Rocks and Minerals (English Language)
Rocks and Minerals
The building of your school, your residential complex, etc. consists of rocks and minerals. Furthermore, there is a huge treasure chest of rocks and minerals inside the planet earth. Have you ever wondered how rocks are different from minerals?
They are resourceful parts of our day-to-day life. A few examples of some of the rocks and minerals that we use in our daily life, are cement, gold, granite, pumice, etc. Let us discuss rocks and minerals and their meanings.
What are Rocks?
A substance that is hard and inorganic in nature is called Rock. The formation of rocks is a natural process similar to minerals. However, it may be interesting for you to know that rock is a composition of two or more mineral grains. Rocks have different shapes, sizes, and textures. Rocks have been categorized into three types by the geologists, they are- igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.
Examples are Igneous - Granite, Sedimentary -sandstone and limestone, Metamorphic-marbles and slate, etc.
What are Minerals?
Using a magnifying glass if you look at a piece of rock, you will notice that it is made up of small grains called minerals. Minerals are building blocks of rocks. The food we eat has traces of the presence of iron, calcium, and potassium in it. There are two types of minerals - metallic and non-metallic. Examples of Metallic minerals are magnetite and bauxite. Mica, quartz, calcite, gypsum are examples of non-metallic minerals.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ROCKS & MINERALS
|
S.No. |
ROCKS |
MINERALS |
|
1 |
Rocks contain minerals. |
Minerals do not contain rocks. |
|
2 |
Some rocks are microscopic. |
You can easily recognize the nature of minerals. |
|
3 |
About 90 - 95% of the earth's crust is made up of igneous and metamorphic rocks. |
Mineral deposits occur naturally formed on the earth. |
|
4 |
Rocks are not edible. |
Minerals are edible. Eg. Salt. |
|
5 |
There is neither atomic structure nor the chemical composition of rocks. |
Minerals have a specific chemical composition. |
|
6 |
Rocks are available in various shapes, sizes, and colors. |
Minerals have a definite shape and color. |
|
7 |
Some examples of rocks are sandstone, limestone, marble, slate, etc. |
Some examples of minerals are bauxite, magnetite, mica, gypsum, etc. |
NGSS
5-ESS2-1.
5-ESS2-2.
ESS2.A:
ESS2.C
2.ESS2.A (5-ESS2-1); 2.ESS2.C (5-ESS2-2); 3.ESS2.D (5-ESS2-1); 4.ESS2.A (5-ESS2-1); MS.ESS2.A (5-ESS2-1); MS.ESS2.C (5-ESS2- 1),(5-ESS2-2); MS.ESS2.D (5-ESS2-1); MS.ESS3.A (5-ESS2-2)
Common Core State Standards Connections:
(5-ESS2- 1),(5-ESS2-2)
RI.5.7
W.5.8
SL.5.5
Mathematics –
MP.2
MP.4
5.G.A.2 R