A mineral is a naturally occurring homogenous solid with specific chemical composition and a highly organized atomic arrangement that is created mostly by inorganic processes.
Only about 100 mineral species are known to constitute the major mineral components of rocks; they are referred to as rock-forming minerals.
Mineral elements, either alone or in various combinations known as compounds, make up the earth.
Minerals are solid items that occur in nature.
They don't even appear to be alive.
The atoms that make up a mineral are fitted together to form a crystal.
Table salt is made up of the mineral sodium chloride.
It has an organized structure because it occurs in little cube-shaped crystals.
Another prevalent mineral is quartz, commonly known as silicon dioxide.
Its crystals have an unusual hexagonal shape.
Limestone is a single-mineral rock made up of calcium carbonate.