Mineral Properties

Interesting Fact: Nearly 2500 minerals are found in Earth's crust, most are rare, with only about 100 occurring in abundance.

A minerals properties are used to identify them.

Let’s Look at Some Cool Minerals

Easiest property to observe Color Easiest property to observe Only useful for a few minerals that are always the same color. Ex. Quartz that is “pure” is clear but can be many different colors.

Luster -How a mineral reflects light (its shininess) 3 types of luster: 1.Metalic 2. Submetalic 3. Nonmetalic

Streak -The color of a minerals powder * The streak does not change even if the color of the mineral does. Ex. Quartz streak is always white

- Mineral splits evenly along flat surfaces Fracture Cleavage - Mineral breaks apart in a jagged pattern - Mineral splits evenly along flat surfaces

A mineral can scratch any mineral softer than itself Hardness Mohs hardness scale ranks minerals from 1 to 10 in order of hardness (1 is softest, 10 is hardest) A mineral can scratch any mineral softer than itself

Steel nail glass penny fingernail

Density - The measure of how much mass is in a given amount of space - always the same for each mineral m D= (mass) (volume) v

special properties fluorescence- glows in the dark Magnetic chemical reactions Taste (halite taste salty)