Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Geology Kitchen #1 - What is a Mineral?



Episode 1 of Geology Kitchen introduces the concept of a mineral. Minerals are defined by five criteria;

1) They must be solid substances
2) they must be naturally-occurring
3) they must have a definable chemical composition
4) they must have an orderly crystalline structure
5) they must be inorganic by nature. 

The video introduces mineral properties using common fruit and vegetables as analogies for these five descriptive criteria. The video also demonstrates the orderly crystalline structure of halite (NaCl) using a model made of food (marshmallows and grapes). Comparisons between common substances such as ice and glass versus the mineral definition are made to illustrate the specific nature of the mineral definition. 


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