EARTH DETECTIVES EXPLORING MINERALS MINERALOGISTS AT WORK Elsie Olson Consulting Editor Diane Craig M A Reading Specialist Super Sandcastles An imprint of Abdo Publishing abdopublishing.com
MINERALS WHAT IS A MINERAL A mineral is a natural substance It is nonliving Minerals are solids Minerals are made of one or more elements Earth has more than 4,000 types of minerals Minerals form rocks Some rocks have many minerals Others are just one mineral Minerals have a crystal structure This is the way a mineral’s elements are arranged Each mineral has a unique structure
