ANSWERS TO "FILL IN THE PLANCK #8: Minerals"

Minerals! You heard about ‘em in school

Form when molten rock goes from hot to cool

Or when water evaporates - crystallization

But it can take a while, so you’ll have to be patient

Now silicon and oxygen are mineral mates

The most common that we see are the silicates

But what defines a mineral? Tell me 8th grade

They’re naturally occurring, not manmade

A dead tree’s not a mineral. Why? Don’t panic

Minerals need to be inorganic

Structure is crystalline - straight fixed

Composition is definite - not mixed

They’re insanely useful. Ain't that the truth?

From copper wire to the fluoride on a tooth

To the ore under the floor that we’re mining for

Though memorizing all 4000 would be quite a chore

Some might be shinier - others duller

But impurities can make the same mineral change color

Minerals are pretty cool. Amirite?

Find ‘em in computer chips and in satellites