Rocks, Soil, and Minerals Notes

USES OF MINERALS

•      Diamond- is used in cutting tools, blades, and beautiful gemstones.

•      Fluorite- is used in pottery; ceramics, and plastics.

•      Graphite- is used in pencils.

•      Talc- is used in baby powder, in gymnastics to grip the bars.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF ROCKS

•      Many of the materials we use everyday are made from different kinds of rocks.

•      Depending on the way they are formed, rocks are grouped as:

Igneous Rocks:

•      All rocks on Earth were initially igneous in nature.

Figure 6: Igneous rocks

MINERALS

•      Our Earth is covered with natural resources and we use these sources in our everyday life in many ways.

What is a Mineral?

•      A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic solid; with definite chemical composition and specific atomic arrangement.

•      Minerals may be simple substances or very complex ones.

•      Some minerals are common while others are rare.

•      Even rocks are formed from minerals.

•      But all rocks are not the same.

•      Some rocks are composed of only one mineral like- limestone is a sedimentary rock and is composed of the mineral CALCITE.