riahbear
Answered

Why are organic materials considered sediments but not minerals?

and the subject is actually Earth Science but apparently people don't do that.

Verified Answer :

manorjesse

I'm pretty sure organic materials are considered sediments and not minerals because organic materials come from the Earth's surface. Minerals must be mined for in order to find.

Answer:

Sediments are defined as the particles that are derived from the weathering of rocks on the surface of the earth. These are formed in the terrestrial areas. One of the types of sediment is the biogenous sediments which are derived from the dead organic matters of plants as well as animals. These remains of plants and animals are also known as organic sediments as they are directly derived from the surface and are found as a mixture of both rock fragments as well as dead remains of flora and fauna.

In order to be a mineral, the particle must be naturally occurring with a specific chemical composition and internal atomic structure.

This is why the organic material are considered to be sediments but not as minerals.