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.

What is the hardest mineral? 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.

Elements combine to form natural compounds. 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.