MINERALS

Minerals are ALL AROUND YOU

• Ceramic tile

• Bike racks

• Bricks

• Glass

• Gems

• Diamonds

• Aluminum

Mineral Characteristics• 4,000 minerals on Earth

• All share FOUR characteristics;

1) Formed in a natural process – found in nature, not man-made

2) Inorganic – aren’t made by life processes (non-living)

3) They have a distinct Chemical composition – ex: NaCl (halite) gives a distinct taste.

4) Crystalline solids – have a definite volume & shape. This pattern is repeated over and over.

– Cubic Tetragonal

– Monoclinic Hexagonal

(see page 64)

How Do They Form?

• Crystals may be visible (clear quartz) or not (rose quartz) based on where they are developed

• Can form from MAGMA– Magma (hot melted rock) cools when it

reaches the surface – the molecules move closer together to combine into compounds – the type and amount of elements present determine which minerals will form

• OR can form from SOLUTIONS– Minerals dissolved in water when water

evaporates molecules left behind come together to form crystals

– Relates to Earth’s Crust;

Most common minerals

are mostly composed of

8 elements in the earth’s

Crust; Most include silicon

(Si) and oxygen(O) which

are the most abundant

elements in the crust