Important Nonsilicate Minerals
List the common nonsilicate minerals and explain why each is important. Nonsilicate minerals are typically divided into groups, based on the negatively charged ion or complex ion that the members … Read More
Tag: minerals
Minerals: Building Blocks of Rocks
Minerals: Building Blocks of Rocks We begin our discussion of Earth materials with an overview of mineralogy (mineral 5 mineral, ology 5 study of) because minerals are the building blocks … Read More
How Do Minerals & Rocks Get Their Names?
What’s in a Mineral Name? Before 1960 mineralogists would introduce new mineral names in In 1960, to reduce this chaos the International Mineralogical Society established. In 1960, to reduce this … Read More
Elements: Defined by Their Number of Protons
The simplest atoms have only 1 proton in their nuclei, whereas others have more than 100. The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom, called the atomic number, … Read More
Common Minerals
Most minerals you see while walking around an outcrop or a road cut reflect the local geology. The Sierra Nevada in California, which is primarily granitic, has an abundance of … Read More
Mineral properties
The word mineral comes from the Latin minera, or mine. Until the nineteenth century, minerals were simply things that came out of mines—things that had economic value, like gold, various … Read More
Gemstones and minerals;
Precious stones have been prized since antiquity. Although most gemstones are varieties of a particular mineral, misinformation abounds regarding gems and their mineral makeup.
Silicate Versus Nonsilicate Minerals
It is worth noting that only eight elements make up the vast majority of the rock-forming minerals and represent more than 98 percent (by weight) of the continental crust (Figure). … Read More
Minerals Streak
The color of a mineral in powdered form, called streak, is often useful in identification. A mineral’s streak is obtained by rubbing it across a streak plate (a piece of … Read More