atoms

MINERALS are
ELEMENTARY!

atoms
group of atoms

Elements are the building blocks of all minerals. Minerals are the building blocks of rocks, which make up most of the planet.

MORE ABOUT MINERALS

The Smallest Building Block

It is the atoms of chemical elements that combine to form minerals. In the diagram below, you can see how atoms stick together in regular 3D patterns, like cheerleaders making a human pyramid, or like a climbing structure in the world’s tiniest playground.

diagram of an SiO4 unit pointing out the atoms, the chemical bonds, the chemical formula and the charges

From Atom to Crystal to Rock!

Once the first building block is formed, it joins with other atoms to form a geometric pattern. See the example below, for the mineral quartz.

circular images from left to right showing the chemical composition of SiO2, crystal structure of quartz, the quartz mineral, and quartzite rock

For every silicon atom in quartz, there are two oxygen atoms, so the chemical formula is SiO2. Quartz crystals consist of silicon and oxygen atoms stuck together in a 3D pattern. Quartzite rock contains the mineral quartz.

How to Organize the Elements

Scientists use a powerful tool called the Periodic Table to organize Earth’s chemical elements and understand their properties. Which elements have you heard of? What group are they in, on the Periodic Table?

SHOW HIDE TRANSCRIPT

Scientists organize elements on the periodic table. 

Metals, Semi-metals, Non-metals, Halogens, Noble gases

Some minerals are made of single elements but most are compounds that often include oxygen. 

Elements are not equally abundant on Earth. Some are common, others are rare.

The modern organization of the periodic table was formalized in 2016.


 

Credits
Credits:

Calcite, hematite, halite, iron, © AMNH; Magnesite, siderite, sylvite, quartz, t'emanewas meteorite, Alvaro Kedding/© AMNH; ice, cement block, skillet, jet engine, crystal structure, Shutterstock; Fayalite, © Howard Messing; Forsterite, corundum, forsterite gem, A. Mason/© AMNH; Diamond, © 2008 Michael C. Roarke; Rutile, Matteo Chinellato/Alamy; Kyanite, Aelwyn/CC BY-SA 3.0; milk of magnesia, Turtle Rock Scientific/Science Source; ice berg, AGE Fotostock; bowl of salt, Oksana Bratanova/Alamy; molten steel, salt flat, tools, sink, iStockphoto; Mars, NASA; dunes, Wikimedia/Luca Galuzzi; Star of India, Craig Chesek/© AMNH; quartzite rock, James St. John; periodic table GFX, Shay Krasinski/© AMNH; Independent Power Generation, Findus Engelbrecht (GEMA), Tony Delmonte (GEMA)/Warner Chappell Production Music; Minimalist Mechanisms, Martin Nicholas Gratton (PRS)/Warner Chappell Production Music.