What is a mineral? (Activities)

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The mineral is a solid inorganic substance. The minerals are of natural origin, some of them are of artificial origin. First, minerals are part of the rocks both on Earth and on other planets. The main sign of the mineral can safely be called the crystalline structure.

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Minerals are liquid and solid. For example, native mercury is a mineral that has a natural origin. Mercury becomes solid if the air temperature is too low. You can find such statements from scientists, who say that ice is a mineral. But still, water does not belong to minerals.

In nature, there are minerals that do not have a crystalline structure. Externally, they look like crystals, however, after exposure to radioactive radiation, changes occurred that led to a state of glass. These minerals include uranium and thorium.

Minerals are vectors and scalars. Minerals have a variety of physical properties. Among them, one can distinguish mechanical, optical, magnetic and electrical properties, and others.

Identifying minerals.

The minerals, if small, are examined with a magnifying glass. It is important to pay attention not only to the density and hardness of the mineral, but also to excision, light, fragility and hardness, fractures and irregularities.

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To diagnose, a visual analysis of the mineral is necessary.

Learn to recognize the properties of minerals and you can identify many minerals around you.

These are some properties of minerals.

• Color: Color is an easily observable property. But not everyone has a definite color. Some minerals come in various colors and others are usually colorless such as quartz.

• Luster: Luster describes the way in which the mineral reflects the light on its surface. Some reflect light as highly polished metals (silver, copper, gold ...). Others do not reflect much light have a non-metallic luster.

• Hardness: It is the ability of a mineral to resist being scratched. To determine the hardness of an unknown mineral, rub it against the surface of all minerals.

Minerals are generally divided into two groups: metallic and non-metallic.

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• Metals include red iron ore (iron), copper ore, bauxite (aluminum).
• Nonmetals: quartz, asbestos, calcites.

Minerals are usually in the form of crystals. Minerals and rocks are easy to confuse, but there is a difference between them. The mineral has a specific structure. Its chemical composition is constant regardless of where it occurs.

A mineral found anywhere in the world will have the same brightness, hardness (strength) and other characteristics. The rock formations are composed of several minerals. For example, granite consists of quartz, feldspar, mica and other minerals. But the granite found in one place may contain different volumes of these minerals compared to the granite extracted in another area.

Special properties

Some minerals are identified with special properties. Sulfur smells like rotten eggs. The magnetite is magnetic. Calcite is effervescent. The fluorite shines with ultraviolet light. And uraninite is radioactive.

Activities:

1. Define the mineral term.
2. What physical properties usually identify the matrials.
3. How do you test the hardness of a mineral?

Reference:

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