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A mineral is a naturally formed, inorganic
solid with a crystalline structure.
 Not all minerals look like gems… in fact,
most look like rocks!
 Rocks are made of minerals but minerals
are not made of rocks.

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In order to be a mineral, it must have
these four properties:
 It has to be a solid
 It has to be formed in nature
 It has to be inorganic
 It has to have a crystalline structure
But what do those mean?
The three phases of matter are solid, liquid,
and gas.
 A solid has a defined shape: it does not
change.
 Minerals cannot be liquids or gases but can
be found in and around liquids and gases.

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In order to be a mineral, it has to be
created in nature.
 There are many things that are “man-
made” items. These items, which can
even sometimes look like minerals, are
not minerals because they do not form in
nature!

It has to be naturally occurring!
Something you could dig up or find
lying around.
Inorganic means “not organic” or “not
living”
 Minerals must be things that are not alive.

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When you think of crystals you usually think
of a rigid structure. The exact shape
depends on the arrangement of atoms.

Almost all minerals are made of the one
chemical composition throughout.

composition= what something is made of

Minerals are made of elements. All minerals
have one or more of the 92 elements that
are present on the Earth’s crust.
An element is made of only one kind of
atom.
 An atom is the basic unit of an element.
 Some minerals have more than one
element. These minerals are made of
compounds of elements. (think compound
words)
 A compound has 2 or more elements that
are bonded together.

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How can you tell two minerals apart?
Scientists have organized mineral properties
into categories to help identify unknown
minerals.

The seven major properties of minerals are:
Color, luster, streak, cleavage, fracture,
hardness, and density.

What color you see

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How the mineral reflects light.
Think “shiny” and “dull”
The color of the mineral when in powder
form. Color does not equal streak!!!
 In order to find streak, the mineral needs to
be rubbed against a porcelain streak plate.

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How often a mineral breaks along a
flat surface.

How often a mineral breaks unevenly,
curved, or rigidly. (Think fractured bones!)

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How resistant the
mineral is to being
scratched.
Uses Moh’s
hardness scale