Chapter 3 Minerals
So, you want to learn about rocks? First you need to understand minerals, since they are the primary components of all the rocks on Earth. Much like ingredients while cooking, minerals are the tomatoes, onions, and noodles of our geologic lasagna. Minerals are all around us: the graphite in your pencil, the salt on your table, the plaster on your walls, and the trace amounts of gold in your computer. Minerals can be found in a wide variety of consumer products including paper, medicine, processed foods, cosmetics, electronic devices, and many more. And of course, everything made of metal is also derived from minerals. The combination of specific minerals will make up different rock types.
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, completing the exercises within it, and answering the questions at the end, you should be able to:
- Describe the nature of atoms and their constituents, particularly the behavior of electrons and the formation of ions.
- Apply your understanding of atoms to explain bonding within minerals.
- Describe mineral lattices and explain how they influence mineral properties.
- Categorize minerals into groups based on their compositions.
- Describe a silica tetrahedron and the ways in which tetrahedra combine to make silicate minerals.
- Differentiate between ferromagnesian and other silicate minerals.
- Explain some of the mechanisms of mineral formation.
- Describe some of the important techniques for identifying minerals.
