Minerals are natural materials that can be found in nature and make up rocks, bones, and shells. Each mineral has distinct physical properties like shape, color, luster, and hardness. Minerals are useful - gypsum is used for building and diamonds are used for jewelry. Rocks are composed of minerals and are obtained from mines or quarries. Rocks like slate, marble, and granite are used for construction, while coal is used as fuel. Granite specifically contains quartz, feldspar, and mica minerals and is a hard, resistant rock used historically for sculptures. Soil contains rocks, sand, minerals, air, water, and organic matter. Fertile soil with more water and nutrients

1. Arianee R. A.

2. 1. Minerals
 Minerals are natural materials. Minerals
can be found in nature, they can be part of
rocks, animal bones and shells.

3. Each mineral is different:
 Shape:
Some minerals are regular, like pyrite.
Others, like turquoise, are irregular.

4.  Colour:
Each mineral has a typical colour.

5.  Shiny or dull?
Some minerals, like pyrite, are shiny.
Others, like chalk, are dull.

6.  Hard or soft?
Diamond is the hardest mineral.
Gypsum is the softest.

7. 2. Minerals are useful
 We use minerals like gypsum to build buildings.
 We use minerals like diamonds to make jewellery.

8. Rocks are natural materials
1. Rocks
Rocks are materials made up of minerals.
We dig mines to obtain rocks that are underground.
We dig quarries to obtain rocks that are on the surface.

9. 2. Rocks are useful.
 Slate, marble and granite are used for building.
 Coal is used for fuel. We burn it to obtain heat.
Slate
Marble
Granite
Coal

10. Granite
Granite is made up of three different minerals:
quartz, feldspar and mica.
Quartz
Feldspar
We obtain granite in quarries
Granite is hard and resistant.
The ancient Egyptians used granite
to make sculptures.
Mica

11. Soil and underground water
1. Types of soil
The ground is made up of rocks, sand, soil, air, water
and humus.
Humus is the remains of living things.

12. • Fertile ground has a lot of water, air and humus.
It is good for plants.

13.  Poor ground: only resistant plants, like olive trees can
grow in poor ground.

14.  Very poor ground, for example, in the desert.
Very few plants can grow there.

15. 2. Underground water
Some water from rain filters through the ground and
reaches the bottom rocks. It stops and becomes
underground water.
In deserts, this underground
water creates an oasis.