Chapter 5 - Mineral Identification Lab
Name ______Date ______Earth Science
Color
/ Fracture/Cleavage /
Luster
/Streak
/Hardness
/Mineral Name
1 / C – 12 / C – 3
3 / C – 3
4 / F
5 / C – 1
6 / F
7 / C – 1
8 / F
9 / C – 1
10 / C – 1
11 / F
12 / F
13 / C – 3
14 / F
Mineral Name (same order as on front of lab)
/Mineral Uses (2)
/ Chemical Formula(Mineral Uses & Formula Handout /
Rock forming Mineral Group
(Use Chem. formula /Notes/Book pp. 108-111)
12
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
1. Using the chemical formula for each mineral, count the number of atoms of each element and then write the name of the three most abundant elements. ______
Common Mineral Uses and Chemical Formulas
Galena PbS
This ore-lead sulfide is the primary source of lead used in the manufacture of batteries. Lead is very heavy –weighing about 400 pounds per cubic foot. It is used as an effective sound barrier and to shield harmful, natural radiation while we are flying in an airplane or when we are getting our teeth or other body parts X – rayed. A coating of lead on the inside of your television picture tube protects you from radiation while you watch TV. It is also used in making tire and fishing weights.
Gypsum CaSO4·2H2O
One of gypsums primary uses is in the manufacture of “sheetrock” or wallboard. Chances are that the walls in your home, office, or school are at least partly constructed using a gypsum board.
Halite (Salt) NaCl
Commonly recognized as salt, halite is used in human and animal diet, food seasoning and food preservation. It is used to make sodium hydroxide, soda ash, caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, chlorine, and metallic sodium, in ceramic glazes, the curing of hides, in mineral waters, soap, home water softeners, as a highway de-icer, in photography and in optical parts of scientific equipment.
Hematite (Fe2O3)
A primary ore of iron. Hematite is processed to produce iron which is used to make steel which, in turn, is used in everything from automobiles to flatware to the machinery used to make almost else we use. Many different minerals can be combined with iron in producing steel. Each provides a different set of valuable properties to the finished product. A familiar example is stainless steel. Steel is used in the manufacture of such things as kitchen appliances, furniture, tools, bridges, automobiles, construction equipment, highway construction, shipbuilding, trains, and railroads.
Muscovite Mica KAl2(AlSi3O10)(F,OH)2
Commonly used as flakes, scales, or shreds. Sheet muscovite (white) mica is used in the manufacture of electronic insulators. Ground mica is added to paints and cosmetics to add “sparkle”, in joint cement, as a dusting agent, in well-drilling muds as well as in plastics, composition roofing, rubber and welding rods.
Pyrite FeS2
Used in the manufacture of sulfuric acid, and sulfur dioxide. Pellets of pressed pyrite dust are used in the recovery process of iron, gold, and copper. It is also used to make inexpensive jewelry.
Sulfur S
Use in the manufacture of fertilizers, chemicals, in the manufacture of sulfuric acid, in papermaking, film, tires, paints, detergents, explosives, matches, drugs and dyes.
Graphite C
Because graphite flakes slip over one another, giving it a greasy feel, graphite has long been used as a lubricant in applications where “wet” lubricants, such as oil, cannot be used.
Quartz SiO2
Used in the manufacture of special steels and cast iron, aluminum alloys, glass and refractory materials: ceramics, abrasives, water filtration, filler in cosmetics, and insecticides.
Calcite CaCO3
Used in cement and other building materials and in many industrial chemicals. It is also used in some optical instruments.
Magnetite Fe3O4
Highly magnetic and used in the processing of coal and other minerals.
Biotite Mica K(Mg,Fe)3AlSi3O10(F,OH)2
Used as a heat insulator
Talc Mg3Si4O10(OH)2
Used in paints, ceramics, plastics and in animal feed.
Copper Cu
Most of the wiring in electrical appliances, televisions, stereos, computers, telephones, aircrafts, satellites, residential wiring, and plumbing.