To Be or Not To Be a Mineral?Copy the list below on a sheet of paper and write either Yes or No next to

each substance below you think is or is not a mineral.

• Diamond• Wood• Quartz• Plastic• Water• Sulfur• Coal

• Gold• Concrete• Talc• Glass• Salt• Iron• Steel

5 Things That Must Be True for a Substance to be a Mineral

1. Naturally Occurring (NOT manmade)

2. Inorganic (not made from living things

3. Solid

4. Definite Chemical Composition

5. Crystalline Pattern

To Be or Not To Be a Mineral?Make any corrections necessary after now knowing the definition of a

mineral.

• Diamond• Wood• Quartz• Plastic• Water• Sulfur• Coal

• Gold• Concrete• Talc• Glass• Salt• Iron• Steel

True

False

True

False

False

True

False

True

False

True

False

True

True

False

Element vs. Mixture vs. Compound

• Element: cannot be broken down chemically (made of only one kind of atom)– Examples: gold, silica, hydrogen

• Mixture: can be broken apart physically– Examples: air, ocean water

• Compound: can be broken down chemically– Examples: water (H2O), table sugar (C12H22O11),

table salt (NaCl)

How Minerals Form

1. Cooling of magma

2. Evaporation (ex: salt)

3. Precipitation (ex: calcite)

4. Existing minerals changed by heat or pressure

Rock-Forming Minerals:the most common minerals that make up most of the rocks in the crust

• Quartz, feldspar, mica, calcite are common

Mineral “Family”

• Mineral “families” based on chemical composition (what they are made out of)

1. Silicates:

• Contain silicon (Si) and

oxygen (O)

• silicate is the most common mineral family

• quartz, feldspar, mica, olivine are examples

2. Carbonates:

• Carbonate ion (CO3) combines with metal ions

• calcite (CaCO3) calcium carbonate

• dolomite calcium magnesium carbonate

• only carbonates fizz in acid

3. Oxides:

• Oxygen plus any element other than silicon

• hematite (FeO2)and magnetite (Fe2O3) are iron oxides

• oxides are important sources of iron ore

4. Sulfides

• Metal element combined with sulfur

• pyrite (FeS2) is “fool’s gold,” an iron sulfide

5. Native Elements

• Elements uncombined

• Gold (Au), Silver (Ag), Copper (Cu), etc.