Minerals with Willsey: Mineral Properties

Come into geology professor Shawn Willsey’s classroom for a brief lesson on the basic physical properties used to identify minerals. We will follow this lesson with more videos focused on common minerals to prepare for another series on rock identification.
Link to PDF of document I used: drive.google.c...
I love doing these videos and will continue to do so but if you want to provide support or much appreciated travel money, you can do so via:
Venmo @Shawn-Willsey (be sure to put two L's in last name)
or PayPal: www.paypal.com...
or a good ol' fashioned check to this address:
Shawn Willsey
College of Southern Idaho
315 Falls Avenue
Twin Falls, ID 83303

[@TheKrisg50]

This is exactly what I’ve been looking for. A practical approach to deciphering what I see out in the world. And, welcome home.

[@Danika_Nadzan]

I agree, on both counts...thanks, Professor!

[@danielvr4053]

Good start. I like the approach of what will be important in viewing minerals in a rock and not on being a collector. The drop of food coloring in a bucket of water, I like that.

[@56NeilWatson]

Shawn, thanks for your tutorials. I reside in the UK and get out into the hills, walking, scrambling and climbing. I sometimes wish I hade someone like you around to explain what I'm seeing. These tutorials are the next best thing.

[@robbirobin9657]

I know what you mean. I live in the UK also and there are so many "gems" to explore, but who is there to explain them? I would love someone knowledgeable to take me on a tour of The Peak District.

[@lisaloy2011]

The color in amethyst comes from color centers in the quartz. These are created when trace amounts of iron are irradiated. The color of amethyst is the result from substitution by irradiation of trivalent iron (Fe+3) for silicon in the structure, in the presence of trace elements of large ionic radius, and, to a certain extent, the amethyst color can naturally result from displacement of transition elements even if the iron concentration is low. Best to lay it out as the Professor is doing in portraying minerals : in steps. When analyzing how amethyst are formed, it is important to consider three important factors, or “ingredients in the recipe " of formation. The first of these is a hollow rock. Amethyst needs a hollow space in which a crystal crater can form and grow. Amethyst crystals are formed inside pyrogenic volcanic rocks referred to as basalts. These are the direct result of volcanic lava. These rocks then become the very vessels for creating the formation of amethyst by way of minerals and water combining over time. Amethyst crystals form against the inside rocks of the basalt, from where it is then later extracted and mined. The second ingredient in the formation process is the actual environment in which the amethyst is formed. In order for amethyst to form, both silica and ferric iron must be present in the water. To this particular end, because of its rock-forming properties, silicon dioxide is a key ingredient in the formation of this beautiful purple crystal. I haven't seen Siberian Amythest, but I've seen Brazilian Amythest. I've been to one location of where it's mined in both Brazil and Uraguay. My Uraguan material was really exceptional. I've looked for other quartz crystal forms in Colorado, Arkansas and New York. Before the Shah was ousted, I was in N Iran with my grandfather and saw some of the most beautiful aquamarine removed from the earth. We bought some. To this day my most prized piece of jewelry is Persian Aqua and the famed blue Persian Turquoise with diamonds. That was before the Persian citizens of Iran lost their freedoms. They dressed like Americans, Europeans. I was in a short outfit since it was early summer.

[@bobwoww8384]

Thank you so much for your detailed explanation

[@DrGeorginaCook]

Glad I found this series, thanks for sharing all this. I could do with a crash course on the basics again. Off to find my mineral collection and go and play… 😊

[@56NeilWatson]

You pointed out the Magnetite. The Cuillin on Skye are a bit of a problem when using a compass for navigation. It would appear the rock is iron rich. Have never seen what you demonstrated with the magnet. Impressive

[@DJBoise]

Great start to this series.

[@timpate6259]

Great video. Thank you for teaching this. You probably plan to cover this, but I'm very interested in how to identify specific minerals in rocks such as granitic rocks, schists, etc. Thanks again!

[@shawnwillsey]

Noted

[@marsharose2301]

Great for an enthusiastic amateur. Really appreciate your approach.

[@muzikhed]

Pleased to find today this very enjoyable first video in the classroom series. Thanks Shawn.

[@equanimityforever7324]

Shawn following the KISS-Principle: Keep it simple and straight. There is no need for fancy stuff when teaching. Especially, when you have the chance to look at the real thing - i.e., minerals (and Shawn, of course 😅).

[@justme7415]

I've learned more in your videos than I did a semester of geology at my uni.

