubility they usually occur only
under special conditions.
3. Halite (NaCl) or rock salt is an exception to this notion. It is so common that it is found in huge
deposits all over the world. It is a mineral that has many uses including making table salt.
4. Fluorite CaF2 or calcium fluoride is another common halide mineral.
5. The primary use of fluorite is in the making of steel and aluminum.
6. It serves as a flux making the molten metal flow more easily. Fluorite is a popular specimen
mineral for collectors.
7. It comes in nearly every color of the rainbow, sometimes several colors in the same piece creating a
striking appearance.

CARBONATES
1. Carbonates come from the combination of carbon, oxygen, and a metal or semimetal element.
2. This group of minerals is soft and easily dissolved by even mild acids. Some of these minerals form
by the acidic action of air and rain.
3. Minerals containing the carbonate anion (CO3)2- combined with other elements.

MINERALOID
1. Mineraloids is the term used for those
substances that do not fit neatly into
any of the eight classes of
minerals.
2. Opal, jet, amber, and mother of pearl
all belong to the unofficial class called
mineraloids.
3. They are created from organic
compounds or lack crystalline
structure that would qualify them to
be real minerals.
OVERVIEW OF THE THREE TYPES OF ROCKS

Rocks are an aggregate of minerals. A rock can be composed of a single mineral (e.g.
Quartzite is a metamorphic rock composed predominantly of Quartz) or more commonly composed of an
aggregate of two or more minerals.

1. Igneous rocks –rocks that are formed from the solidification of molten rock material. The process of
solidification involves the formation of crystalline solids called minerals. Molten rock material can
solidify below the surface of the earth (plutonic igneous rocks) or solidify at the surface of the Earth
(volcanic igneous rocks).

2. Sedimentary rocks – rocks that form through the accumulation, compaction, and cementation of
sediments. Sedimentary rocks form at surface or near surface conditions.

3. Metamorphic rocks – are rocks that form through the transformation of preexisting rocks (igneous,
sedimentary, or metamorphic rocks) through the process of metamorphism.

Metamorphism can involve changes in the physical and chemical properties of rocks in response to
heat, pressure, and/or chemically active fluids.