What is a mineral? How are minerals identified? How do minerals form?

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 A mineral is a naturally occurring solid that can form by inorganic processes and that has a crystal structure and a definite chemical composition  For a substance to be a MINERAL it MUST have ALL 5 of these characteristics

 Naturally Occurring : all minerals are substances that are formed by natural processes  Solid : a mineral is a solid, with a definite volume and shape  Crystal Structure : the pattern of a mineral line up in a pattern that repeats over and over again -- the repeating pattern of a minerals particles forms a solid called a CRYSTAL

 Forms by inorganic processes : all minerals must be able to form by inorganic processes --that is every mineral must be able to form from minerals that were not a part of living things  Definite chemical composition : a mineral always contains certain elements in definite proportions. --- an element is a substance composed of a single kind of atom