Question

In the list below, indicate which of the items are minerals.

a.Gold nugget
b.Quartz
c.Charcoal
d.Synthetic diamonds
e.Amber
f.Seawater
g.Granite

Answer 1

Minerals on the list include the gold nugget, quartz, and synthetic diamonds. Other items on the list are not considered minerals because they are either organic, not solid, mixtures, or rocks rather than individual minerals.

Step-by-step explanation:

From the provided list, the items that are classified as minerals include:

• Gold nugget (e)
• Quartz (b)
• Synthetic diamonds (i)

The remaining items are not considered minerals because charcoal (c) is an organic substance; amber (e) is fossilized tree resin; seawater (f) is a mixture of many different substances, including minerals in solution but is not solid; and granite (g) is a rock composed of an aggregate of different minerals. In contrast, minerals are defined as naturally occurring, inorganic solids with a definite chemical composition and a crystalline structure.