Dana Smith-Heffernan EDCI 604 Podcasting Spring 2010

 A mineral is a natural, nonliving, solid material that has particles in a repeating pattern.

 Luster  Hardness  Cleavage  Streak  Color

 Streak – the color of the powder left behind when you rub a mineral on a white porcelain plate  Luster – describes the way light reflects from the mineral’s surface  Color – the mineral’s color  Cleavage - Breakage of a mineral along a flat plane of weakness.

 Hardness – the mineral’s ability to resist being scratched.  Hardness Example  10 diamond  9 corundum (ruby, sapphire)  8 beryl (emerald, aquamarine)  7.5 garnet  steel file  7.0 quartz (amethyst, citrine, agate)  6 feldspar (spectrolite)  most glass  5 apatite  4 fluorite  3 calcite, a penny  2.5 fingernail  2 gypsum  1 talc

 Jewelry  Coins  Metal containers  Plaster  Construction materials  Tools

 There are 3 types of rocks: Igneous rock Sedimentary rock Metamorphic rock

 Igneous rock form when magma or lava cools and hardens  Examples: Granite Pumice Obsidian

 Sedimentary rocks are squeezed and stuck together.  Examples: sandstonelimestoneshale

 A metamorphic rock is any rock that is changed by heat and pressure.  Examples: schistgneiss