IDENTIFYING MINERALS

Chapter 3 Section 2

7 WAYS TO DETERMINE IDENTITY OF MINERALS

Color Luster Streak Cleavage & Fracture Hardness Density Special Properties

COLOR Because of factors such as impurities,

color usually is NOT the best way to identify a mineral

STREAK

LUSTER

The color of the powder of the mineral

The way in which a mineral reflects light 3 kinds ( metallic, submetallic,

nonmetallic)

CLEAVAGE Clean The splitting of a

mineral along smooth, flat surfaces

Jagged The manner in

which a mineral breaks along either curved or irregular surfaces

FRACTURE

Quartz

HARDNESS A measure of the ability to resist

scratching

SPECIAL PROPERTIES

DENSITY

Fluorescence Chemical reaction Magnetism Taste Optical properties radioactivity

The measure of how much matter is in a given amount of space.