Minerals - Can you SNIFC it?
The definition of a mineral can be separated into 5 items:
- Solid
- Naturally Occurring
- Inorganic
- Formula
- Crystalline Structure
Solid
The substance cannot change shape or change volume. It must be solid.
It cannot be a liquid or gas.
It cannot be a liquid or gas.
Naturally Occurring
A mineral must occur naturally. It cannot be man-made. It can be man-shaped (like arrowheads) and it is still a mineral. Things like synthetic diamonds that have been made in a laboratory are man-made and are not minerals.
Inorganic
—INORGANIC:
—Consist of non-living material
—ORGANIC:
—Consist of living or once living material
Don't make the mistake of thinking that inorganic (non-living) means "dead". Non-living means NEVER-living. It never lived. Organic covers the "dead" category. It also covers anything that was part of something living like bones, pearls, amber (from trees), and even kidney stones.
—Consist of non-living material
—ORGANIC:
—Consist of living or once living material
Don't make the mistake of thinking that inorganic (non-living) means "dead". Non-living means NEVER-living. It never lived. Organic covers the "dead" category. It also covers anything that was part of something living like bones, pearls, amber (from trees), and even kidney stones.
Formula (Definite chemical composition)
Any given mineral always has the same chemical composition. We say it has a specific formula. Chemical formulas are a way to describe the specific types and amounts of atoms in a substance.
Example:
Mineral gold: chemical composition Au (gold)
Mineral Diamond: chemical composition C (carbon)
Mineral halite: chemical composition NaCl (sodium and chlorine)
Mineral quartz: chemical composition SiO2 (one Silicon and 2 Oxygen)
Simply put: A mineral is an element or a compound (see C1-C3 if you need a refresher).
Example:
Mineral gold: chemical composition Au (gold)
Mineral Diamond: chemical composition C (carbon)
Mineral halite: chemical composition NaCl (sodium and chlorine)
Mineral quartz: chemical composition SiO2 (one Silicon and 2 Oxygen)
Simply put: A mineral is an element or a compound (see C1-C3 if you need a refresher).
Crystalline Structure
Unique arrangement of atoms in a crystal. This doesn't mean that the mineral always looks like a crystal (although sometimes it does). It means the atoms inside are arranged geometrically.