COUNTING AS MUCH AS AN EXAM BUT COMFORTABLY WRITTEN AT HOME TO

BE PRESENTED ON FRIDAY, THE 13th OF DECEMBER

1. WHAT IS A MINERAL
A mineral is a solid, crystalline, natural, inorganic body with a chemical
composition.

2. MINERALS PROPERTIES

Minerals have three fundamental properties:

A. Hardness: Resistance offered by the material to be scratched.

The hardness can be high, if the mineral scratches the glass. Medium, if it does
not scratch the glass, but it is not scratched by the nail. Or low, if the mineral is
scratched with a nail. Diamond is the hardest mineral, it is only scratched with
another diamond.

B. Color: It depends on the composition of the mineral and the impurities it

contains.

C. Exfoliation: Ability to break into thin sheets when struck in certain directions.
Like graphite and mica.

3. MAIN TYPES OF MINERALS:

Talc, Mercury, Plaster, Quartz, Topaz, Corundum, Diamond, Gold, Silver, Copper,
Sulfur, Graphite, Plaster

4. MAIN USES OF MINERALS

Emerald, sapphire, ruby, diamond, are used in jewelry

Talc, mercury, sulfur, in medicine
Copper to manufacture metal objects and for electricity
Graphite to make the pencil mine
The plaster for construction

5. WHAT IS A ROCK

Rocks are aggregates of minerals that formed in the same natural process.
Being a union of several minerals, rocks are heterogeneous systems.
Some rocks have not been formed from minerals, but from remains of animals
or plants. Thus oil and coal were formed.

6. MAIN TYPES OF ROCKS (that are IGNEOUS OR VOLCANIC,

METAMORPHIC, SEDIMENTARY. Definition and examples).

IGNEAS: Igneous rocks have been formed by the cooling of magma: granite,
basalt
METAMORPHICS: When a rock is buried and subjected to high pressures and
temperatures it undergoes a change called metamorphism and the rock that
forms is called metamorphic: Slate and marble.
SEDIMENTARIES: Some minerals are deposited at the bottom of seas and
oceans in layers called sediments. These sediments, by the weight of
sediments that are placed on top, end up compacting and forming sedimentary
rocks: coal and oil, conglomerate, sandstones and clays.
 7. MAIN USES OF ROCKS

Igneas are used in construction and sculptures

Metamorphic also for construction and decoration of interiors and exteriors.
The sedimentary fundamentally as fuels and decoration

8. NAME 5 MINERALS AND/OR ROCKS YOU HAVE AT HOME

Minerals: silvina, Halita or common salt, Manganite, Opal,

Rocks: Granite, Marble, Plaster.

9. WRITE A SHORT STORY ABOUT A MINERAL OR A ROCK (IT CAN BE

FANTASTIC, BASED ON A LEGEND OR A MYTH, OR SOME CURIOUS
STORY YOU KNOW ABOUT THE USES OR PROPERTIES OF A
PARTICULAR MINERAL, OR ROCK). Length: between half a page and one
page. Don´t forget the title!

INSTRUCTIONS
Use the first page for the cover: title, your name and a drawing
It must be written by hand.
In questions 1 to 8 you don´t need to write a lot.
Don´t copy long sentences you don´t understand.
Drawings or pictures in the questions are welcome but no compulsory.