1. Discuss five minerals (not elements!) that you encounter on a daily basis, including a description of the mineral properties, name the products or materials in which they are used and how the properties of the mineral help that product. Keep in mind that just because something is an element on the periodic table, that does not necessarily make it a mineral.Please be careful and reach out to me if you want to check this because points will be taken off if you do not choose minerals. If you choose a mineral that is also an element, you must discuss why it is both.

2. Study the chart showing 2007 U.S. Net Import Reliance for Selected Non-Fuel Mineral Materials. Pick two of the minerals (be careful they are not all minerals)of which we import 100%, and research what they are used for. Explain how global politics and international trade might impact the availability of each of them.

3. You may have noticed that the USGS Minerals Resources Program doesn't adhere to the same strict definition of a mineral that the textbook uses. Review the table showing mineral commodities required over a lifetime. Which material from that table is NOT technically a mineral? Why? Why do you think it is included in the list? Also, what are phosphate minerals and why are they so important to society?