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| Student Center |
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Chapter 2: Atoms, Elements, and Minerals
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This chapter is the first of six on the material of which the earth is made. The following chapters are mostly about rocks. Nearly all rocks are made of minerals. Therefore, to be ready to learn about rocks, you must first understand what minerals are as well as the characteristics of some of the most common minerals. In this chapter, you are introduced to some basic principles of chemistry (this is for those of you who have not had a chemistry course). This will help you understand material covered in the chapters on rocks, weathering and the composition of the earth's crust and its interior. You will discover that each mineral is composed of specific chemical elements, the atoms of which are in a remarkably orderly arrangement. A mineral's chemistry and the architecture of its internal structure determine the physical properties used to distinguish it from other minerals. You should learn how to readily determine physical properties and use them to identify common minerals. (Appendix A is a further guide to identifying minerals.) To launch you into the chapters on rocks that follow, we close this chapter by introducing you to a conceptual device called the rock cycle. We show one way in which plate tectonics relates to the rock cycle. 
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