Earth matter

All matter is made up of atoms, those tiny particles built by means of the join of positive charged particles (protons), negative charged ones (electrons) and neutral ones (neutrons).
These atoms, to be stable, have to join with others. This is how molecules form.
Molecules make up all the materials around us (e.g. water molecules are made up of two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen one). Rocks and minerals are some of these materials made up of cells as well as living beings.
The most abundant atoms in the earth crust are silicon (Si) and oxygen (O), they make up molecules, as the silicon oxide, that make up MINERALS like quartz. Minerals join together to make ROCKS ( e.g. Granit is a rock made up of three minerals, quartz, mica and feldspar).
The three main kinds of rock are: METAMORPHIC, IGNEOUS and SEDIMENTARY.
IGNEOUS ROCKS: they come from the cooling of MAGMA. GRANIT (image on the right) or BASALT are some of them.
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS: they come from fragments of previous rocks compacted and cemented. LIMESTONE, or SANDSTONE are the main sedimentary rocks.
METAMORPHIC ROCKS: These rocks come from previous rocks once they have been under big pressure and temperature. Mudstone becomes SLATE, limestone becomes MARBLE (image on the right) or sandstone becomes QUARTZITE.