5.1 What is a Mineral?

MINERALS building blocks of rocks

MINERALS VS ROCK calcite from marble , quartz from granite
CRITERIA- (NHIDOS)
NATURALLY OCCURING- formed by natural geologic processes , not manmade/synthetic
HOMOGENOUS uniform composition , cannot be physically separated into simpler compounds e.g.
QUARTZ (SiO2)
INORGANIC not derived from living matter
e.g. SALT VS SUGAR SALT is a SEAWATER precipitate while SUGAR is derived from sugarcane
DEFINITE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION - can be represented by a chemical formula
e.g. quartz (SiO2) Halite (NaCl) Olivine ((Fe,Mg)SiO4)
ORDERED INTERNAL STRUCTURE crystalline , atoms arranged in orderly repetitive manner
e.g. QUARTZ (SiO2) vs Glass (amorphous SiO2 - not a mineral)
SOLID- exemption (Hg Mercury)e.g. water vs ice (NOTE: ice is a mineral but not icecubes since it is
not naturally occuring)