Earth and Environment Atlas

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Materials

Apatite

AP-uh-tyte
Mineral Group

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A group of phosphate minerals, usually hydroxyapatite, fluorapatite and chlorapatite, distinguished by high concentrations of hydroxide, fluoride or chloride ions in the crystal. It is the defining mineral for value 5 on the Mohs hardness scale, and its hydroxyapatite endmember is the main mineral of tooth enamel and bone.

Facts
Kind
Mineral 1
Formation Class
Phosphate mineral, a common accessory mineral across igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks and the principal structural mineral of vertebrate bone and tooth enamel. 1
Chemical Formula
Ca10(PO4)6(OH,F,Cl)2 (admixture of the three most common endmembers) 1
Hardness (Mohs)
1
Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Apatite is the defining mineral for 5 on the Mohs scale.

In Discipline

Sources
1. Apatite (Wikipedia)
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Apatite is the defining mineral for 5 on the Mohs scale.
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