Minerals, Rocks, and Soil

Earth is made up various living and nonliving materials. Elements form minerals, and minerals form rocks. Different rock types - igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic - transform at various points in the rock cycle. Through the processes of weathering and erosion, rocks change, break, and move. Minerals mix with organic material, forming the soil on which plants and animals rely. People use Earth resources by mining, drilling, and refining raw materials, and have become dependent on them for many purposes.