The forces of weather on the surface of the Earth can change the minerals that make up rocks. When mechanical weathering processes destroy old rocks, softer silicate minerals such as olivine and plagioclase may dissolve away, leaving behind harder minerals, such as quartz. In chemical weathering, the atoms react with oxygen or water in the environment. (Think of iron exposed for several months to the water and air outdoors. The iron rusts, and rusting is a kind of chemical weathering.) In the presence of water, some minerals transform into more hydrous minerals. Other minerals, such as calcite (calcium carbonate), dissolve completely in water over time. Some silicate minerals, such as quartz and garnet, are more resistant to weathering than other silicates, such as feldspar and mica.

Inside a mineral, atoms arrange themselves into a specific, repeating pattern called a crystal lattice or crystal structure. The smallest three-dimensional arrangement within the lattice is called a "unit cell," which is duplicated over and over again symmetrically. At the level of the everyday world, minerals that are growing without outside interference tend to form crystals that resemble their underlying crystal structures. Scientists call that kind of general, typical appearance a "crystal habit." Of course, conditions that existed during a mineral's formation or crystal growth may change its habit, but geologists still find this attribute to be a useful tool for identifying minerals. Scientists use more than three dozen adjectives to describe crystal habits. For example, natrolite and rutile can be acicular, or needlelike; quartz often forms hexagonal prisms; pyrite and halite typically crystallize as cubes; and mica is foliated or lamellar (layered).

Many building materials - concrete, tiles, brick, glass, paint, plaster, and drywall - contain rocks or components derived from minerals. Quarries, or open-pit mines, produce crushed rocks, gravel, and sand of different grain sizes, known as aggregates. Coarsely crushed rocks and gravel are mixed with cement, a binding material that holds the aggregate in place to form concrete. The ancient Romans invented concrete, but after their empire fell, concrete technology was forgotten until the 18th century. Limestone, a sedimentary rock, and gypsum, a mineral in sedimentary deposits, are two key ingredients of cement. Sand and smaller particles of crushed rock go into making bricks. Finely ground gypsum is filler in paint, plaster, and drywall. While different types of glass used in buildings may have specialized ingredients and coatings, they are all mostly silica, or melted quartz sand.