Rock or Mineral? Rocks are made up of minerals, usually several, but sometimes only one or two.

Minerals are either uncombined elements or compounds (made up of different elements). What is a Mineral? Almost all minerals are solid (except water, mercury, and opal). They have a definite atomic structure and chemical composition. For example, if you had two quartz crystals, they would have similar chemical and physical properties. To identify a mineral,you can observe its color, luster, hardness, specific gravity, and streak. Fracture and cleavage may be obvious, or you may have to break the mineral. What is a Rock? Rocks are classified into three major groups- igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. Rocks are aggregates of different minerals, which are fused, cemented, or bound together. Rocks can be identified using the same methods as minerals. Mineral For other uses, see Mineral (disambiguation). Amethyst, a variety of quartz A mineral is a naturally occurring substance that is solid and stable at room temperature, representable by a chemical formula, usually abiogenic, and has an ordered atomic structure. It is different from a rock, which can be an aggregate of minerals or non-minerals, and does not have a specific chemical composition. The exact definition of a mineral is under debate, especially with respect to the requirement a valid species be abiogenic, and to a lesser extent with regards to it having an ordered atomic structure. The study of minerals is called mineralogy. There are over 4,900 known mineral species; over 4,660 of these have been approved by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA). The silicate minerals compose over 90% of the Earth's crust. The diversity and abundance of mineral species is controlled by the Earth's chemistry. Silicon and oxygen constitute approximately 75% of the Earth's crust, which translates directly into the predominance of silicate minerals. Minerals are distinguished by various chemical and physical properties. Differences in chemical composition and crystal structure distinguish various species, and these properties in turn are influenced by the mineral's geological environment of formation. Changes in the temperature, pressure, and bulk composition of a rock mass cause changes in its mineralogy; however, a rock can maintain its bulk composition, but as long as temperature and pressure change, its mineralogy can change as well. Minerals can be described by a variable physical properties, which relate to its chemical structure and composition. Common distinguishing characteristics include crystal structure and habit, hardness, lustre, diaphaneity, colour, streak, tenacity, cleavage, fracture, parting, and specific gravity. More specific tests for minerals include reaction to acid, magnetism, taste or smell, and radioactivity. Minerals are classified by key chemical constituents; the two dominant systems are the Dana classification and the Strunz classification. The silicate class of minerals is subdivided into six subclasses by the degree of polymerization in the chemical structure. All silicate minerals have a base unit of a [SiO4]4- silica tetrahedrathat is, a silicon cation coordinated by four oxygen anions, which gives the shape of a tetrahedron. These tetrahedra can be polymerized to give the subclasses: orthosilicates (no polymerization, thus single tetrahedra), disilicates (two tetrahedra bonded together), cyclosilicates (rings of tetrahedra), inosilicates (chains of tetrahedra), phyllosilicates (sheets of tetrahedra), and tectosilicates (three-dimensional network of tetrahedra). Other important mineral groups include the native elements, sulfides, oxides, halides, carbonates, sulfates, and phosphates.

ROCKS All rocks are made of 2 or more minerals, but minerals are not made of rocks. Rock Words: There are many common names for rocks and the usually give you an idea of how big the rock is. Here are a few: mountain - huge, giant hunk of rock that is still attached to the earth's crust, doesn't move, tall boulder - large, taller than a person rock - large, you could get your arms around it or a bit smaller but it is usually jagged, broken off a bigger piece of rock river rock - round rocks that are along the edge & at the bottom of fast-flowing rivers stone - medium, you could hold it in two hands pebble - small, you can hold it with two fingers, could get stuck in your shoe, usually rounded sand - made up of tiny pieces of rock, grains of sand grain - tiny, like a grain of rice or smaller, often found on a beach dust - really fine powder that is mixed in with sand or soil speck - as in a speck of dirt

MINERALS A mineral is the same all the way through. That is one reason we speak of a sample or a specimen rather than a rock. There are about 3000 known minerals on earth. All rocks are made up of 2 or more of these minerals. Rocks Minerals Methods Used in Identifying Minerals Did I find a meteorite? Gold and Silver Jonathon Swift Silver Mines Vein Mineral Deposits Other Mineral Deposits Kentucky rocks for lapidary Kentucky Museums That Display Rocks and Minerals Kentucky's State Mineral Kentucky's State Rock Kentucky's State Gem Rocks and minerals at UK's W.T. Young Library: Examples of how rocks and minerals are used in construction (PDF format)