1. Identifying Minerals
Chapter 3

2. Color
Visual Property
Perceptual, what you see
Not very reliable

3. Color Continued
Calcite
Halite

4. Streak
Color of a mineral in powdered form

5. Luster Way the surface of a mineral reflects light
Identified as metallic or nonmetallic

6. Breakage Pattern Cleavage Fracture
The tendency of a mineral to break along a flat surface or to break unevenly along a curved or irregular surface.
Cleavage
Fracture

7. Hardness The resistance of a mineral being scratched
Mohs scale: 1 – 10

8. How to test Hardness Determined by a scratch test
A mineral can scratch a mineral softer than itself
A mineral cannot scratch a mineral harder than itself
Example: Topaz can scratch Quartz, but quartz can’t scratch Topaz

9. Density
Amount of matter in a given space
Mass per unit volume

10. Unusual properties Chemical reaction Taste Fluorescence Magnetism
Radioactive