What are Minerals? 11/16/ pgs IN: What are minerals? Put your Word Search on the books Glue in the new Table of Contents

What is a mineral? 1. Formed in nature 2. Solid 3. Nonliving 4. Has a crystalline structure

Mineral Facts There are over 2000 minerals on Earth, but only 100 are commonly found. 30 minerals make up the majority of the rocks on Earth.

What makes up minerals? Elements ◦Pure substances that cannot be broken down into simpler substances.

What are elements? All minerals contain one or more of the 92 elements present in the Earth’s crust.

Element Facts There are 92 naturally occurring elements on earth but only 8 elements make over 98% of the minerals on the Earth's crust.

What are elements made of ? Atoms ◦The smallest part of an element.

Most minerals are made of more than one element. Compounds ◦A substance made of two or more elements that have been chemically joined. Water – H 2 O

Example, Halite – NaCl – table salt ◦Made from a compound of sodium and chlorine. ◦Sodium-a highly reactive metal ◦Chlorine-a poisonous gas Na + Cl  NaCl

What is a crystalline structure? Crystals ◦Solid, geometric forms of minerals produced by a repeating pattern of atoms that is present through the mineral.

Types of minerals Two types of minerals 1.Silicate 2.Nonsilicate

Silicate minerals Contain a combination of silicon and oxygen. Make up 90% of the Earth’s crust.

Example, Granite ◦A rock composed of feldspar, mica, and quartz. Feldspar Mica Quartz

Nonsilicate minerals Do not contain silicon and oxygen. There are 6 categories of nonsilicate minerals.

Native elements Minerals that are composed of only one element. Examples, ◦Gold ◦Diamond ◦Copper ◦Silver

OUT: What are the differences between atoms, compounds, and minerals?