What is a Mineral?

Minerals are everywhere! Scientists have identified more than 4,000 minerals in Earth’s
crust, although most of the planet is composed of just a few.
A mineral possesses the following qualities:
 It must be solid.
 It must be crystalline, meaning it has a repeating arrangement of atoms.
 It must be naturally occurring.
 It must be inorganic.
 It must have a specific chemical composition.

Some minerals can be identified with little more than the naked eye. We do this by
examining the physical properties of the mineral in question. These are due to the
internal arrangement of the atoms. Among physical properties are include:
 Color: the color of the mineral.
 Streak: the color of the mineral’s powder (this is often different from the color of the
whole mineral).
 Luster: shininess.
 Density: mass per volume, typically reported in "specific gravity," which is the density
relative to water.
 Cleavage: the mineral’s tendency to break along planes of weakness.
 Fracture: the pattern in which a mineral breaks.
 Hardness: which minerals it can scratch and which minerals can scratch it.

And now answer the questions:

1. What five criteria must be met for a substance to be a mineral?
2. Is ice a mineral? Why or why not?
3. What the physical properties are?
4. What do all of the physical properties of a mineral come from?