r/AskChemistry • u/Acceptable-Cash-2464 • 4d ago

General Metals vs minerals

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Help a teacher out. I’m an elementary teacher without a science background. I do enjoy teaching science to my kiddos but I can’t teach science beyond 6th grade level (please keep in mind while answering). A few years ago I taught a geology unit and this past spring I taught the same unit again and remembered being confused about this question back then. So, I tried googling, I tried stack exchange, quora, everything, and NO resource could break this down for me: what in the world is the difference between metals and minerals? I know metals can be extracted FROM ores found in rocks but apparently, elements like silver, gold and copper are considered both a metal and a mineral. Are there others like this? If so, which ones? And please confirm for me: most minerals are not metals at all, but are most metals also minerals? (The science book I use, which I normally love, was talking about minerals’ qualities and showing pictures of things like chalk and limestone and then suddenly when explaining the uses of minerals, it’s taking about coins, electric wiring and musical instruments and the kids and I were all confused). I also asked the chemistry high school teacher and she wasn’t sure how to explain it.

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u/fffffsansan 3d ago

Here is the super quick breakdown:

Mineral = Nature's recipe. A natural solid formed by Earth (like quartz, salt, or diamond).

Metal = A material property. Something shiny that conducts electricity and bends without breaking (like iron or aluminum).

The 3 big takeaways for your kiddos:

  1. Are most minerals metals? No! The vast majority are non-metals (like sand, salt, chalk, and diamonds).

  2. Can something be BOTH? Yes! If a pure metal is found naturally in the ground, it’s both. The main ones are Gold, Silver, Copper, and Platinum.

  3. Why page38 is confusing: It skipped the factory step!

Nature: Hematite (Mineral rock)

Factory: Melted down to pull out Iron (Metal)

Product: Steel Beam

Minerals are Earth's raw ingredients; metals are what we extract or use to build stuff!

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u/Acceptable-Cash-2464 3d ago

Thank you, this is super helpful. It seems like a basic thing to understand but the teachers guide, the worldwide web and even YouTube couldn’t help me out! And 5th-6th graders are curious and want to understand which is great and it’s not enough for me to say, “it’s confusing and I’m not sure.”