Modern agriculture is dependent on various fertilizers and soil conditioners, and thus the ability to grow many of the foods we eat is dependent upon mineral resources. Many environmental processes, such as those controlling the chemistry of waters, are strongly influenced by mineral reactions. Mineral crystals are beautiful and obvious examples of the universe's inherent order and symmetry. The study of crystals has increased our understanding of the size of atoms, and how they are arranged in compounds. For these reasons, mineralogy can be an important enhancement to studies of mathematics, geometry, and chemistry.
Mineralogy is a foundation course for geology.
Rocks are made of minerals, and the occurrences and arrangements of minerals in rocks gives us much of the information we have on Earth's present and past processes. Interpreting Earth's various activities through the study of rocks requires a basic knowledge of mineralogy. Because we will cover a rather large body of material in a mere 40 hours of lecture and 20 hours of lab, a tight schedule must be followed. The general class outline will be supplemented on a weekly basis with more specific outlines, reading assignments, laboratory assignments, and problem sets. You should expect to spend at least 5-10 hours per week on this course in addition to the lectures, laboratories, and field trips.