What are some uses for minerals?

Answer 1

Uses of our Natural Resources

Rock and mineral resources have a wide variety of uses and play a huge role in our lives The Mineral Information Institute has a poster showing how much of a variety of minerals each person uses in his or her lifetime. Minerals are important to our health. We need small amounts of a wide variety of minerals. Minerals found in Tennessee which people need include: calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, copper, fluoride, iron, and zinc. Coal, oil and natural gas provide us with almost all of the energy we use to light, heat and run our world. Minerals are ingredients in almost all of the products we use from fertilizer to plastics, from toothpaste to kitty litter, from knives to plates. Minerals are common ingredients in pigments. In fact, some of the earliest uses of minerals were as pigments. Minerals also play an important role in the processing of materials. Bentonite is important in well drilling, Barite is important in oil drilling. Fluorite is important in making steel

Resource How are our resources used? (characteristics exploited) Barite Used in oil drilling to weigh down the oil and prevent gushers (high specific gravity), filler in paint, glass, toothpaste. Chert Used to make stone tools. (hardness, fracture patterns). Used as fill to provide a stable base for roads (insolubility) Clay Used to make pottery and bricks. Used for pet litter (ability to absorb water) Chalcopyrite (copper) Copper is used to make electrical wiring (electrical conductivity). Used in alloys - bronze and brass (low melting point, beauty, resistance to oxidation) Used as an ingredient in pigments (blue and green) Coal Used as a fuel (flammable). The oils and tars produced processing coal are processed into a variety of organic solvents and compounds such as plastics, motor fuel, photo developer, perfume, medicine, and sugar substitute. Fluorite Used as a flux - i.e. used as an intermediate chemical to separate metals from waste material. Another important product made from fluorite is hydrofluoric acid, which is used in the pottery, optics, and plastics industry. Fluorite is also used in making opalescent glass and in enameling cookware. Galena (lead) The largest use of lead is in automotive batteries. It is also used as weights (high specific gravity). Used as an ingredient in solder (soft, low melting point.). Until recently it was also used as an ingredient in paint and as an additive in gasoline to make engines run more smoothly. Gypsum Gypsum is primarily used to make wallboard. It is also an ingredient in cement. Ilmenite (titanium) Titanium is used in alloys to make strong light-weight materials - space ships, bicycles Used to make white paint - non-toxic replacement for lead, which used to be used for this purpose. (low reactivity) Iron Iron is used for tools, for appliances, for building supports. It is also used as a pigment (red and ochre) Limestone Limestone is used as building stone, for ornamental stone for surfaces and sculpture, to make cement and mortar, as crushed stone for fill Mussel Shells Mussel shells were used as ceremonial objects. European Americans have used shells as ornaments - buttons and pearls for jewelry. Oil/Natural Gas Oil and natural gas are used as fuels and ingredients in the chemical industry to produce petroleum based products notably plastics. Phosphate Phosphate is used as a fertilizer and to make phosphoric acid which is a major ingredient in food products such as cola drinks. Saltpeter Saltpeter was used as a fertilizer (source of nitrogen) and as an ingredient in gunpowder. It has now been replaced by the related compound ammonium nitrate which can be manufactured in the laboratory. Sand & Gravel Sand and gravel are used as fill to provide a stable foundation for buildings and roads. Sandstone Sandstone is used as a building material. Sphalerite (zinc) Zinc is used as an ingredient in brass (with copper). It is used to coat (galvanize) iron implements to protect them from rusting. It is used as a pigment (white)

Answer 2

Minerals are the source of gemstones, metals, and other materials used to make many projects. gemstones are maid mainly for jewelry . they are also used for grinding and as and polishing. minerals are also a source of metals such as iron copper and silver. Metal tools aluminum foil and the steel used to make cars all began as minerals.

Answer 3

Common Minerals--Uses

gemstones,metal,and other materials used to make many other products.

real got it off science book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 4

-For medical uses

-For beauty (jewelry, etc.)

-For creating artificial things

Answer 5

The three main uses of a mineral is one people use them as jewerly (gemstones) tools and aluminum foin

Answer 6

Gemstones

Metals

Other useful minerals

Answer 7

1)Plants need them to grow

2) Humans need them to repair damaged cells

3) Manufacture solar panels

Answer 8

used to plant crops!(: