{"id":51,"date":"2021-09-16T19:28:23","date_gmt":"2021-09-16T19:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/chapter\/chapter-2-minerals-physical-geology-2nd-edition\/"},"modified":"2021-09-16T19:42:58","modified_gmt":"2021-09-16T19:42:58","slug":"chapter-2-minerals-physical-geology-2nd-edition","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/chapter\/chapter-2-minerals-physical-geology-2nd-edition\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter 2 Minerals -- Physical Geology &#8211; 2nd Edition","rendered":"Chapter 2 Minerals &#8212; Physical Geology &#8211; 2nd Edition"},"content":{"raw":"\n\n<div class=\"part\" id=\"chapter-2\"><div class=\"part-title-wrap\"><h3 class=\"part-number\"><\/h3><h1 class=\"part-title\">Chapter 2 Minerals<\/h1><\/div><div><div>\n  &lt;!-- pb_fixme --&gt;\n  <div class=\"textbox textbox--learning-objectives\">\n    <div class=\"textbox__header\">\n      <p>After reading this chapter, completing the exercises within it, and answering the questions at the end, you should be able to:<\/p>\n      <ul>\n        <li>Describe the nature of atoms and their constituents, particularly the behaviour of electrons and the formation of ions.<\/li>\n        <li>Apply your understanding of atoms to explain bonding within minerals.<\/li>\n        <li>Describe mineral lattices and explain how they influence mineral properties.<\/li>\n        <li>Categorize minerals into groups based on their compositions.<\/li>\n        <li>Describe a silica tetrahedron and the ways in which tetrahedra combine to make silicate minerals.<\/li>\n        <li>Differentiate between ferromagnesian and other silicate minerals.<\/li>\n        <li>Explain some of the mechanisms of mineral formation.<\/li>\n        <li>Describe some of the important techniques for identifying minerals.<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/div>\n  <p>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.<\/p>\n  <p>As defined in Chapter 1, a mineral is a naturally occurring combination of specific elements arranged in a particular repeating three-dimensional structure (Figure 1.4.1).<\/p>\n  <p>\u201c<strong>Naturally occurring<\/strong>\u201d implies that minerals are not artificially made.&nbsp; Many minerals (e.g., diamond) can be made in laboratories, but if they can also occur naturally, they still qualify as minerals.<\/p>\n  <p>\u201c<strong>Specific elements<\/strong>\u201d means that most minerals have a specific chemical formula or composition. The mineral pyrite, for example, is FeS<sub>2<\/sub> (two atoms of sulfur for each atom of iron), and any significant departure from that would make it a different mineral. But many minerals can have variable compositions within a specific range. The mineral olivine, for example, can range all the way from Fe<sub>2<\/sub>SiO<sub>4<\/sub> to FeMgSiO<sub>4&nbsp;<\/sub>to&nbsp;Mg<sub>2<\/sub>SiO<sub>4<\/sub>. Intervening compositions are written as (Fe,Mg)<sub>2<\/sub>SiO<sub>4<\/sub> meaning that Fe and Mg can be present in any proportion, and that there are two of them for each Si present. This type of substitution is known as <strong><span class=\"glossary-term\">solid solution<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n  <p>Most important of all, a mineral has a specific \u201c<strong>repeating three-dimensional structure<\/strong>\u201d or \u201clattice,\u201d which is the way in which the atoms are arranged. We\u2019ve already seen in Chapter 1 how sodium and chlorine atoms in halite alternate in a regular pattern. That happens to be about the simplest mineral lattice of all; most mineral lattices are much more complicated, as we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n  <p>Some substances that we think must be minerals are not because they lack that repeating 3-dimensional structure of atoms.&nbsp; Volcanic glass is an example, as is pearl or opal. As shown in Figure 2.0.1, opal appears to have a regular structure, but it\u2019s not an atomic structure.<\/p>\n  <div class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" id=\"attachment_58\" style=\"width: 800px\">\n    <img src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/opal.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-58\" width=\"800\" height=\"305\">\n    <div class=\"wp-caption-text\" id=\"caption-attachment-58\">Figure 2.0.1&nbsp; Opal (left) is like a mineral, but does not have a crystalline structure. Instead, it is made up of layers of closely packed silica spheres (right).<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n  <h3>Media Attributions<\/h3>\n  <ul>\n    <li>Figure 2.0.1 (left): <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/MKNwz9\">Precious opal<\/a>. \u00a9 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/jsjgeology\">James St. John<\/a>. CC BY.<\/li>\n    <li>Figure 2.0.1 (right): <a href=\"http:\/\/minerals.gps.caltech.edu\/COLOR_Causes\/Physical_Process\/opal-beads_40k.jpg\">Opal beads<\/a>. \u00a9 <a href=\"http:\/\/minerals.gps.caltech.edu\/COLOR_Causes\/Physical_Process\/index.htm\">Mineralogy Division, Geological and Planetary Sciences, Caltech<\/a>. CC BY-NC.<\/li>\n  <\/ul>\n  &lt;!