Sign Up
School Account Sign Up
Contributor: Hannah Brooks. Lesson ID: 12442
Do you think rocks are just rocks; that they just sit there doing nothing? Actually, rocks are pretty interesting and different! Learn what they are and what they're made of!
You have probably been told that you need to eat plenty of vitamins and minerals.
The minerals in your body are a little different from those in nature. Minerals in your body include materials like iron, magnesium, and potassium. Minerals in nature include these substances, plus hundreds of others!
Minerals are materials that are found in nature and have specific characteristics. Characteristics of minerals include color, hardness, density, and streak.
Some of these characteristics are easily observed, while others require more complex testing.
Minerals comprise around 90 elements, or chemicals, on the periodic table.
These elements combine in over 3,000 ways to form different minerals. The elements bond together to form a crystal structure.
Minerals combine with other substances to make rocks.
Rocks are everywhere in nature, coming from the earth's crust below us. We use rocks to build our houses, pave roads, create new products, and design jewelry.
Ancient groups of people used rocks as tools to make arrowheads and spears.
There are three types of rocks.
Rocks are classified based on how they form.
Sedimentary rocks form in layers, as small pieces are placed on top of one another.
Metamorphic rocks are formed when underground stones are exposed to high heat and pressure. This changes the rock's appearance and structure.
Igneous rocks form due to materials under the earth's surface cooling and solidifying.
These three types of rocks can change into another form through geologic processes.
Rocks comprise different minerals in and above the earth's crust. Rocks and minerals are very closely related because they are both contained in materials on the surface.
Rocks and minerals have many uses on our planet, and the type of mineral can determine how the rock is used. Characteristics like color, hardness, and magnetism identify minerals.
Create a Venn diagram to contrast minerals and rocks.
In the Got It? section, you will learn more about how rocks form and change.
Supplies
Additional Resources
FAVORITE
Like