Utah Rocks and Minerals - Background Information Activities below. Students will examine and categorize a variety of Utah rocks and minerals. The variety of Utah rocks and minerals is greatly valued because of the many geological occurrences of the past. Rocks are made up of natural substances called minerals. Minerals are elements and compounds.
Minerals have definite chemical compositions and physical properties.
Some common minerals are feldspar, quartz, calcite, mica, and hornblend. Some minerals are valuable enough to be mined. Some of theses are the metal ores from which we obtain iron, lead, copper, aluminum, zinc, gold, and silver. Minerals make different rocks look different. A granite rock, for example, has different minerals than a basalt rock.