Download What are minerals?

What are
minerals?
What are minerals?
• Minerals are naturally occurring
inorganic solids formed from an
element or compound.
• There are more than 2,000
minerals in the Earth’s crust.
Only a few of these are found
in most rocks!
Only seven elements make up over
96% of the Earth’s crust.
* O = 47%
* Si = 27%
* K = 2%
* Al = 8%
* Na = 3%
* Fe = 5%
* Ca = 4%
The identifiable characteristics of Minerals are:
Physical properties such as
color, streak, luster, hardness,
magnetism, etc.
• Color is an important
characteristic but many minerals
are the same color.
• Streak is the powder color
left by a mineral when rubbed
on a tile.
•
The identifiable characteristics of Minerals are:
Luster may be metallic or
nonmetallic. Reflection of light
by a mineral’s surface.
• Hardness is how much a
mineral resists being scratched.
The Mohs scale is used to
measure hardness.
•
What is the hardest mineral?
What are crystals?
• All minerals are made
of crystals.
• The atoms are
arranged in a regular,
repeated pattern.
• The crystals of a
mineral will always have
the same shape but the
size may vary.
Atoms make up elements.
Elements combine to form
natural compounds.
Natural compounds and
elements combine to form
minerals.
Minerals make up rocks.
Rocks make up the Earth.