Minerals are objects that are solid, were formed in nature, and have never been alive. Some examples of minerals are gold, diamonds, salt, pencil lead, and chalk.

Minerals have different colors and shapes. These properties help identify a mineral.

 Some minerals are very valuable, like gold, diamonds and emeralds. Other minerals are ones we need in order to live, like iron and zinc. Some minerals are found in mines.

Picture by Gunter

Minerals have different properties. That means that they have things that can be described and seen so that you can tell what kind of minerals they are. You can test a mineral's properties to find out what kind of mineral it is. To test a mineral you have to scratch it and see what other minerals can leave a scratch. A hard mineral can always scratch a softer one.

After you have scratched minerals and found out which one is hardest and which one is softest, you can put them in order.

You can also scratch minerals with other objects, like pennies, fingernails, or paper clips, and see which ones are harder and which ones are softer.

Pennies are actually partly mineral! They are made of copper, and copper comes from minerals. If you use an aluminum baseball bat, you're using a mineral! Aluminum comes from a mineral called bauxite. Cooking pots and airplanes are also made of aluminum. We use minerals in lots of things!

Scratching minerals and then putting them in order is called a scratch test.

Can you think of a soft mineral? Can you think of a hard one? See if a penny will scratch a sidewalk. See if it will scratch a brick. See if it will scratch a steel pole. Which one had the hardest mineral in it?