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2018/19 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

SOEE2590 Mineralogy and Petrology

20 creditsClass Size: 90

Module manager: Dr Dan Morgan
Email: d.j.morgan@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2018/19

Pre-requisites

SOEE1570Geology 1
SOEE1580Geology 2

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Objectives

To give students a broad understanding of minerals, their structures, chemistry, formation and how to identify them. To introduce the major types of crystalline rocks and how they behave in geological processes. To show how some types of ores form. The module addresses the science of mineralogy and then applies this to metamorphic, igneous and ore-forming processes to give an understanding of minerals in a variety of geological and petrological contexts.

Note - Assessment of this module has been revised following a review of the past two years. Please see the assessment section for further details .

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, you will have a broad understanding of minerals, the basic building blocks of rocks, and the way they behave in geological and environmental processes. You will also be able to identify minerals and rocks in hand specimen and thin section. You will develop an understanding of how pressure, temperature and rock, fluid or melt compositions can affect mineral stability. You will understand how rock textures record the conditions under which rocks form and the history of their development.

As a whole, this module builds geological understanding in parallel to geochemical concepts taught in SOEE2010, Chemistry of the Earth, and this module will refer to major element, trace element and isotopic geochemistry in practice. As geology is the study of multiple aspects of the Earth system, these courses carry common concepts and skills across modules; they are not independent, and so you will be using skills in Mineralogy and Petrology that you have developed elsewhere in the course, and will likewise use skills elsewhere that you develop during this module.


Syllabus

Lectures will focus on:
Basic Crystallography, mineral groups, their structures and their classification, including sheet, chain and framework silicates, as well as sulphides.
Analytical methods in geochemistry and petrology, the use of whole rock and mineral major and trace element chemical analyses.
Phase petrology and mineral stability, including concepts in crystal structure and the interdependence of chemical behaviour, mineral structure and elemental partitioning.
Applied phase petrology in understanding the conditions in which rocks form and equilibrate
Kinetics in geoscience and how kinetics can moderate the attainment of mineral equilibrium
Metamorphism from phase petrology, kinetic, tectonic and thermodynamic viewpoints
Igneous systems from phase petrology, kinetic, tectonic and thermodynamic viewpoints
Ore-forming systems from phase petrology, kinetic, tectonic and thermodynamic viewpoints

Teaching methods

Delivery typeNumberLength hoursStudent hours
Lecture221.0022.00
Practical212.0042.00
Independent online learning hours30.00
Private study hours106.00
Total Contact hours64.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)200.00

Private study

There will be weekly reading assignments and also online exercises and materials to review. Use will be made of the virtual microscope, CBL modules, and recordings of additional materials to advance learning outside of the classroom. The lecture capture system is used by some of the staff teaching on the module.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Practical classes give a weekly contact point for feedback and assessment of progress.

Methods of assessment


Exams
Exam typeExam duration% of formal assessment
Unseen Practical exam (S1)2 hr 00 mins25.00
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc) (S1)2 hr 00 mins25.00
Unseen Practical exam (S2)2 hr 00 mins25.00
Standard exam (closed essays, MCQs etc) (S2)2 hr 00 mins25.00
Total percentage (Assessment Exams)100.00

Resit examinations (except first-attempt resits) will consist of one theory and one practical exam, each of 2 hours duration and which covers the whole of the module syllabus, instead of four separate examinations, each relating to one semester of material. More detail is available in the module handbook or from the module leader.

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 26/04/2017

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