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A mineral is a solid, nonliving material that is found in Earth. They are made up of naturally occurring substances called elements Properties: Solid Cannot be a liquid or a gas Naturally Occurring Found in nature, not man-made Inorganic Is not alive and never was, non-living Crystal Form/Crystalline Structure A definite structure in which atoms are arranged (regular pattern) Is it non-living material? Is it a solid? Is it formed in nature? Does it have a crystalline structure? Wood Gold Fossil Topaz Bones Granite Quartz Pearls Talc Icebergs Diamond Coal Rock Salt Minerals Non-Minerals a) Gold a) Wood - once living b) Topaz b) Fossils – once living c) Quartz c) Bone - living material d) Talc d) Granite - intrusive igneous rock e) Iceberg* e) Pearls – made by oysters f) Diamonds Coal - Sedimentary rock g) Rock Salt – Sedimentary rock f) According to IMA – ice is listed as a mineral Silicate Minerals that contain a combination of silicon, oxygen and one or more metals. (silicate and oxygen are two most common elements in the Earth’s crust) nonsilicate Minerals that DO NOT contain a combination of the elements silicon and oxygen 6 classes of nonsilicate minerals Native elements Carbonates Halides Oxides Sulfates Sulfides Physical properties and characteristics This includes: color, streak, luster, crystal shape & hardness Color Easy to observe Least effective way to identify mineral Different minerals have same color, some vary in color. Color depends on other substances that became part of a mineral when it formed. Streak The color of a mineral in its powder form Sometimes the color you see and the color of its streak are different For example – pyrite looks golden but it leaves a greenish-black streak Luster The way a mineral reflects light Can be described as: dull, shiny, greasy, pearly, metallic or glassy Metallic Luster = shiny submetallic or nonmetallic luster = dull Cleavage The tendency of some minerals to break along smooth, flat surfaces Example: mica and halite Fracture The tendency of some minerals to break unevenly along curved or irregular surfaces Hardness The resistance of a mineral to being scratched Scientist use the “Mohs Hardness Scale” of 1 (softest) through 10 (hardest) which says - a mineral of a given hardness will scratch any mineral that is softer than it is