1. Notes=red

2.  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.

3.  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?

4.  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.

5.  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.

6.  Inorganic means “ not organic ” or “ not living ”  Minerals must be things that are not alive.

7.  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.

8.  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.

9.  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.

10.  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.

11.  What color you see

12.  How the mineral reflects light.  Think “ shiny ” and “ dull ”

13.  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.

14.  How often a mineral breaks along a flat surface.

15.  How often a mineral breaks unevenly, curved, or rigidly. (Think fractured bones!)

16.  How resistant the mineral is to being scratched.  Uses Moh ’ s hardness scale