Final answer:
The correct answer is a mineral, which is a naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition and a characteristic crystalline structure resulting from the orderly arrangement of atoms.
Step-by-step explanation:
The answer to the student's question is a mineral. A mineral is defined as a naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition and a characteristic crystalline structure.
Minerals exhibit an orderly arrangement of atoms, and this arrangement is what gives rise to various crystal forms in nature. Not only are minerals the building blocks of rocks, they also have many industrial and aesthetic uses. They can be composed of a single element or compounds, and their crystalline structure is an outward manifestation of the internal atomic arrangement determined by the most efficient packing of particles at the atomic level to minimize intermolecular energy. Examples include quartz (SiO₂), cinnabar (HgS), and azurite (Cu₃(CO₃)₂(OH)₂).
To summarize, the right choice from the options given (crystal, mineral, rock, metal) is a mineral, which is a naturally occurring solid substance exhibiting a crystalline structure due to the orderly arrangement of atoms.