Minerals are inorganic, crystalline solid substances with a specific chemical composition that form naturally through natural processes. Geologists classify minerals by physical characteristics like their hardness or cleavage and exclude compounds produced by living organisms, like aragonite.
Named after its discoverer and then identified by chemical composition or physical property – examples being feldspar, mica and amphibole.
Minerals are crystalline solids
Minerals are naturally-occurring solid substances with a distinct chemical composition and ordered atomic arrangement, typically crystalline in structure but noncrystalline substances may also qualify as minerals or mineraloids.
Minerals can be easily identified based on their physical properties, which can be observed and described. These properties include hardness, lusterre, streak and cleavage – the latter property indicates how easily a mineral can be broken apart without shattering into pieces. Crystal shapes also help identify minerals; for example, snowflake obsidian is made up of black volcanic glass with white patches called snowflake obsidian which contains cristobalite.
Many minerals possess cubic arrangements of atoms, with crystals often having several identical faces or being euhedral (having equal sides). Most minerals form either body-centered cubic (bcc), face-centered-cubic (fcc), or hexagonal close-packed crystal structures – most metals forming hexagonal close-packed crystals; minerals are anisotropic, meaning their properties vary according to which direction you look in.
They are named in a less scientific way
Minerals are natural solid substances with ordered structures and specific chemical composition. While water does not meet this definition, ice does (though technically speaking it should not be classified as a mineral). They often take their names from their color, locality or even people: for instance rossmanite was named for John Rossman; vesuvianite refers to Chilean desert where it originated; while labradorite reminds of volcanic outbursts.
A committee from the International Mineralogical Association will give any mineral with the appropriate crystal form, chemical composition and physical properties a name by registering it as type material in a museum or university collection for future reference. Some minerals are named for where they were first found – for instance elbaite comes from Isle of Elba while goosecreekite hails from Leesburg Virginia or Ilmen Mountains Russia as examples. Minerals also undergo chemical changes when exposed to other substances; becoming pseudomorphs of original minerals while still retaining characteristic Carlsbad Twinning characteristics like orthoclase does.
They are found in different amounts in different foods
Minerals are essential components of good health. They play an integral role in maintaining strong bones, muscles and hearts as well as producing enzymes and hormones needed for proper growth and development. Most people can get all their required minerals through diet alone but some individuals require supplementation with additional mineral sources.
Silicate minerals consist of silicon and oxygen atoms. Aluminosilicates combine aluminum, magnesium and silicates for their composition. And oxides include sulfurous sulfur compounds such as manganese dioxide, copper sulphides, sodium potassium chlorides and chlorine oxides; some common rock-forming silicate minerals include quartz, feldspars olivine pyroxenes amphiboles garnets.
Minerals are crystalline substances with well-ordered internal structures and regular geometric forms, occurring naturally and being distinct from synthetic substitutes. Substances which resemble minerals but cannot be classified separately into individual species of mineraloids – for example mackinawite is considered a mineral but ice, sand, or water are not!
They are a natural resource
Minerals are natural resources found throughout nature that can be harvested and used to create new items. Their unique atomic structures help narrate how rocks formed over geological time; additionally, minerals serve essential biological functions.
The term “mineral” generally does not refer to organically produced substances; however, its chemical makeup can include organic compounds which meet geological definition. Aragonite, found as the chief component in oyster and pearl shells is considered a mineral in this sense, while humans can synthesize an inorganic compound called hydroxylapatite through biosynthesis.
Most minerals have crystalline structures and characteristic chemical compositions that set them apart from other natural solids. Their characteristic physical properties include lustre, streak, hardness, cleavage and other physical traits that differentiate them. There are seven groups of minerals with various crystal structures; those belonging to certain ones have been given names reflecting their appearance or other features – such as albite (which means white in Latin); goethite reflects its composition; while Franklinnite honors Benjamin Silliman an American chemist.
