Minerals and Rocks List
   
Name Type Characteristics
Calcite Mineral #3 on Moh's Scale, translucent, definitive shape, very common
    often infused with other minerals, calcium carbonate
Gypsum Mineral #2 on Moh's scale, under GR., pink or white or orange
    used in drywall, toothpaste and ice cream
Talc Mineral #1 on Moh's scale, slippery powder feel, used in talcum powder
    as well as an ingredient in paper and rubber
Quartz Mineral crystals have definitive shape, many uses, generate electricity
    pure quartz crystals look like the Washington Monument, Moh's 7
Pyrite Mineral Fool's gold, definitive shape, iron sulfide, luster, streaks grey-black
    Moh's hardness of 6
Nickel Mineral bubble trees, luster, silver in color
Mica Mineral sheets easily separated, often found in igneous rock often brown
    can be white as well, often mistaken for sedimentary rock
Halite Mineral natural salt, rarely pure, translucent, salty to taste Moh's 3
Feldspar Mineral main component of granite, orange to red to pink in color
    often used in ceramics, Moh's 6
Galena Mineral Lead ore, heavy, luster, Moh's 3
Hematite Mineral Iron ore, rust colored when exposed to oxygen, streaks red-brown, Moh's 7
Copper Ore Mineral green colored when exposed to oxygen, many uses. Statue of Liberty
Sulfur Mineral often found with metals, yellow, rotten egg smell, Moh's 2, used to
    manufacture gunpowder
Graphite Mineral many uses, weak bonds between layers, gray or black, luster
    from greek work "graphen" which means to write, Moh's 2
Shelly Limestone Sedimentary Rock shells present, white or yellow, bubbles when exposed to acid
    used to make cement and in steel furnaces
Conglomerate Sedimentary Rock pebbles glued together, looks like cement, multi-colored
Sandstone Sedimentary Rock grains of sand glued together, often stratifications can be seen
    may scratch a glass plate due to quartz content, water permeates
Shale Sedimentary Rock usually from clay deposits, black brown or green in color
    often breaks into flat pieces, made hard by compacting and cement
Coal Sedimentary Rock dead organic material, often plants, always black, lightweight
Obsidian Igneous Rock volcanic glass, Apache's tear, arrowheads, black, translucent
    high silica lava that cools slowly, but crystals don't form because
    of stiffness
Pumice Igneous Rock floating rock, full of air bubbles, extremely lightweight
    forms when high silica magma is shot high into air and cools fast
Granite Igneous Rock one of the most common rocks, intrusive, feldspar and quartz
    cools slowly deep underground to form large crystals
Basalt Igneous Rock dark lava, extrusive, composed of darker felspars, cools quickly
    so crystals do not form, most common rock on ocean floor
Slate Metamorphic Rock shale under heat and pressure, forms in parallel, used in
    blackboards and pool tables
Gneiss Metamorphic Rock some patterned, some not, often black and white in color
Marble Metamorphic Rock calcite or limestone that has metamorphisized, fossils are
    destroyed, used in landscaping, many colors

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