1. Properties of Minerals Chapter2.3

2. Identifying Minerals Geologists use 5 properties to identify minerals: 1. Color 2. Streak 3. Luster 4. Cleavage or Fracture 5. Hardness

3. Color Small amounts of different elements can give the same mineral different colors Least important property when identifying minerals Pink Quartz Pink Sapphire

4. Streak Streak is the color of a mineral in its powdered form. Hematite on the left Pyrite on the right

5. Luster Luster is used to describe how light is reflected from the surface of a mineral Metallic Luster Non Metallic Luster

6. Pyrite Displays Metallic Luster Fool’s Gold

7. Cleavage Cleavage is the tendency of a mineral to break, along flat, even surfaces.

8. Fracture Minerals that do not show cleavage when broken are said to fracture. Fracture—the uneven breakage of a mineral

9. Hardness Hardness is a measure of the resistance of a mineral to being scratched. Mohs scale consists of 10 minerals arranged from 10 (hardest) to 1 (softest).

11. Distinctive Properties Talc feels soapy Graphite feels greasy Magnetite is magnetic Calcite displays double refraction Sulfur smells like ________? Halite has what taste?

12. Distinctive Properties Limestone and Calcite will fizz when hydrochloric acid is dripped on them

13. Density Density is a property of all matter that is the ratio of an object’s mass to its volume.