Mineralogy

Recommended Prerequisites

Course units: Natural Sciences and Physics and Chemistry in Secondary Education.

Knowledge: general knowledge in Geology, Chemistry and Physics.

Skills: basic english reading and understanding skills.

Teaching Methods

Theoretical: expository and interactive teaching using audiovisual means to make easier to understand the concepts, models and methodologies;

Practical and laboratorial: use of identification tools and methods to identify minerals in hand specimens and under the polarinzing microscope; exercises in mineral chemistry; bibliographic research (books and internet) to perform the proposed tasks.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course unit students will be able to:

1. To know and understand the basic concepts in Mineralogy.

2. To understand and relate the structure, chemical composition and physical properties of minerals and identify them using these parameters.

3. To characterize and identify minerals using suitable methods and techniques.

4. To describe, in written and oral languages, the characteristics of minerals using specific terminology.

5. To understand autonomously examples not taught in formal classes.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

1. Concepts in Mineralogy.

2. Crystallography: unit cell; the 14 Bravais lattices; symmetry operations and elements; the 32 crystal classes and their symmetry; crystallographic systems; Miller indices; zones; crystal forms; twinning.

3. Physical properties of minerals: color, luminescence, electrical properties and magnetic properties.

4. Optical properties of minerals: isotropic and anisotropic crystals; polarized light; uniaxial and biaxial crystals; interference colors; sign of elongation; extinction angle; interference figure and optic sign.

5. Mineral chemistry: isostructuralism; polymorphism; solid solution; structural formula.

6. Systematic mineralogy.

7. Physical properties and identification methods of minerals hand specimen.

8. Study of minerals under the polarizing microscope.

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Exam: 50.0%
T1 - 25% + T2 - 25%: 50.0%

Bibliography

BATTEY, M. H. & PRING, A. (1997). Mineralogy for students. Hong Kong: Longman.

CASTILHO, A., ANDRADE, A., GOMES, E. & VINHA, M. (2010). Guia prático para observação de minerais ao microscópio petrográfico. Coimbra: Departamento de Ciências da Terra, Univ. de Coimbra (não publicado).

GOMES, E. M. C. (2003). Sebenta de Mineralogia. Coimbra: Departamento de Ciências da Terra, Univ. Coimbra (não publicado).

KLEIN, C. & HURLBUT, C. S. Jr (1999). Manual of Mineralogy. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

NESSE, W. D. (2000). Introduction to Mineralogy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

VERMA, P. K. (2010). Optical Mineralogy. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Tayor & Francis Group.

WENK, H.-R. & BULAKH, A. (2004). Minerals. Their constitution and origin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.