71 Minerals, Rocks, and Soil-High

Minerals, Rocks, and Soil Written by Rachel Kamb

《矿物、岩石和土壤》Rachel Kamb著

Introduction Earth provides everything you need to stay alive. It has water for drinking and air for breathing. It is home to plants and animals, which you need for so many reasons. But don't forget one more important thing Earth provides: land! The land is where you walk and where you play. Your home is built on land. But what is land made of? Why is it important? In this book, you will learn about nonliving Earth materials that make up the land. Nonliving Earth materials differ a lot from one place to another. They come in many colors, shapes, and sizes, and can change quite a bit. They also help you in ways you may not realize.

地球提供你生存所需的一切。 它有水可以喝，有空气可以呼吸。 它是植物和动物的家园，你需要它们的原因有很多。 但别忘了地球还提供了更重要的东西:土地!土地是你行走和玩耍的地方。 你的家建在陆地上。 但是陆地是由什么组成的呢?为什么它很重要? 在这本书中，你将了解构成陆地的无生命物质。 地球上的无生命物质因地而异。 它们有许多颜色、形状和大小，而且变化很大。 他们还以你可能没有意识到的方式帮助你。

Elements and Minerals To start thinking about what Earth is made of, let's start small... really small. Elements are what make up all matter, both living and nonliving. Everything on Earth is made from just over one hundred different elements. Carbon, helium, and zinc are a few of these elements. Do You Know? Elements are not the smallest parts of matter. The tiniest bits of each element are called atoms.

元素和矿物质要开始思考地球是由什么组成的，让我们从小事开始…… 很小。元素构成了所有的物质，包括生物和非生物。 地球上的一切都是由一百多种不同的元素组成的。 碳、氦和锌就是其中的一些元素。 你知道吗?元素不是物质的最小组成部分。 每一种元素的最小部分被称为原子。

A mineral is a natural substance made of elements. Some minerals, including many kinds of metal, consist of just one kind of element. For example, silver is only made of silver, and iron is only made of iron. Many other minerals consist of two or more elements. For example, quartz is made of the elements silicon and oxygen. Earth has nearly 4,000 different minerals. Each one has its own mixture of elements. All minerals are solid, and they form in a pattern of crystals. Minerals have crystals because their atoms are arranged in tidy patterns. Different patterns make different crystal shapes. Minerals are also inorganic. This means they are not living, and they were never alive.

矿物是由元素构成的天然物质。 有些矿物，包括许多种金属，只由一种元素组成。 例如，银只是银做的，铁只是铁做的。 许多其他矿物由两种或两种以上的元素组成。 例如，石英是由硅元素和氧元素构成的。 地球上有近4000种不同的矿物。 每一种都有自己的元素混合。 所有的矿物都是固体的，它们以晶体的形式形成。 矿物质有晶体是因为它们的原子排列整齐。 不同的图案形成不同的晶体形状。 矿物也是无机的。 这意味着他们不是活着的，他们从来没有活着过。

Rocks What happens when minerals combine? A rock is a hard, solid material found in nature. Most rocks are made of different minerals, just as a salad is made of different vegetables. If you pick up a rock, you might see several colors and patterns. These are usually bits and pieces of different minerals. The mix of minerals in one kind of rock helps you tell it apart from other kinds of rocks.

当矿物结合时会发生什么? 岩石是一种在自然界中发现的坚硬的固体物质。 大多数岩石由不同的矿物质组成，就像沙拉由不同的蔬菜组成一样。 如果你拿起一块石头，你可能会看到几种颜色和图案。 这些通常是不同矿物的碎片。 一种岩石中矿物质的混合有助于你将它与其他类型的岩石区分开来。

You can describe a rock in many ways. You can also compare one rock with another. Read the chart to learn some ways to describe and compare rocks. HOW TO DESCRIBE AND COMPARE ROCKS Mineral composition Rocks have a special mixture of one or more minerals. Size Rocks can be huge boulders or small pebbles. They can be as big as a mountain or as tiny as a speck of dust. Shape Rocks can be flat, round, square, or almost any other shape. Color Rocks come in every color you can imagine. Many rocks have more than one color, depending on the colors of their minerals. Texture Some rocks feel very rough, while others are smooth. They can have tiny grains; large, smooth chunks; or long, pointed crystals. Some rocks are full of airholes. Hardness The Mohs Scale of Hardness compares how hard each mineral is within a rock. Talc is rated a 1 (very soft), and diamonds are rated a 10 (very hard). Patterns Rocks may have streaks, waves, or straight lines. They may have dots everywhere or be built layer upon layer. Some rocks do not have a clear pattern. Location An important way to describe a rock is by where in nature it is found. A beach may have different rocks than a forest, desert, or volcano.

你可以用很多方法来描述岩石。 你也可以把一块石头和另一块石头进行比较。 阅读图表，学习一些描述和比较岩石的方法。 如何描述和比较岩石矿物成分岩石是一种或多种矿物的特殊混合物。 岩石可以是巨大的卵石，也可以是小卵石。 它们可以大如一座山，也可以小如一粒尘埃。 岩石的形状可以是平的、圆的、方的或几乎任何其他形状。 彩色石头有你能想象到的各种颜色。 许多岩石有不止一种颜色，这取决于矿物的颜色。 一些岩石摸起来很粗糙，而另一些则很光滑。 它们可以有微小的颗粒;大块:光滑的大块;或者长而尖的晶体。 有些岩石上布满了气孔。 莫氏硬度比较法比较岩石中每种矿物的硬度。 滑石粉被评为1级(非常软)，钻石被评为10级(非常硬)。 岩石可能有条纹、波浪或直线。 它们可能到处都是点，或者是一层一层地建起来的。 有些岩石没有清晰的图案。 描述岩石的一个重要方法是根据它在自然界中被发现的位置。 海滩上的岩石可能与森林、沙漠或火山不同。