POS

Unit 5: Planet Earth Topic 1: Minerals

Mineral identification gizmo http://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm?method=cExtAccessSecure.dspResource&ResourceID=640&certificate=authorizer%3DLearnAlberta%26userid%3DLA05%26i%3D0%26expires%3D2013%252F04%252F11%2B09%253A02%253A50%26hash%3DqpchFOIAUAYllYJVJyZQlw%253D%253D

Brainpop Crystals Mineral Identification

Rocks are made up of minerals, which are made up of elements

Color Does not clearly determine which mineral you are looking at, as many minerals are the same color, or the mineral can be different colors Ex. Fluorite and amethyst are both purple Gold and iron pyrite are both gold Corundum can be blue, red or white

Streak Different minerals may leave different colored streaks when they are powdered Use a white tile for dark streaks (hematite) Use a black tile for light streaks (chalk)

Lustre A mineral's lustre can help identify it. Lustre is how the mineral reflects light. It can be shiny, vitreous, metallic, dull, waxy, pearly or others. Two of the most common lustres are vitreous and metallic.

Lustre Vitreous lustre is glassy, like a quartz crystal or a water glass. Metallic lustre is metallic like a metal wire. Some other lustres that are used are: Adamantine - has a high degree of sparkle like a diamond. Earthy or Dull - does not reflect much light. Pearly - similar to a pearl in the way it reflects light Resinous - similar to resin in the way it reflects light Silky - similar to silk in the way it reflect light

Cleavage and Fracture When a mineral breaks it does so either by fracturing or by cleaving. Crystal cleavage is a smooth break producing what appears to be a flat crystal face, fracturing is rough or jagged

Hardness Measured on Mohs Scale starting with talc at 1 and ending with diamond at 10 Simply put; the higher the number, the harder the mineral A hard mineral can scratch a softer mineral, but a soft mineral can not scratch a harder mineral (no matter how hard you try).

Mineral Color Streak Crystal Lustre Hardness

Assignments Vocab Update journal topic 1 Quiz Topics 1-3