What Is A Mineral (Page 2 of 2) in pdf

What Is A Mineral Page 2

Answer Key

What is a mineral?

1) A mineral must occur naturally in the Earth’s crust. It cannot be a

manufactured or manmade item.

2) A mineral must be inorganic rather than organic. Organic materials

are formed from living things. Minerals must be made from materials

that were never living things.

3) A mineral is always a solid. Minerals cannot be liquids or gases.

4) A mineral has a definite chemical composition. Minerals may be

made of a single element. Some minerals are formed by compounds, or

combinations of two or more elements.

5) A mineral’s atoms are arranged in a definite pattern. This repeating

pattern is called a crystal.

Circle the items below that meet all five characteristics of a mineral.

Halite(salt)

Diamond

Ice

Steel

Coal

Sugar

Gold

Graphite

Silver

Cement

Wood

Copper

Oxygen

Sulfur

Glass

Possible reasons for non-minerals:

Steel - manmade, no crystals

Wood - organic

Ice may not be normally

Cement - manmade

Sugar - organic

thought of as a mineral;

Oxygen - gas

Glass - no crystals

however, it meets all

Coal - organic

the characteristics.

What Is A Mineral Page 2