Final answer:
Rocks are made of minerals and come in various types, including igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic, depending on how they are formed. Minerals have specific chemical formulas and crystalline structures, and they are the essential components of all rocks.
Step-by-step explanation:
Rocks are a substance made up of one or more minerals. Therefore, many different types of minerals exist, and when these minerals combine together, they make up rocks. Minerals are naturally occurring substances, usually inorganic, with a specific chemical formula and a crystal structure. They are the basic building blocks of rocks. When you break a rock like granite, you'll find minerals such as quartz, feldspar, and mica within it. Likewise, breaking a mineral into smaller pieces will give you smaller pieces of the same mineral. The Earth's crust is composed mostly of a few common minerals, despite the existence of thousands of different minerals.
As for the types of rocks, there are three basic categories. Igneous rocks form from cooling magma or lava. Sedimentary rocks originate from the compaction and cementation of various particles, or from mineral precipitation out of water. Metamorphic rocks are created when existing rocks are transformed by heat and pressure, often leading to a characteristic pattern known as foliation.