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WHAT ARE MINERALS?

Minerals are natural solid substances.  Every mineral has its own definite chemical composition, and all minerals atoms  are arranged in a certain way, giving it a crystalline structure.  Minerals are the building blocks of rocks.  They create them.  Some people mistake minerals for rocks, or rocks for minerals.  Some common minerals are, gold, copper, silver, lead, quartz, bauxite, and manganese.  You can taste some minerals to identify them.  Borax tastes sweet and slightly stale while epsomite and sylvite taste bitter.  Halite tastes salty, gluaberite tastes salty and bitter, and melanterite tastes sweet and metallic.

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These are samples of assorted minerals Question: which of the above is precious?

MOHS SCALE
    The mohs scale is a scale used to determine the hardness of a mineral.  Here's how it goes, 1. talc  2. gypsum  3. calcite  4. flourite  5. apatite  6. orthaclose  7. quartz  8. topaz 
9. corundum  10. diamond
To remember this, use the saying,"The girls can flirt and other things can do."   To find the hardness of rocks, you can use the following.  Fingernail 2.5, penny 3, window glass 5.5, and steel file 6.5.

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Can you guess which mineral this is? Hint: this is the most common mineral in Earth's crust!

  Top Ten Mined Rocks!!!

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Do you know what this is? Hint: it's not a mine!
10.NICKEL          (used in stainless steel and batteries)1.1 million tons
9. LEAD               (used in car batteries)                      2.9 million tons
8. TITANIUM       (used in paints and pigments)          5.7 million tons
7. MANGANESE (used in steel)                                  7.4 million tons   
6. ZINC                (for brass)                                        8.5 million tons
5. COPPER         (used for electrical goods)               12.6 million tons
4. CHROMITE     (used in stainless steel)                   13.4 million tons
3. BAUXITE         (used in aluminum)                          124 million tons
2. PHOPHATES  (used for agricultural fertilizers)       136 million tons
1. IRON ORE      (used for steel)                                 919 million tons 

As of 2004.  
gems4kids.weebly.com/ Go on an adventure through the wonderful world of geology! If you are a fan of geology, beginner or expert, then this is the site for you!