Download Earth and Its Resources

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Structure of the Earth
We get many useful substances from rocks, such as building
materials, metals and jewels. But where do we get the rocks
themselves from?
The Earth’s crust is made out of rocks. The Earth’s crust is
the thin outer layer of the Earth. It is about 30 km thick on land
and only about 8 km thick under the sea.
crust
mantle
inner core
outer core
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Cross-section of the Earth
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What is the Earth’s crust made of?
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Minerals and metals
Many of the useful substances we get from the Earth’s crust
are minerals, which can contain useful metals and other
substances.
Here are the names and formulae of some common minerals:
mineral
formula
haematite
Fe2O3
iron
bauxite
Al2O3
aluminium
galena
PbS
lead
rutile
TiO2
titanium
chalcocite
Cu2S
copper
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substance extracted from it
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Minerals and rocks
What is the difference between rocks and minerals?
Minerals have a set chemical composition.
Rocks do not have a set
composition and are often made up
of several different minerals and
other materials. For example, the
rock granite is made up of the
minerals quartz, feldspar and biotite.
Minerals are found in the Earth’s crust. Minerals that humans
use are usually extracted from mines.
An area that has a lot of a specific mineral is called a deposit.
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