 |
Mineral | ||||||||||||||||||
|
A mineral is a solid, naturally created inorganic substance that always has the same composition and same properties. There are more than 3,300 kinds of minerals. Atoms in minerals are arranged to form 3-D crystalline shapes. Some characteristics of minerals are color, streak, luster, density, hardness, cleavage, and fracture. The Moh's Scale of Mineral Hardness is a scale that measures the hardness of a mineral. The scale ranges from 1 to 10, with 1 as talc and 10 as diamond, and all other minerals come between these numbers. Scientists are able to "look" inside of minerals to determine how the atoms are arranged using a X-ray diffractometer. When the X-ray beams hit the mineral's atoms, the beam reflects off of the atom at a certain angle to show the scientists the shape of the atoms in the mineral. The table below shows four minerals and their chemical formulas.
Mineral © 1997 Jacob Eapen. |