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Ruizite

Ruizite is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ruizite rather than just read about it. In short: Ruizite is a sorosilicate mineral with formula Ca2Mn2Si4O11(OH)4·2H2O. It was discovered at the Christmas mine in Christmas, Arizona, and described in 1977.

Ruizite — main illustration
Ruizite — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Ruizite belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Ruizite to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Ruizite from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ruizite is a sorosilicate mineral with formula Ca2Mn2Si4O11(OH)4·2H2O. It was discovered at the Christmas mine in Christmas, Arizona, and described in 1977. The mineral is named for discoverer Joe Ana Ruiz.

Description and occurrence

Ruizite is translucent and orange to red-brown in color with an apricot yellow streak. The mineral occurs as euhedral prisms up to 1 mm (0.039 in) or as radial clusters of acicular (needle-like) crystals. Ruizite is common at the Christmas mine. The mineral is known from Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Ruizite occurs in association with apophyllite, bornite, calcite, chalcopyrite, datolite, diopside, grossular, inesite, junitoite, kinoite, orientite, pectolite, quartz, smectite, sphalerite, vesuvianite, and wollastonite. Ruizite is found in veinlets or fracture surfaces of limestone metamorphosed into a calc-silicate assemblage. The mineral formed by retrograde metamorphism during cooling of a calc–silicate skarn assemblage in an oxidizing environment.

Crystal structure and chemistry Ruizite crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system and twinning is common along the {100} plane between exactly two crystals. Ruizite's formula was originally identified as CaMn(SiO3)2(OH)2·2H2O in 1977. In 1984, Frank C. Hawthorne revised the formula to Ca2Mn2Si4O11(OH)4·2H2O. Ruizite's structure consists of edge-sharing Mnφ6 octahedra, connected at corners into sheets and together into a lattice by clusters of Si4O11(OH)2. Nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, and potassium hydroxide have little effect on ruizite at low temperatures but readily dissolve the mineral at elevated temperatures.

History During the investigation of junitoite at the Christmas mine in Christmas, Arizona, Joe Ana Ruiz and Robert Jenkins discovered an unknown brown mineral. Mine geologist Dave Cook located better specimens, and it was determined to be a new mineral species. The mineral was named ruizite in honor of Joe Ruiz as discoverer. Ruizite's properties were analyzed using a sample provided by Joseph Urban, and it was described in the journal Mineralogical Magazine in December 1977. The International Mineralogical Association approved the mineral as IMA 1977-077. Type specimens are housed in the University of Arizona, Harvard University, the National Museum of Natural History, and The Natural History Museum.

See also Carlosruizite

References

Bibliography Hawthorne, F. C. (1984). "The crystal structure of ruizite, a sorosilicate with an [Si4Ø13] cluster". Tschermaks mineralogische und petrographische Mitteilungen. 33 (2): 135–146. Bibcode:1984MinPe..33..135H. doi:10.1007/BF01083069. Williams, Sidney A.; Duggan, M. (December 1977). "Ruizite, A New Silicate Mineral from Christmas, Arizona" (PDF). Mineralogical Magazine. 41 (320): 429–432. Bibcode:1977MinM...41..429W. doi:10.1180/minmag.1977.041.320.01. S2CID 129031647.

Further reading Moore, Paul B.; Shen, Jinchuan; Araki, Takaharu (January–February 1985). "Crystal chemistry of the 2∞[M3+2φ2(TO4)2]sheet: structural principles and crystal structures of ruizite, macfallite and orientite" (PDF). American Mineralogist. 70 (1–2): 171–181.

External links Media related to ruizite at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Ruizite illustration
Ruizite: Ruizite from Arizona
Ruizite from Arizona

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ruizite

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ruizite claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ruizite before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ruizite ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ruizite

In research
Ruizite appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Ruizite in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Ruizite is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Calcium minerals, Dihydrate minerals, Hydroxide minerals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Ruizite outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Ruizite in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Ruizite means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Ruizite out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ruizite in simple terms?

Ruizite is a sorosilicate mineral with formula Ca2Mn2Si4O11(OH)4·2H2O. It was discovered at the Christmas mine in Christmas, Arizona, and described in 1977.

Why does Ruizite matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ruizite?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ruizite.

Tags

  • Calcium minerals
  • Dihydrate minerals
  • Hydroxide minerals
  • Manganese(III) minerals
  • Minerals described in 1977
  • Minerals in space group 14
  • Monoclinic minerals
  • Sorosilicates

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