70 points 1. how are minerals used and how do scientists identify them? give two examples of each. 2. why are minerals considered non-renewable resources? is this something we should be concerned about? why or why not? 3. compare and contrast minerals and rocks. 4. describe how scientists think the three (3) different types of rocks form. design a procedure you might use to classify what type of rock a sample is. 5. explain the relationship between soil and other earth systems. why is soil conservation necessary? how might a farmer determine the type of soil he or she needs to grow a certain crop?

The allotropes of carbon include a variety of structures that include three-dimensional tetrahedral lattices, planes of hexagonal rings, cylindrical tubes of hexagonal rings, and spheres of five- and six-membered rings. similar shapes of network covalent atomic solids are possible with carbon nitride, boron, and pure silicon (e.g., silicene is a graphene-like allotrope of pure silicon). in contrast, silicates exist as either highly ordered or amorphous (more random) three-dimensional lattices. what could explain why there are there no naturally occurring sheets, stacked sheets, cylindrical tubes, or spheres of network covalent atomic solids composed of silicon and oxygen (sio2)? would pure silicate structures make good lubricants or good electrical conductors?