[@Rachel.4644]

Very helpful, and I'm glad it's recorded. Thanks, Shawn.

[@equanimityforever7324]

Liebe Grüße aus Bayern in Deutschland. Greetings from Bavaria, Germany. Love watching your tutorials from the other side of the Mid-Atlantic ridge that pulls us apart. 😢 But fortunately, ever so slowly. 😅

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for your support of geology education.

[@valoriel4464]

Classroom! Cool. I'm game. Thx so much kind Sir.

[@kathrynchamberlain7776]

Excellent! 'Looking forward to this series. Thanks!

[@NoOne-yt6yf]

Makes me want to go back to school. Thank you for your effort.

[@GregInEastTennessee]

Shawn, I had a little trouble finding this one. Might I make a suggestion? When you're doing a series, number the episodes 01, 02, etc. That way I'm sure I'm starting at the initial one. Just some food for thought. Otherwise, great! :)

[@briandwi2504]

Excellent, well done in starting the series so promptly. Just off on a day's geologising looking at the boundary between the Lewisian and Torridonian around Kinlochbervie in the far North West of Scotland with the Geopark.

[@shawnwillsey]

Ah, yes. I've wandered around parts of Scotland before and looked at rocks. Would love to get back. I took students there in 2015.

[@briandwi2504]

@@shawnwillsey Great day looking at the boundary between the Applecross formation of the Torridonian and my favourite Lewisian gneiss. Beautiful sandy bays, mainly biological so lots of plant life on the dunes and fantastic exposures with granite intrusions into the gneiss. There are 2 intrusions one red and one black so it looks amazing!

[@michelleangers342]

Excellent lesson! Thank you for sharing!

[@MetadelAlemu-hf4my]

በአሁኑ ሠዓት እየተማርኩ በቻናላቹ ሪሰርችሙከራ በከፍተኛ ትኩረት ያለ እንቅልፍ ከፈጣሪው እና ከናተ ጋር በሥራ ላይ ነኝ ❤

[@mathewvanhorn2433]

Great job, possible suggestion, show some examples of good rock and mineral guide books for references Enjoyed your Iceland videos, very informative and well done

[@shawnwillsey]

I have a few but they are probably very outdated.

[@StefanBleeck]

Thank you. Super well done. Makes me want to learn more!

[@JillWilkinson-g2u]

You explain everything perfectly!!!

[@HybridParentSupport]

Great videos, thank you

[@bbffmuyy]

great stuff Shawn i'm always mesmerized by stones.

[@choppering]

You are a Good teacher. Well described. Thanks.

[@johnfox9169]

I had 2 geology courses. Great field of study!!

[@daveh893]

I'm excited! This is going to be great. Looking forward to the next video. BTW. I've tried vinegar on limestone but it doesn't work very well. Store bought vinegar contains about 4 or 5 percent acetic acid which, apparently, isn't enough to dissolve very well. Great intro. Thanks.

[@blastoidboy]

You might have dolomite, scratch the surface some and try again.

[@andrewwills8516]

Awesome stuff

[@godngunclinger]

The hardness scale was introduced in 1812 by the German geologist and mineralogist Friedrich Mohs, 9:57 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohs_scale

[@iain3411]

Very cool class on minerals.

[@stg8831]

Thank you! I already learned quite a bit

[@joannehart9624]

I'm enjoying going back through your videos. Would it be possible to do a video on minerals that fluoresce? Whenever we head underground, we always carry a 365 nm black light with us to see what we can find. It was great fun when we got into a seam of fluorite. 😊

[@madmaddie4956]

Finally I understand Cleavage planes! But you left me hanging, what’s has 5 and 6 cleavage planes?? I guess I have to do some foot work now…. PS in future tell us how we know it is a cleavage plane vs it was cut that way by the stonecutter. Just the reflection?? Thank you

[@shawnwillsey]

Not sure I know of any minerals with 5 cleavage planes. Sphalerite is the only mineral I can think of with six planes. If you are looking at minerals in nature, assume that flat, reflective surfaces are cleavage planes (or crystal faces) and not cut by man.

[@Diamondhunter555]

Very nice ❤❤❤❤❤

[@grizzlymartin1]

So as I begin here (again), my first further investigation is going to be (from the very beginning of the video) understanding better/accurately what it is, and why and how it is, that the Earth/Cosmos took us from elements to minerals. I know crudely that it was heat from its sources that acted upon space constituents, but I want to complete that puzzle. Any links, etc. welcome. Thanks, and now back to the video...

