Rocks, Minerals, and Gemstones
By : Kasden Hoffman
Introduction
Igneous Rock
Metamorphic Rock
Sedimentary Rock
Quartz
Marble
Pumice
Amber
Emerald
Sapphire
Sapphires are blue and violate in color, sometimes mistaken for a ruby for having a reddish color sometimes. The sapphire stands for sincerity, constancy, and truth. These beautiful gems are the birthstone for the people born in the month of September.
Ruby
Amethyst
Aquamarine
Turquoise
Limestone
rock.
Calcite
Basalt
Emerald
Gold
Granite
Why are all Rocks, Minerals, and Gemstones not the same?
You may have heard the phrase 'rocks and minerals' at some point in your science schooling. The reason we say 'rocks and minerals' is because they are two different things. Rocks are not minerals, and minerals are not rocks.
Minerals
A mineral is a solid, inorganic, naturally-formed substance that has a crystalline structure and specific chemical composition.First of all, minerals are solid and formed naturally in the earth. Natural solids can be familiar things like sand, granite, salt and wood. Our definition says that minerals are inorganic, which means that they do not consist of tissues from living things. So, that means that wood is not a mineral.
Rocks
A rock is a solid, inorganic, naturally-formed substance without a particular atomic structure or chemical composition. It's probably easier to just remember that rocks are made up of two or more minerals. Examples of rocks include granite, limestone, marble, pumice, obsidian, sandstone, shale and slate. Each of these rocks consists of several different minerals, which are mixed up inside the rock through a variety of geologic processes.
Gemstones
Gemstones have their own science as well, called gemology, which is a branch of mineralogy. But the concept of a gemstone is based on human value judgements. A gemstone is usually defined as a highly attractive and valuable piece of cut and polished mineral that is used in jewelry or other decorations. The science of gemology studies the special physical and optical properties of this subset of the mineral world.