Science
What is Mineral?
A mineral is a naturally occurring, solid substance with a specific chemical composition and an orderly internal crystal structure. Minerals are the building blocks of rocks — quartz, feldspar, diamond, and gold are all minerals.
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Watch a 2-minute lesson with voice + animation that explains mineral.
Key things to understand
- 1A mineral is naturally formed, solid, and has a definite chemical formula (e.g. quartz is SiO₂).
- 2Its atoms are arranged in a regular, repeating crystal pattern.
- 3Rocks are made of minerals — often several different ones combined.
- 4Minerals are identified by properties like hardness, colour, lustre, and how they break.
- 5Examples: quartz, feldspar, mica, calcite, diamond, and gold.
Frequently asked questions
- What makes something a mineral?
- It must be naturally occurring, solid, inorganic, have a definite chemical composition, and have atoms in an orderly crystal structure. Quartz and diamond qualify; glass doesn't (no ordered structure).
- What's the difference between a mineral and a rock?
- A mineral is a single pure substance with a fixed composition; a rock is a solid usually made of two or more minerals mixed together.
- How are minerals identified?
- By physical properties — hardness (the Mohs scale), colour, streak, lustre, crystal shape, and the way they break (cleavage or fracture).