DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A ROCK AND A MINERAL

There are some facts one may think he knows in Geology but…oops! They are really obfuscating. The look so elementary that they are easily jettisoned.

A Rock is an aggregate of naturally occurring minerals.

A Mineral is an inorganic, crystalline and naturally occurring substance with a definite chemical composition.

Physical Properties of Minerals

Hardness (measured in Mohs Hardness Scale). It increases downwards.

Talc (softest)

Gypsum

Calcite

Fluorite

Apatite

Orthoclase

Quartz

Topaz

Corundum

Diamond

Luster: is the manner the mineral reflects light.
Color: each mineral has its basic colour for which it is known. But this is usually deceptive.
Streak: The color of the mineral in powdered form.
Cleavage: How the Mineral breaks along its plane of weakness.
Fracture: How the mineral breaks unevenly.

Comments

THE AGE OF THE EARTH - THE OLDEST MAN ON EARTH IS THE EARTH

THE AGE OF THE EARTH Hey … Just as we celebrate our birthdays to commemorate the day we were born, has it ever occurred to you to ponder on the age of the earth? Don’t you think that there was a day (way back) when the earth was formed? Don’t get it twisted!!! This is no myth. It is a reality. It is REAL!!! The Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old!!! Sounds absurd??? Well, this figure did not come as a result of fiction or imagination – but by radiometric dating in the early 20 th century. Lead in uranium-rich minerals when dated by early scientists, were able to discover that they were billions of years old. Another pointer to this is that small crystals of Zircon obtained from Jack Hills, Western Australia when dated, was around 4.4 billion years old. One may ask: “How is this possible”? Rocks are aggregate of minerals. Some of these minerals have radioactive elements like Uranium and Thorium. In the process of their decay (radioactive

Lead in Drinking / Groundwater

Possible sources of lead in groundwater Places well known for lead-zinc (Pb-zn) deposits are in danger of having their groundwater contaminated with Lead. Lead is a known silent killer especially in infants and children as it has high affinity for Hemoglobin. Another reason it is a silent killer is because it accumulates (bioaccumulation) in the body gradually stealthily. The fatality of lead is that it gets stored in the bones (as Calcium is stored) and becomes part of the body. From there, it gets released directly into the body. Pregnant and nursing women are the most hit because the Calcium which their bodies require for the growth of the fetus and for breast milk production may be mixed with Lead. The detrimental effects of lead are enormous and felt among infants / children, pregnant women and adults. Among the children , these (but not limited to the following) are pronounced: Ø Anemia Ø Slowed / stunted growth Ø Poor body development Ø Poor i

COMPARISON BETWEEN SCHLUMBERGER ARRAY OVER WENNER ARRAY

COMPARISON BETWEEN SCHLUMBERGER ARRAY OVER WENNER ARRAY Find below the pros and cons of Schlumberger Array over Wenner Array and vice versa Are you a young geologist? Click HERE NOW!!! Advantages of using Schlumberger Array over Wenner It requires less manpower and time than Wenner soundings. It is less sensitive to lateral variations in resistivity. The potential electrodes are moved only occasionally; In a Wenner sounding the potential and the current electrodes are always moved after each measurement. It is faster in field operation. Types of VES Curves Requires less physical movement of electrodes than the normal Wenner array because only the current electrodes must be moved between readings. The effects of near surface, lateral inhomogeneities are less on Schlumberger measurements when compared to Wenner measurements. In industrial areas, stray currents and telluric currents that a

GEO SOLUTIONS

Search This Blog