GEO 1111 Lecture 10: GEO - Lec 10 - Rocks & Minerals

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Geology
• Course: GEO 1111
• Professor: Donald Cummings

Document Summary

Geo - lec 10 - minerals and rocks. Non -minerals : sugar, amber, coal, volcanic glass, cremation diamond. Crystal structure growth depends on the pressure and temperature. Atoms combine because of electron interactions - forming molecules. Ionic bonding : electron transfer between reacting atoms, ex. Covalent bonding : electrons are shared , ex. diamond. Angles between crystal faces of a given mineral will be identical, irrespective of the size of the crystal. Crystal form is an expression of the orderly arrangement of atoms within the mineral. Grains : grow rapidly from a saturated liquid, and they bump into each other as they grow, impeding the development of pristine crystals with well developed faces. If liquid is quenched (cooled extremely rapidly) crystals do not have time to nucleate and grow, and a glass (solid with a disordered atomic arrangement) is generated. O, si, al, fe, mg, ca, na, k - account for 99% of the weight of earth"s crust.