What are 5 things a mineral has to have in order to be a mineral?

Answer 1

Good question, I was asking myself the same thing. The info at the bottom is my own knowledge and my science teacher's (ms. Weis is awesome) AND I looked this ALL up online with at least 3 other sources (not including wikipedia or other public editing sites), so it should all be good! Any other questions or concerns please e-mail me at hokiesfan16@aim.com

1.) Has to be able to form crystals (minerals such as gold and copper can form crystals)

2.) Has to be made from elements (magnesium, cobalt, sulfur)

3.) It has to be naturally occurring (occurring in nature). The only exception I can think of is below in the Some thing you should know section (and yes, this answer has sections)

4.) Has to have an exact crystalline structure (forms the same shape crystal over and over again)

5.) Is inorganic (Also meaning not formed by things living before (take today's coal, being formed by dinosaurs, would not be a mineral))

Some things you should know:

Rocks and minerals are a MAJOR difference. Rocks are made up of several minerals, not straight from elements

All magnetic minerals have Iron in them

Pearls are NOT minerals

Ice IS a mineral, for you non-believers out there. Here are he reasons why:

1.) It forms crystals (duh)

2.) Made from H2O (also duh)

3.) Naturally accuring (even though it can be made from the fridge, Antarctica and Icebergs (hello people?)

4.) Forms repeating crystal structure (snowflakes, for example(ok, I will give you guys that one, but seriously, u should have paid attention during pre-k class))

5.) Ice/Water/H2O/Whatever you want to call it, although containing life, bacteria and other microscopic forms of life, IS NOT LIVING AND IS NOT MADE UP OF DEAD/ONCE LIVING MATERIAL!!!!!!!!!!

Hope this helps!

P.S. I am in 8th grade, so anyone younger than me keep up the good work, because I had to look up these five things as well! And to all those adults who want to know this, go over your kid's science homework with them every once in a while :-)

Answer 2

In order to be considered a mineral, a substance must be naturally occurring, inorganic, have a definite chemical composition, be solid, and possess a crystalline structure.