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Questions and Answers
What is a characteristic of minerals that distinguishes them from rocks?
What is the primary way to classify minerals?
What is true about diamonds?
What is necessary for magma to become a mineral?
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What is an example of a mineral that can be found in a particular type of rock?
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Which of the following is used to classify crystal structures?
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What is an example of a Cubic Close-Packed (CCP) crystalline structure?
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What is the study of rocks called?
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What percentage of the Earth's crust is composed of sedimentary rock?
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What is the process by which sedimentary rocks can change into metamorphic rocks?
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Study Notes
Rocks vs Minerals
- Rocks are different from minerals, but both are solids and can be found in the earth's crust.
- Minerals are naturally occurring substances with unique chemical and physical properties.
- Minerals are inorganic, multicolored, have a specific structure, and are defined by their chemical composition.
- Minerals have a definite crystalline structure and can have nutritional value.
Mineral Definition
- Minerals are inorganic uniform chemical compositions of a solid that have a crystalline internal structure and occur naturally.
- Minerals can be made from multiple types of elements or just one.
- Minerals can be vast, like the size of a tree, or very small, like a grain of sand.
- Salt or NaCl is an example of the crystalline structure of minerals.
Classifying Minerals
- Minerals are classified by their chemical composition and crystalline structure.
- Other ways to characterize minerals include examining the color, density, hardness, streak, luster, and solubility.
- Geologists classify crystal structures by the number of sides, angles, cleavage, and fracture.
- There are three main types of crystalline structures: Body-Centered Cubic (BCC), Hexagonal Close-Packed (HCP), and Cubic Close-Packed (CCP).
Rock Definition
- A rock is a solid interconnected collective of two or more crystalline minerals.
- Rocks are usually made up of various types of mineral grains, held together in one solid form, and can be large or small.
- The study of rocks is called petrology.
- Rocks do not always have a repeating arrangement of atoms like minerals do.
Classifying Rocks
- Rocks are classified based on how they are formed.
- There are three main rock classifications: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.
- Rocks are made through the rock cycle, which either creates new rocks or recycles old rocks.
Igneous Rocks
- Made from hot magma that cools to create rock.
- Emerges from volcanoes.
- The quicker it cools, the finer the grain texture; the slower it cools, the larger the grain texture.
- Can be intrusive or extrusive.
Sedimentary Rocks
- Made over time by pressure from other rocks.
- Shows fossil records.
- Used to interpret history.
Metamorphic Rocks
- Made from other rocks.
- Chemical reactions can alter the minerals.
- Different levels of heat can create different rocks from the same minerals.
The Rock Cycle
- The process in which all rock is made or recycled.
- Igneous → Sedimentary: through weathering, sedimentation, and lithification.
- Sedimentary → Metamorphic: through heat & pressure, deformation and recrystallization.
- Metamorphic → Igneous: through melting and crystallization.
Is a Rock a Mineral?
- A rock is not a mineral, and minerals do not always make rocks.
- Most rocks are made of minerals, but some rocks have no minerals.
- Rocks that contain minerals: granite, shale, limestone, marble, sandstone, coal.
- Rocks that do not contain minerals: peat, chalk, flint.
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Description
Learn about the differences between rocks and minerals, and explore the unique properties of minerals found in the earth's crust.