-- pb_fixme --&gt;\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","rendered":"<div class=\"part\" id=\"chapter-2\">\n<div class=\"part-title-wrap\">\n<h3 class=\"part-number\"><\/h3>\n<h1 class=\"part-title\">Chapter 2 Minerals<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n  &lt;!&#8211; pb_fixme &#8211;&gt;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--learning-objectives\">\n<div class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p>After reading this chapter, completing the exercises within it, and answering the questions at the end, you should be able to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Describe the nature of atoms and their constituents, particularly the behaviour of electrons and the formation of ions.<\/li>\n<li>Apply your understanding of atoms to explain bonding within minerals.<\/li>\n<li>Describe mineral lattices and explain how they influence mineral properties.<\/li>\n<li>Categorize minerals into groups based on their compositions.<\/li>\n<li>Describe a silica tetrahedron and the ways in which tetrahedra combine to make silicate minerals.<\/li>\n<li>Differentiate between ferromagnesian and other silicate minerals.<\/li>\n<li>Explain some of the mechanisms of mineral formation.<\/li>\n<li>Describe some of the important techniques for identifying minerals.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>As defined in Chapter 1, a mineral is a naturally occurring combination of specific elements arranged in a particular repeating three-dimensional structure (Figure 1.4.1).<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<strong>Naturally occurring<\/strong>\u201d implies that minerals are not artificially made.&nbsp; Many minerals (e.g., diamond) can be made in laboratories, but if they can also occur naturally, they still qualify as minerals.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<strong>Specific elements<\/strong>\u201d means that most minerals have a specific chemical formula or composition. The mineral pyrite, for example, is FeS<sub>2<\/sub> (two atoms of sulfur for each atom of iron), and any significant departure from that would make it a different mineral. But many minerals can have variable compositions within a specific range. The mineral olivine, for example, can range all the way from Fe<sub>2<\/sub>SiO<sub>4<\/sub> to FeMgSiO<sub>4&nbsp;<\/sub>to&nbsp;Mg<sub>2<\/sub>SiO<sub>4<\/sub>. Intervening compositions are written as (Fe,Mg)<sub>2<\/sub>SiO<sub>4<\/sub> meaning that Fe and Mg can be present in any proportion, and that there are two of them for each Si present. This type of substitution is known as <strong><span class=\"glossary-term\">solid solution<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Most important of all, a mineral has a specific \u201c<strong>repeating three-dimensional structure<\/strong>\u201d or \u201clattice,\u201d which is the way in which the atoms are arranged. We\u2019ve already seen in Chapter 1 how sodium and chlorine atoms in halite alternate in a regular pattern. That happens to be about the simplest mineral lattice of all; most mineral lattices are much more complicated, as we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n<p>Some substances that we think must be minerals are not because they lack that repeating 3-dimensional structure of atoms.&nbsp; Volcanic glass is an example, as is pearl or opal. As shown in Figure 2.0.1, opal appears to have a regular structure, but it\u2019s not an atomic structure.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" id=\"attachment_58\" style=\"width: 800px\">\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/opal.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-58\" width=\"800\" height=\"305\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\" id=\"caption-attachment-58\">Figure 2.0.1&nbsp; Opal (left) is like a mineral, but does not have a crystalline structure. Instead, it is made up of layers of closely packed silica spheres (right).<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h3>Media Attributions<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Figure 2.0.1 (left): <a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/MKNwz9\">Precious opal<\/a>. \u00a9 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/jsjgeology\">James St. John<\/a>. CC BY.<\/li>\n<li>Figure 2.0.1 (right): <a href=\"http:\/\/minerals.gps.caltech.edu\/COLOR_Causes\/Physical_Process\/opal-beads_40k.jpg\">Opal beads<\/a>. \u00a9 <a href=\"http:\/\/minerals.gps.caltech.edu\/COLOR_Causes\/Physical_Process\/index.htm\">Mineralogy Division, Geological and Planetary Sciences, Caltech<\/a>. CC BY-NC.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>  &lt;!&#8211; pb_fixme &#8211;&gt;\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"menu_order":18,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-51","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/51","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/51\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":921,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/51\/revisions\/921"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/51\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=51"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=51"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/physicalgeology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}