What is a rock? A rock is a natural material that is made of one or more minerals
What is a mineral? A mineral is a chemical or element compound that is naturally occuring and has a crystal structure.
The 6 Clues
There are 6 clues to identifying rocks and minerals, they are:
-Colour: what colour the rock or mineral is.
-Crystal Structure: what crystal structure the mineral has.
-Luster: (metallic or non-metallic) if the rock or mineral is shiny or not.
-Streak: the colour of the powered form of the mineral
-Hardness: a measure of the minerals resistance to be scratched
-Cleavage and Fracture: the way a mineral breaks apart. if a mineral breaks with smoothe edges it has cleavage. If a mineral breaks with rough or jagged edges it has fractures.