CH 2 INSIDE OUR EARTH

Talc Talc (1), the softest mineral on the Mohs scale has a hardness greater than gypsum (2) in the direction that is perpendicular to the cleavage.

Minerals can be identified by their color, luster, streak, cleavage, hardness, and even by their chemical composition. Using these properties is one way a Geologist defines and identifies what kind of mineral a specimen is. The museum has 6 wall spaces at the museum dedicated to these specific properties with examples.

Like vitamins, minerals help your body grow and stay healthy. The body uses minerals to to many things — from building strong bones to sending nerve impulses. Some minerals are even used to make hormones or maintain a normal heartbeat.

Minerals, along with natural waters, are the primary repositories of the chemical elements in nature, including contaminants and pollutants. Thus they play an important role in controlling element behavior in the global ecosystem.

Water does not pass the test of being a solid so it is not considered a mineral although ice; which is solid, is classified as a mineral as long as it is naturally occurring. Thus ice in a snow bank is a mineral, but ice in an ice cube from a refrigerator is not.

Mineral nutrients are inorganic substances that must be ingested and absorbed in adequate amounts to satisfy a wide variety of essential metabolic and/or structural functions in the body. Mineral nutrients are sometimes categorized according to the amount required in the human diet to maintain good nutrition.

Minerals are inorganic nutrients. That is, they are materials found in foods that are essential for growth and health and do not contain the element carbon.

Georgius Agricola is considered the ‘father of mineralogy’.

More than 4,000 naturally occurring minerals—inorganic solids that have a characteristic chemical composition and specific crystal structure—have been found on Earth.

The human body naturally requires 102 different minerals and vitamins to function properly. However, sometimes we have too few of a certain mineral or vitamin in our body, which can have serious negative side effects.