Characteristics of ALL minerals (epsomite)

{enrich} What is a Mineral? More than 4,000 minerals (40-50 new minerals identified each year!) but only 100 common minerals about 20 minerals make up most of Earth’s crust native elements occur in nature in pure form (ex: gold, copper, diamond, sulfur, graphite, silver, and platinum)

Most minerals are COMPOUNDS… (a chemical combination of two or more elements), while rocks are mixtures of minerals (and sometimes organic matter like shells) Some minerals are elements (like copper, gold and diamonds)

{enrich} Classification of minerals 95% of the earth’s crust is made of silicates (minerals made of silicon and oxygen): ex: quartz SiO2) sulfide (+ sulfur) ex: cinnabar (HgS) sulfate (+sulfur & O) carbonate (C & O) ex: calcite: CaCO3 oxide (+oxygen) ex: corundum: Al2O3 halide –ex: salt

Characteristics of ALL minerals: (INSCC) --foldable-- Inorganic Natural Solid Compound (or element) Crystal system

Inorganic never alive not from something alive rocks can have organic matter Naturally occurring not synthetic or artificial or man-made

Solid at room temperature Chemical composition some single element in pure form (native elements) like copper, diamond, sulfur most are compounds like quartz (SiO2) and cinnabar (HgS) rocks are mixtures Can you read a chemical equation? Crystal system repeating pattern with flat sides (called faces) most are only visible with a microscope

Let’s practice INSCC... fill in lab sheet (notes on the bottom) look at a variety of substances (water, leaves, brick, rubber band, coal, salt, sugar, etc.) and determine which ones are NOT minerals---AND WHY

A rock is a mixture of _____________. minerals

Now it’s time to start performance task #5…

What’s the difference between rocks and minerals? elements (like copper) or compounds (like quartz, SiO2) cannot contain organic material (things that are/were living) mixtures of minerals may contain organic matter (like coal and limestone) Let’s look at GRANITE…

Now it’s time to start performance task #7…