Difference Between Rocks and Minerals

January 2023 · 5 minute read

The building blocks of our planet are rocks and minerals. These rocks and minerals are the reason for the formation of panoramas and sources in the environment. By knowing the things behind the formation of the rocks and minerals, we can find the shapes of the earth. The shape of our planet also depends on the rocks and minerals.

Rocks vs Minerals

The main difference between rocks and minerals is their inner portion. The Rocks have a chance of presence of minerals, whereas the minerals do not have rocks. Rocks do not have a definite shape like square, rectangle, and triangle. But minerals have a perfect shape. When compared to minerals some rocks are microscopic, but minerals are easily recognizable.

Naturally occurring solid mass or a combination of minerals is defined as rock. The rock can be categorized into many forms on several bases. Most of the rocks are taken from the outer layer of the earth called the crust. While the magma of the earth gets cooled then igneous rocks are formed. By lithification of sediments, sedimentary rocks are formed. Various processes are the reason for the deposition of rocks inside the earth. When existing rocks undergo heavy pressure or temperature, metamorphic rocks are formed.

Organisms perform various functions in their life with the help of minerals. They are nothing but a chemical element. By weight, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen are the four structural elements in the human body. Being elements some minerals can not be directly synthesized by the organisms. To stay healthy, minerals are important to your body. By using minerals your body secretes enzymes and hormones. Two kinds of minerals are available. They are macro-minerals and micro-minerals.

Comparison Table Between Rocks and Minerals

Parameters of comparisonRocksMinerals
DefinitionRocks are solid inorganic substances formed without any chemical substancesMinerals are solid inorganic substances with a chemical composition.
Edible natureNot edibleEdible
MicroscopicSome rocks need a microscope to identify.Minerals do not need a microscope. They are easily recognizable.
StructureRocks do not have a solid structureMinerals have a solid structure.
ExampleLimestone, MarbleBauxite, Gypsum.

What is Rocks?

The composition of grains or minerals is called rocks. In an orderly structure, the atoms made with chemical bonds and crystalline solids are called rocks. Rocks mineraloids are rigid with mineral-like substances. The oldest dated rocks are formed around 4 million years ago in the earth. They are formed by erosion during Hadean Eon.

There are different types of rocks are available on the earth. The rock can be categorized into many forms on several bases. Most of the rocks are taken from the outer layer of the earth called the crust. While the magma of the earth gets cooled then igneous rocks are formed. By lithification of sediments, sedimentary rocks are formed. Various processes are the reason for the deposition of rocks inside the earth. When existing rocks undergo heavy pressure or temperature, metamorphic rocks are formed.

Since rocks have minerals, silicate minerals are the most occur minerals in the rocks. The crystal lattice of those rocks contains silicate tetrahedra around one-third of the total. 95% of rocks are found in the earth’s crust. By the amount of silica in the rocks is the factor for deciding the names of the rocks. The Rock cycle is nothing but the transformation of rocks from one type to another. Those transformations in the rocks are the reason for producing the different types of rocks called sediment rocks, igneous rocks, and metamorphic rocks.

What is Minerals?

Organisms perform various functions in their life with the help of minerals. They are nothing but a chemical element. By weight, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen are the four structural elements in the human body. Being elements some minerals can not be directly synthesized by the organisms. To stay healthy, minerals are important to your body. By using minerals your body secretes enzymes and hormones.

Two kinds of minerals are available. They are macrominerals and microminerals. Minerals like calcium, sodium, magnesium, and phosphorous are needed in large amounts for better functions of the human body. They have come under macrominerals. Minerals like iron, copper, manganese, and fluoride are not needed much in your body. These come under microminerals. By consuming various medicines people balance the mineral content in their bodies.

The less supplement of minerals may cause several diseases in the human body. Small organisms get the minerals from the soil and by eating the plants and others. Large organisms get the minerals from the plants and by eating the small organisms. The so-called life cycle reassures everything and proves the dependency. Biomineralization is a process done by animals and microorganisms for mineralizing structures and creating eggshells, seashells, and bones.

Main Differences Between Rocks and Minerals

  • When compared to minerals some rocks need a microscope to identify the type of rocks. But minerals are easy to recognize.
  • Rocks do not have a specific shape and color, but minerals have a particular shape and color.
  • Rocks have no chemical composition, but minerals are a combination of chemical composition.
  • Rocks are not edible, but minerals like salt are edible.
  • The study of rocks is called petrology, and the study of minerals is called mineralogy.
  • Conclusion

    Rocks and minerals are two different components of the earth. Rocks may contain minerals, but minerals never become rocks. The rocks are formed by the erosion that happened on the earth millions of years ago. The minerals are present in the different layers of the earth. About 95% of rocks are found in the outer crust of the earth. Some rocks a small and found it difficult to identify the type They are microscopic. Minerals are classified into two based on the need. By various conclusions, we found the differences between these two.

    References

  • https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=-EkPEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=rocks+and+minerals&ots=069S8visRr&sig=sRGc5R1IzvPYkTBgau7DvyAwfc8
  • https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=C-7APnYVG04C&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&dq=rocks+and+minerals&ots=m9qRLGwPwB&sig=UwbpO4KUuei8225XyOAz8rdfb4g
  • ncG1vNJzZmiZo6Cur8XDop2fnaKau6SxjZympmeUnrOnsdGepZydXZeytcPEnqVmqp%2BYuLR5wKebZqWZo7KzrcusZLChpJ16ta3BpZxo