Rocks and Minerals

What is the difference between Rock and a Mineral?

Mineral. "A Mineral is a naturally occuring solid, inorganically formed, with a definite chemical composition, and an ordered automic arrangement" (Mason et al., 1968).In nature there are 4000 different minerals that have been identified; some are best known as rock-forming minerals, meaning that they are the main minerals observed in rocks. Others are best known as industrial minerals meaning that they are used to manufacture physical materials of industralized society.

Rock. A rock is a natural aggregrate of one or more minerals as a solid mass. The term aggregrate implies that the minerals are joined in such a way that the properties of each mineral are retained. Geologists divide rocks into three major gropus; igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. The categories are due to their difference in origin.