Environmental Sciences

The definition of a mineral. Crystal chemistry. The atom. The chemical bonds. Pauling’s rules. Polymorphism and isomorphism. The crystal chemical formula. Basic crystallography. The point groups. The unit cell. Bravais lattice. Space groups. Sulphides, oxides and hydroxides. Carbonates, sulphates, phosphates. Silicates. The minerals and the environment. Analytical techniques. X-ray diffraction. Electron microprobe. Scanning electron microscope. Optical mineralogy.

Inorganic chemistry, Physics, Mathematics

KLEIN C., PHILPOTTS A. (2012) Earth Materials - Introduction to mineralogy and petrology. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK.

attendance is not mandatory

Oral mode with practical sessions (e.g. minerals, identification of symmetry elements using crystal models). Evaluation of the recall and apply the acquired knopwledge. To pass the exam it is necessary to get a grade not less than 18/30. The student must have acquired sufficient knowledge on crystal chemistry and crystallography, on the main minerals of environmental relevance and on the main mineralogical techniques. Moreover, the student must have acquired good ability to explain the topics clearly and effectively.

Active Learning and participation of the students