Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic solids with a definite chemical composition and a characteristic crystal structure. They form the basis of rocks and make up the Earth’s crust. The most common elements found in minerals are oxygen, silicon, aluminium, iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, sodium, and phosphorus. Minerals are also composed of trace elements, including copper, zinc, iodine, cobalt, manganese, chromium, and selenium. Minerals can be divided into two main classes according to their composition: silicates and non-silicates. Silicates are the most common mineral group, accounting for over 90% of the Earth’s crust. They are composed mainly of oxygen and silicon and are usually hard, durable, and have a crystalline structure.

Speaker Guidelines

Organize Your Research

1. State the hypothesis and purpose of your research.
2. Describe your methods of investigation.
3. Include data collected and what was learned.
4. Give conclusions based on the collected data.
5. Emphasize the significance and highlights of the research.

Shape Your Presentation

1. Prepare notes that highlight the salient points of your talk.
2. Practice the delivery of your talk, along with your slide sequence. Be sure your talk fits the time allotted.
3. Use simple sentences. Avoid jargon, highly specialized vocabulary, and unfamiliar abbreviations.
4. Think about questions you might be asked, and prepare your answers.
5. Audio-visuals should amplify your talk, not duplicate it.
6. Do not include music or film clips or other copyrighted content with your presentation unless it is directly relevant to your research. If you must include music, film clips, or similar content, please ensure that it is either open source or content for which you have copyright permissions to use. Optimally display your work—don't use words if a picture conveys it more clearly (graphs, tables, charts, etc.).
7. Use line graphs to show trends; bar graphs to compare magnitudes; pie graphs to demonstrate relative portions of a whole.
8. Make sure your supporting audio-visuals are concise, uncluttered, and easily read from a distance. We recommend that you use a font of at least eighteen points or larger. This is especially important in presentations to a virtual audience because screen sizes vary by user.
9. Request special AV equipment early or it may not be available.