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Earth Science for Kids

Minerals

• Solid - All minerals will be solids at normal temperatures on Earth.
• Naturally occurring - Minerals occur in nature. Solids that are made in a chemistry lab don't count as minerals.
• Inorganic - Minerals don't come from plants, animals, or other living organisms.
• Fixed chemical structure - Specific minerals will always have the same chemical formula. They will have the same combination of elements. Minerals also generally are formed with a crystal structure.

• Luster - Luster describes how well a mineral reflects light. Examples of luster include glassy, metallic, brilliant, and dull.



• Hardness - The hardness describes how easy it is to scratch the surface of a mineral. Scientists often use the Moh's scale to describe hardness. Using the Moh's scale, a "1" is the softest mineral and a "10" is the hardest. One example of hardness is diamond. Diamond has a hardness of 10 because it is the hardest of all the minerals.



• Streak - Streak is the color of the mineral in powdered form. One way to determine the streak is to rub the mineral across a rough hard surface like a tile.



• Cleavage - Cleavage describes how a mineral breaks up into pieces. Some minerals break up into small cubes while others may break up into thin sheets.



• Specific Gravity (SG) - The specific gravity measures the density of the mineral. It is measured in comparison to water where water has a specific gravity of 1. For example, pyrite has a specific gravity of 5 and quartz has a specific gravity of 2.7.



• Color - Although color is often used to describe a mineral, it sometimes isn't the best way to tell one mineral from another as one type of mineral can come in several different colors.

• Carbonates - Carbonates contain carbonate (CO₃) combined with some other element. Calcite is a mineral made from carbonate and calcium.
• Halides - Halides contain a halogen element as the main element. Table salt (NaCl) is a halide mineral made from the halogen chlorine (Cl) and sodium (Na).
• Oxides - Oxides are minerals where the main element is oxygen. Chromite is an oxide mineral made from iron, chromium, and oxygen.
• Sulfides - Sulfides contain sulfur and one or more metals or semimetals. Pyrite is a sulfide made from iron and sulfur.

• Scientists who study minerals are called mineralogists.
• Around 99% of the minerals in the Earth's crust are made up of eight elements including oxygen, silicon, aluminum, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium.
• Common minerals include quartz, feldspar, bauxite, cobalt, talc, and pyrite.
• Some minerals have a different colored streak than the color of their body.
• A gem is a piece of rare mineral such as diamond, emerald, or sapphire that is cut and polished to shine.
• Certain minerals are needed by our bodies so we can grow healthy and strong.

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