1. Mighty Minerals Mineral Characteristics
Minerals are all around us

2. Fascinating Fact
The elements oxygen, silicon, aluminum, iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and sodium make up 99 percent of all minerals on Earth.

3. Fascinating Fact BACKGROUND:
 Scientists have identified over 2000 different minerals in the earth's crust.
95% of the earth's crust is composed of about a dozen different rock-forming minerals.

4. What is a mineral?
All natural earth materials are made of minerals or a combination of minerals
Minerals are the building blocks of rocks.
To be called a mineral it must have the following 5 characteristics:

5. Mineral characteristic #1 – Naturally Occurring
Occurs naturally
not artificial or man-made
These are processes that occur on or inside Earth with no input from humans.

6. Mineral characteristic #2 Solid
All solids have a definite volume and shape.
not a liquid or a gas
Platinum
(It might take two billion tons of ore to produce one pound of platinum!)

7. Mineral Characteristic #3 Definite chemical composition
Made of one or more elements.
Element
Some minerals like gold or silver are made of only one element.
A substance such as iron, oxygen, and gold which cannot be separated or broken down by ordinary chemical methods.
All the elements are listed on the periodic table. For example: Gold = Au or Lead = Pb)
Compound:
Other minerals are combinations of two or more elements which are chemically combined.
For Example
Quartz = SiO2
Calcite = CaCO3
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8. Mineral Characteristic #4 Crystalline solids
Atoms arranged in an orderly pattern (Crystals)
Crystalline means that atoms are arranged in a pattern that is repeated over and over again.
For example, graphite’s atoms are arranged in layers and halite's are arranged in cubes.
The crystal system a mineral has can help a geologist identify the mineral.
Brain pop

9. There are six major crystal systems, which classify minerals according to their crystal structures.

10. Crystals come from two places:

11. Crystals from Magma
When magma cools slowly, the crystals that form are generally large enough to see with the unaided eye.
When magma cools rapidly, the crystals that form will be small.

12. Crystals from solutions
Crystals also can form from minerals dissolved in water.
When water evaporates, minerals left behind come together to form crystals.

13. Mineral characteristic #5 Inorganic
Not alive and never alive
This means that they aren’t made by life processes.