[@robbirobin9657]

That sort of thing fascinates me also but I do not know much about it at all. Is there a fine line between geology and astronomy?

[@sarahb.6475]

I had no idea that there were so many different minerals! Or that a "rock" I may find could actually be a mineral and not a rock.. that idea sure never occured to me. And I had always thought of quartz as a rock even though its a crystal... but I never knew it was a mineral! how strange. I have noticed rocks that seem to have strange right angles on them...strange to me that is. makes me think "was someone cutting on this with a saw or something?" But I guess this mineral stuff explains it. I went to the beach today and was looking at rocks right at the area where the waves were coming in. found a few interesting ones. saw lots of basalt + granite! then a woman came along with a few kids. I tried to tell her about the basalt (since her kids earlier seemed to be looking down at the rocks) and how it was volcanic in nature and that the other rocks were granite. it just seemed to go right over her head even though I used simple words. avoided "igneous" on purpose. volcano is more easy to understand. anyway she seemed very "spacey" and I don't think she had any idea what I was talking about! it apparently didn't even click in her head that the lake here is filled with volcanic rocks while there is no volcanoes anywhere near here! maybe she doesn't even know what a volcano is?? but this is a common problem when you have autism. you just don't connect with people at all... I might as well have been discussing EMS and cleaning frogs and colic + foundering! poor Toby has EMS. 😞 equine metabolic syndrome. and horses have so much problems with that coffin bone. but people just don't know that stuff either. at the moment I am thinking that maybe my mystery purple rock is marble. i was looking up limestone (pics) and I ended up with pics of marble too and I thought "woah! that looks a lot like my rock!" the texture looks right and a few pics are close to the color too, sort of? but now I have a mystery white sparkly rock! 😅 plus a few other weird looking things. this hobby keeps you busy. and while I was walking to the supermarket this morning I was looking at big decorative boulders in people's front yards and was thinking "granite. granite. basalt. basalt. basalt. granite." those two seem to be the most common. and they are easy to ID too! I am going to play a "trick" on my yoga teacher. i found basalt in different colors. i am going to bring different colors of it to yoga on Thursday and ask her "what do these rocks have in common?" 😅 I suppose she will say they have a common shape? and I think I found 2 agate today. plus a quartz!

[@robbirobin9657]

Best wishes to you. My two children aged 17 and 20 are on the spectrum. I think it is great that you tried to pass on your knowledge to the lady. Perhaps she was distracted and was just thinking about caring for the children, but she may have gone home having learnt a little. Keep on telling people about your interests. All the best.

[@candise9063]

Love this

[@Josh-Hunt]

Good job. Thanks!

[@mawi1172]

Why are those Herkimer diamonds pulled out of mud instead of a stone?

[@stevewhalen6973]

Thanks!

[@henrykoivukangas1406]

first course done :)

[@dunnkruger8825]

Thanks

[@DemonFnYt]

I am in your class Shawn 😂

[@haseo8244]

Most minerals are tiny or only found in one location anyway.

[@3xHermes]

👍

[@DallasGunther]

That magnetite has a scary face in it.

[@lauram9478]

❤

[@mawi1172]

Please don't let me accidentally watch this AGAIN!!! 😭😭😭

[@JessyP-u6q]

Musovite Cleavage planes Mica Gypsum Reflective surfaces of minerals Non parallel surface Potassium feldspar Quartz Aggregate of minerals Galena Shiny and cube Three non planar cleavage plane Calcite Planar 90 degree intersection Squished Rhombhohedral Colourless Pink Fluorite Four cleavage planes Mouh scale 1 through 10 Granite Hcl Vinegar To identify mineral Sedimentary rocks Kremlin Kremlin Kremlin Geology professor Siva murthy reddy

[@MEMELIFEBABY]

Ha, I grew up next door to a dude named mater.

[@dustytrails1]

7:58 Looks like a face.

[@justme7415]

What's the difference between cleavage planes and crystallization? For example the fluorite has 4 cleavage planes, but quartz has none. However, when crystallized, quarts looks a lot like fluorite (shape/reflective wise). So why do we say fluorite has 4 cleavage planes instead of being a crystal? Same for quartz, why do we say it has no cleavage planes when it can look like fluorite?

[@shawnwillsey]

Good question. All minerals have a crystalline structure but not all minerals have cleavage planes. Cleavage planes are internal planes of weakness (within the crystalline structure) due to chemical bonds where the mineral will tend to break. Some mineral's cleavage planes mirror their crystalline structure. To identify minerals, we use cleavage planes much more than cleavage planes because it is a more reliable and persistent property. Crystals only form where there is sufficient room for growth, which is rare. Your example of quartz is a good one. It has a hexagonal (when viewed from above) crystal shape when it has space to grow. However, quartz does not break along these crystal faces due to its complex 3D internal bonds. It does not break along any plane of inherent weakness and therefore, has no cleavage planes.

[@justme7415]

@@shawnwillsey That makes sense. Thank you so much for your thorough and thoughtful response. I have one more about crystals: Whenever you discuss igneous rock, you sometimes talk about the mineral crystals within it. Like when u analyze crystals in porphyritic rock. So when these minerals begin to cool within a body of magma/lava, do they always crystallize? And by crystallize are we saying the mineral begins to take on the shape of its natural crystalline structure and "freezes" that way? My guess is no, because quartz for example doesn't seem to always be a hexagonal shape within a rock. It seems like we're using the term "crystals" in two different ways here. When discussing internal atomic structure, it seems to mean, as u said, the crystalline structure all minerals possess. But when discussing "crystals" within a rock, what exactly do we mean by the term? Unless they do literally always form crystals. Maybe I just don't understand what a crystal is on a technical level and that's where my confusion lies. Thanks again.

[@justinj4145]

I am so glad I found your videos. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and time with us all. I love learning about rocks as well as collecting and polishing them from everywhere.

[@davewilkins9981]

Great video thanks !

[@leslyrae6025]

I'm so thrilled to have found this series. I'm a nature lover, hiker, kayaker, etc. Although I can name most plants, I'm lost when it comes to rocks & minerals. Excited to get through this over time. Thank you!

[@shawnwillsey]

Enjoy the series and I hope it helps.

[@Don.Challenger]

Anther good one and educational.

[@trishtreagus]

Only just discovered your fantastic vids Shawn. I have been looking for material on geology and this is great. I am living on a pile of Sydney sandstone - not sure if that is what it is called - and would like to understand more about the rocks i pass on my walks. Cheers from Aus Trish

[@shawnwillsey]

Awesome and welcome aboard. I'd love to get down to Oz sometime and soak up the great geology.

[@stevengeorge5605]

Thank you, Shawn! All of your videos are highly informative and I look forward to your next episode. 😀

[@carloscorreia8928]

Thank you for this nice class.

[@davidpetersen1]

Great content! Thanks Shawn.

[@louiscervantez1639]

Excellent for me thanks

[@lindsaydavis6313]

Thank you Shawn

[@ahmedaziz6062]

thanks for sharing

[@williamsohveymah5550]

All the comments celebrate job well done. I kind of wish i didn't take up civil engineering instead of geology, and natural studies in school....

[@deniss4760]

Thanks a bunch for this masterful narration. I've already watched your Quartz presentation, very cool. Cheers from Borat's Kazakhstan famous with its exceptiomally good potassium 😆

[@quixote5844]

In spite of my name (Stone) geology has always made my head hurt. Finally, a tutorial in rocks & minerals 101. Wow! There is a method to this madness. Thanks for all the practical information.

[@williamhorton9796]

Wonderful. Thank you. I’m looking forward ti the episode on igneous rocks. I have difficulty differentiating some of the extrusive from the intrusive rocks.

[@robbirobin9657]

The "drop of food colouring in a bucket of water" made me think of an essence.

[@jeffcasey504]

Great! Thanks for doing this for us.

[@mizzougrad001]

Welcome back!

[@patrickkillilea5225]

Excellent.

[@mikekilian5403]

Love it!

[@patrickkillilea5225]

I've been learning up on Feldspars recently. We have a bunch of it down here in So Ca. Your K-Spar specimen looks really nice, as are your other specimens. And wow, the Galena is pretty crazy too.

[@shawnwillsey]

Yeah, not sure what the story on the big galena cube is. I didn't find it. It was in the college collection when I arrived.

[@patrickkillilea5225]

@@shawnwillsey LOL. I would bet the University has a pretty nice collection. And I would bet you come across some cool minerals yourself. I have a Galena specimen my daughter gave me. At about 4cm is pretty legit. We enjoy the content you are putting out. Really great!

[@gunslinger4203]

Thanks!

[@shawnwillsey]

Welcome!