CHAPTER 6
Saving Earth’s Resources
Lesson 1: Minerals and Rocks
What is a mineral?
 A mineral is a natural, nonliving substance that makes up rocks.
 Possible properties of a mineral include color, hardness, luster and streak.
 Vocabulary:
 property – a characteristic that describes something
 hardness – a property that refers to a mineral’s ability to scratch another
mineral or be scratched by another mineral
 luster – refers to the way the light bounces off the surface of a mineral.
Examples: metallic, shiny, dull or pearly lusters
 streak – is the color of the powder left behind when you scratch a mineral along
a surface
What are igneous and sedimentary rocks?
 When an igneous rock cools slowly the rock forms large mineral grains.
 When an igneous rock cools quickly minerals may be too small to see.
 Sedimentary rocks are different from igneous rocks because they do not
form from molten rock and do not need to be cooled
 Vocabulary:
 igneous rocks – form from melted rock, either from magma below Earth’s crust
or from lava above it
 texture – a property that describes the appearance of a rock; it is related to the
size of mineral grains
 sediment - tiny pieces of rocks, minerals, plants, shells or other hard materials
 sedimentary rocks – form when sediments are cemented, or pressed, together
 relative age – the age of one thing compared to another
What are metamorphic rocks?
 Igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks and other metaphoric rocks can form
metamorphic rocks
 Extreme pressures and temperatures produce metaphoric rocks
 Vocabulary
 metamorphic rock – rocks formed from other rocks by extreme heat and
pressure
 bands – created in rocks when minerals get rearranged and pressed into thin
layers; can be straight or wavy
 rock cycle – shows how rocks change from one form to another and how rocks
are related to each other
How do we use rocks?

Resources are materials from Earth that people use
 Some ways rocks are used include stones for buildings and other structures,
as cement, as soaps and cleansers as materials for statues and flooring