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Handouts: Syllabus
Themes of the Day:
- Syllabus
- Why Study Mineralogy?
- What are minerals?
- How do they form?
- How can we distinguish one from another?
- How are minerals identified and classified?
Introduction, Syllabus, Course Overview
On Wednesday we will formally review the Syllabus. A
PDF version of the Syllabus is available.
What are minerals?
- Definition
- Occurs Naturally
- Inorganic
- Solid
- Characteristic Chemical Formula
- Crystalline Structure
- Mineral - Yes or No? Examples: coal (Kentucky's state "mineral"), cubic zirconia, pearl, mercury, glacier ice, volcanic glass, etc.
How do they form?
- Igneous crystallization (cooling from a magma) What about snowflakes? Same process or different?
- Precipitation from solutions, usually water (e.g., salt in oceans, quartz veins in hydrothermal settings)
- Precipitation by organisms (e.g., coral reefs, chalk) Violates point #2 above?
- Metamorphic solid state recrystallization (may or may not involve fluids such as H2O, CO2)
- Weathering environments (e.g., hematite by oxidation, clays by hydrolysis)
- Others ways?
How can we distinguish one from another?
- Physical properties tests (e.g., color, hardness, cleavage, etc.) - usually the only methods available in the field
- Optical properties - thin sections, spectrophotometry
- X-ray methods - diffraction (single crystal and powder), fluorescence
- Chemical analysis
How are minerals identified and classified?
- Identification strategies
- Physical properties flowcharts (See Appendix B)
- Optical properties, X-Rays, and other analytical methods
- By Association with related minerals (See Appendix C)
- Dana's System - Anionic Groups
- What system makes the most sense? Is identification an art or a science?
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