GEOL 200

Mineralogy provides a practical and systematic treatment of the crystallography, physical, chemical, and optical properties of the main rock-forming and economic minerals. Students will learn how to apply knowledge of minerals’ atomic structure and crystallography to identify and explain the physical properties of individual minerals and mineral groups. A course focus will be on the correlations between chemical concepts such as substitution and solid solution and the components of chemical formulas that control the properties and classification of the major mineral classes. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the occurrence and behavior of minerals with respect to changing physical and chemical conditions in geologic environments. Lab exercises focus on the identification of common minerals and associated rocks in both hand sample and thin section. Local examples of mineral species and rocks containing those minerals will be used whenever possible.