Page "Chemistry" Paragraph 55

However, not all substances or chemical compounds consist of discrete molecules, and indeed most of the solid substances that makes up the solid crust, mantle, and core of the Earth are chemical compounds without molecules.

These other types of substances, such as ionic compounds and network solids, are organized in such a way as to lack the existence of identifiable molecules per se.

Instead, these substances are discussed in terms of formula units or unit cells as the smallest repeating structure within the substance.

Examples of such substances are mineral salts ( such as table salt ), solids like carbon and diamond, metals, and familiar silica and silicate minerals such as quartz and granite.