MINERALOGY
cod. 00722

Academic year 2008/09
1° year of course - Second semester
Professor
Academic discipline
Mineralogia (GEO/06)
Field
Formazione interdisciplinare
Type of training activity
Related/supplementary
32 hours
of face-to-face activities
4 credits
hub:
course unit
in - - -

Learning objectives

<br />1) basic principles in mineralogy and crystallography <br />2) properties and systematics of the most common rock forming minerals

Prerequisites

<br />It is not required to have already passed the exam for any previous course. It is strongly counselled to have taken a class of Chemistry and of Physics, for a better understanding.

Course unit content

<br />Minerals and mineralogy. Translational symmetry, di- and tridimensional lattice; crystal systems. <br />Morphological crystallography: Steno and Hauy laws.  Miller indexing of faces and edges.The 32 point groups and  possible crystal forms . The sterographic projection: theory and projection of symmetry elements. The determination of point symmetry in ideal crystals.<br />Structural crystallography: bravais lattices and space groups. X-ray diffraction: Xray generation, continuous and discontinous radiation; the Laue experiment and the Bragg law. Powder diffraction: interpretation of powder patterns for a mineral determination.<br />Mineralogical optical: visibile radiation in solid media. The Snell equation and the limit angle. Light behaviour in isotropic and anisotropia media. The optical indicatrix and its orientation in the different crystal systems. <br />Crystalchemistry. The main elements in the earth crust. Cation radium and coordination polyhedra. The SiO44- tetrahedron. Pauling rules. The polymorphism: energetico and examples in minerals. Isomorphous substitutions. Phase diagrams of geological interest, with one, two, three components. Physical properties of minerale and relation with the structure.<br />Systhematic mineralogy: main topics on the studied mineral phases. Silice minerale. Feldspars: crystal chemistry, order-disorder and phase transformations. The feldspatoids. The inosilicates: pyroxenes and amphiboles. The phyllosilicates. Micas and shale minerals. The nesosilicates: olivine and garnets.  Other silicates: epidote, tourmaline, AlSi2O5 phases, zircon. The non silicates:<br /> CO32-, SO42-, PO43- groups (carbonates, sulphates and phosphates): differences with slicates and main minerale. Oxydes: cunbic and hexagonal close packing. The spinels. Sulfide minerale.<br />The constitution and mineralogy of the mantle.<br /> 

Full programme

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Bibliography

 Klein C.(2004) Mineralogia, Zanichelli

Teaching methods

<br />Teaching: lessons and demonstrations. <br />Oral exam at the end of the course

Assessment methods and criteria

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Other information

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