Earth Sciences 1022A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Chemical Substance, Chemical Element, Atomic Number
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Interact with the atmosphere (ultimately affecting climate: are the basis of our economy (especially true for canada) What exactly is a mineral: a mineral is a substance that: Is non-living (inorganic: has a definite chemical composition, has a crystalline internal structure. Is naturally occurring: minerals are made of elements, things produced in a lab would not be considered minerals. Atomic structure: a more simplified view of an atom, showing the central nucleus and electron shells depicted as circular orbits. Note that nearly all of an atom"s mass is in its nucleus (for practical purposes, we will consider electrons as weighing nothing not strictly true, but makes things simpler). Periodic table of elements: elements are tabulated according to their weight and other characteristics. How elements are elements depicted in the periodic table of elements: one atom of any given element has a certain number of protons (this is called the atomic number).