Minerals and Rocks

The first version of this text was written to serve as lecture notes for a first term geology course in “Minerals
and Rocks” at Aarhus University in Denmark in 2003. In Aarhus this course is accompanied by a general
“Introduction to Geology” course that presents, for example, the structure of the Earth, plate tectonics and
paleontology. These topics are therefore not treated here, and some knowledge of the Earth´s structure and
plate tectonics is assumed.
After a brief introduction to the Rock Cycle, this text presents the physical properties of minerals and an
introduction to crystallography. The most important rock-forming minerals are then dealt with in a
systematic way, followed by the three main rock groups – igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.
A lecture course in Minerals and Rocks must be accompanied by a parallel sequence of practical classes
where, for example, crystal structures, minerals and rock types dealt with in theory are demonstrated in
practice.