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Mineral Identification Can Be Accomplished By Looking At:
1. Luster - the way a mineral reflects light
2. Crystal shape
3. Streak - the color of the minerals powder
4. Cleavage - the tendency of a mineral to split easily or to separate along flat surfaces
5. Fracture - when a mineral breaks along surfaces other than cleavage surfaces
6. Hardness - a minerals resistance to being scratched
7. Specific Gravity - the ratio of the weight of the mineral to an equal volume of water. (Tells you how many times
as dense as water the mineral is.)
8. Acid Test - Weak hydrochloric acid placed on mineral will cause bubbling if calcite is present.
Mohs' Hardness Scale
Hardness
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Mineral
Simple Test
Talc
Gypsum
Calcite
Flourite
Apatite
Feldspar
Quartz
Topaz
Corundum
Diamond
Fingernail scratches it easily.
Fingernail scratches it.
Copper penny just scratches it.
Steel knife scratches it easily.
Steel knife scratches it.
Steel knife does not scratch it easily; it scratches window glass.
Hardest common mineral; it scratches steel and hard glass easily.
Harder than any common mineral
It scratches topaz.
Hardest of all minerals
Important Rock Forming Minerals Lab
matter - anything that has mass and volume
element - a substance that cannot be broken into simpler substances by ordinary chemical means (Oxygen, silicon,
nitrogen, gold, silver, iron)
compound - a substance that contains two or more elements chemically combined.
atom - the smallest part of an element that has all the properties of that element
molecule - the smallest part of a compound that still has all of the properties of that compound (Contains at least 2
atoms) H2O
Did You Know that A MINERAL:
1. occurs naturally,
2. is a solid,
3. has a definite chemical composition (that is, its elements are combined in definite proportions),
4. has its atoms arranged in an orderly pattern, and
5. is inorganic (it was not formed by any process involving plants, animals, or other organisms).
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Now you know that a substance that fits this description is a mineral!
Crystal- a regular geometric solid with smooth surfaces called crystal faces.
Silicates - make up more than 90 percent of the minerals in the Earth's crust.
Silica tetrahedron - consists of a silicon atom bonded covalently to four oxygen atoms.