Many are not. Minerals are inorganic compounds with chemical formulas and mineral names, like quartz or pyrite (see "What Is a Mineral?").
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But what about coal? Coal is made of organic material, not minerals. The various types of stuff in coal are instead called macerals. Similarly, what about coquina, a rock made entirely of seashells? Shells are made of mineral matter, but they aren't minerals any more than teeth are.
Rocks like these are not controversial, but they have their own category: biogenic rocks. Perhaps concrete and slag could be added to that category too. Concrete would fit in with the others, being essentially sedimentary, but slag would probably be a biogenic igneous rock.
Finally we have the exception of obsidian. Obsidian is a rock glass, cooled so quickly that none of it has gathered into crystals. It is an undifferentiated mass of geological material, rather like slag but not as colorful. While obsidian has no minerals in it per se, it is unquestionably a rock.
Types of Rocks:
� Igneous: A tough, frozen melt with little texture or layering; mostly black, white and/or gray minerals; may look like lava.
� Sedimentary: Hardened sediment with layers (strata) of sandy or clayey stone; mostly brown to gray; may have fossils and water or wind marks.
� Metamorphic: Tough rock with layers (foliation) of light and dark minerals, often curved; various colors; often glittery from mica.
Next, check the rock's grain size and hardness. Then start in the left column of the appropriate table below and work your way across. Follow the links to pictures and more information. If you don't find a match, try another of the three big types.
Grain Size:
"Coarse" grains are visible to the naked eye (greater than about 0.1 millimeter), and the minerals can usually be identified using a magnifier; "fine" grains are smaller and usually cannot be identified with a magnifier.
Hardness:
Hardness (as measured with the Mohs scale) actually refers to minerals rather than rocks, so a rock may be crumbly yet consist of hard minerals. But in simple terms, "hard" rock scratches glass and steel, usually signifying the minerals quartz or feldspar (Mohs hardness 6-7 and up); "soft" rock does not scratch a steel knife but scratches fingernails (Mohs 3-5.5); "very soft" rock does not scratch fingernails (Mohs 1-2). Igneous rocks are usually hard.