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Earth and Space Sciences · Glossary

What is Mineral?

Definition 15.1 Primary & Middle School Earth and Space Sciences · Chapter 15 — Rocks and Minerals

A mineral is a natural solid substance, not made by living things, always with the same make-up and with its atoms arranged in a regular way. A rock is made of one mineral or, more often, of several minerals stuck together.

Left: granite drawn as a mosaic of grains, each grain one mineral (an enlargement, not to scale). Right: a real pink granite, about the size of a hand. (Photo: James St. John, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.)
feldspar quartz mica
Left: granite drawn as a mosaic of grains, each grain one mineral (an enlargement, not to scale). Right: a real pink granite, about the size of a hand. (Photo: James St. John, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.)
Left: granite drawn as a mosaic of grains, each grain one mineral (an enlargement, not to scale). Right: a real pink granite, about the size of a hand. (Photo: James St. John, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.)

Examples

Example 15.6 (Quartz or calcite?)

Two white minerals look alike. The first one is scratched by a copper coin: its hardness is less than 3.5; it is calcite (3). The second one is not scratched by a steel nail and scratches glass: its hardness is more than 6.5; among the reference minerals, it is quartz (7).

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Definition 7.1 University Earth and Space Sciences — Year 1 · Chapter 7 — Rock-Forming Minerals

A mineral is a naturally occurring solid with a definite crystal structure and a chemical composition that is either fixed or varies within definite limits. Almost all minerals are inorganic.

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