Introduction to Mineralogy
Here are my course materials for the last mineralogy undergraduate class I taught in the fall semester, 2014. This panel has the lecture topics with links to the slides I showed and the laboratory exercises. The slides are what I showed to the class. Pictures and tables come from several sources, including textbooks, the journal Elements, and my own sketches and photos. I have found some errors in them. Links in the sidebar at the left connect to the little gems I gave on Fridays, and to supplementary material gathered from NIST, AGU, and other sites.
Syllabus Description
| Mineralogy | Introduction to the concepts of crystal chemistry, x-ray diffraction, optical mineralogy, and geochemical analysis of the important rock-forming minerals. Laboratory includes hand-specimen, x-ray diffraction, and microscopic identification of minerals. Contact Hour Distribution: 3 hours lecture and one 2-hour lab. |
| Skills | In this class, you will
|
| Instructor | T. Labotka (tlabotka@utk.edu) |
| Text | Nesse, William D., Introduction to Mineralogy, second edition, Oxford |
| Prerequisite | Chemistry 120—General Chemistry I |
| Corequisite | Chemistry 130—General Chemistry II |
| Recommended | Two Geology 100-level courses |
| Grading | Grade = 30% Lab + 14% for each Exam + 14% Mineral Project +14% Homework |
| Grade Formula | =IF(M2>89,"A",IF(M2>86,"A–",IF(M2>83,"B+",IF(M2>79,"B", IF(M2>76,"B–",IF(M2>73,"C+",IF(M2>69,"C", IF(M2>66,"C–",IF(M2>63,"D+",IF(M2>59,"D", IF(M2>56,"D–","F"))))))))))) |
| Blackboard | Geology 310 - Mineralogy Fall 2014 |
Lecture Topics
These are the topics I talked about in my last mineralogy class, in 2014. The links connect to the series of slide I used in those classes. The slides open in a separate window.
| Date | Lecture Topics | Reading* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug | 20 | Welcome. Introduction to mineralogy → | 3–5 |
| 22 | Abundance of the elements and a classification of silicate minerals | 45 | |
| 25 | Atomic structure → | 39–44 | |
| 27 | The nature of the chemical bond. Covalent, ionic, and metallic models for bonding → | 46–56 | |
| 29 | Pauling's rules for stable ionic solids → | 57–63 | |
| Sep | 1 | Labor Day | |
| 3 | CCP, NaCl, NiAs, sphalerite, and würzite structures | 63–69 | |
| 5 | Crystallography 1-2-3: The elements of symmetry → | 6, 12–17 | |
| 8 | Point symmetry and point groups | ||
| 10 | Translation symmetry and space groups → | 6–12, 17–18 | |
| 12 | The unit cell and crystal axes; common crystal systems → | 19–38 | |
| 15 | Miller indices: A measure of the slopes of atomic planes | ||
| 17 | Exam I | ||
| 19 | Carbonate Minerals I: Isostructural compounds and ordering → | 326–340 | |
| 22 | Carbonate Minerals II: Polymorphism and solid solution | ||
| 24 | Stability of minerals—thermodynamics → | 74–76 | |
| 26 | Introduction to phase diagrams of minerals | 82–83 | |
| 29 | Growth of minerals—kinetics → | 77–84 | |
| Oct | 1 | Nature of light and optics → | 114–116 |
| 3 | Optics of isotropic media—Snell's law | 116–122 | |
| 6 | Polarized light and anisotropic substances; uniaxial minerals | 122–133 | |
| 8 | Optics of biaxial minerals | 133–159 | |
| 10 | Generation and diffraction of x-rays → | 160–166 | |
| 13 | Identification of minerals by x-ray diffraction | 166–168 | |
| 15 | X-ray diffraction: A tool for determining crystal structure | notes | |
| 17 | Fall Break | ||
| 20 | The chemical analysis of minerals and mineral formulas → | 169–174 | |
| 22 | Exam II | ||
| 24 | RFM I: Olivine → | 306–310 | |
| 27 | RFM II: Pyroxene → | 261–274 | |
| 29 | RFM III: Amphibole → | 277–290 | |
| 31 | RFM IV: Micas and other layered silicates → | 235–257 | |
| Nov | 3 | RFM V: Themes in silicate minerals | 201–208 |
| 5 | RFM VI: Feldspars → | 208–225 | |
| 7 | Minerals and temperature: The minerals in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock | ||
| 10 | Minerals in the Earth's interior → | notes | |
| 12 | Planetary mineralogy → | notes | |
| 14 | Clay mineralogy → | 252–257 | |
| 17 | Health effects of mineral dust → | 239–242 | |
| 19 | Environmental mineralogy → | ||
| 21 | Numbers, numbers, numbers → | notes | |
| 24 | Biomineralogy → | ||
| 26 | Mineral Projects Due | notes | |
| 28 | Thanksgiving | ||
| Dec | 1 | Mineral Diversification → | notes |
| Perspectives in Mineralogy → | |||
| 11 | Exam III, 12:30 | ||
| *Pages in the textbook or notes from class | |||
| Grade = 30% Lab + 14% for each Exam + 14% Mineral Project + 14% Homework | |||
| Text: Nesse, Introduction to Mineralogy | |||
Laboratory Exercises
These are the exercises I devised for the students in my last class (in 2014). They are in pdf form and include some explanatory material, an exercise, and some minerals the students have to learn. The arrows link to the write-ups.
| Lab Topics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Thursday | Exercise | |
| | |||
| Aug | 25 | 28 | Lab 1. Introduction to the study of minerals → |
| 8 | 11 | Lab 2. Ionic bonding and closest packing → | |
| 15 | 18 | Lab 3. Crystal chemistry of the alkali halides → | |
| 22 | 25 | Lab 4. Crystal symmetry: point groups and space groups → | |
| 22 | 25 | Lab 5. Introduction to the petrographic microscope → | |
| 29 | 2 | Lab 6. Optics of isotropic substances → | |
| 6 | 9 | Lab 7. Optics of uniaxial substances → | |
| 20 | 23 | Lab 8. Optics of biaxial materials → | |
| 27 | 30 | Lab 9. Pyroxene, amphibole, and feldspar → | |
| Nov | 3 | 6 | Lab 10. X-ray crystallography of alkali halides → |
| 10 | 13 | Lab 11. Identification of unknown minerals by x-ray diffraction → | |