1. Characteristics of Minerals
Color
Streak
Luster
Crystal form
Hardness
Cleavage
Fracture
Density

2. Characteristic of Minerals- Color
Small amounts of different elements can give the same mineral different colors.

3. Characteristic of Minerals- Color
Is a poor mineral indicator
Minerals can be multiple colors
Many minerals are the same color
Quartz

4. Characteristic of Minerals- Streak
Streak: is the color of a mineral in its powdered form.
More reliable than color

5. Characteristic of Minerals- Luster
Luster: is used to describe how light is reflected from the surface of a mineral.

6. Characteristic of Minerals- Luster
Non-metallic
Looks waxy, greasy or brilliant
Leaves white or no streak on a black streak plate
Metallic
Looks like metal
Leaves a dark streak (black, grey, green, or brown) on a white streak plate

7. Characteristic of Minerals- Crystal Form
Crystal form: is the visible expression of a mineral’s internal arrangement of atoms.

8. Characteristic of Minerals- 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)

9. Characteristic of Minerals- Cleavage
Cleavage: is the tendency of a mineral to cleave, or break, along flat, even surfaces.
At least one distinct flat side when broken

10. Characteristic of Minerals- Fracture
Minerals that do not show cleavage when broken are said to fracture.
Fracture: the uneven breakage of a mineral

11. Characteristic of Minerals- Density
Density: is a property of all matter that is the ratio of an object’s mass to its volume.

12. Important All minerals are rocks!!!
Not all rocks are minerals nor are they composed of minerals!!!
Example: Coal is a rock and it is organic

13. What is a Rock?
Rocks are any solid mass of mineral or mineral-like matter occurring naturally as part of our planet.
Types of Rocks
Igneous
Metamorphic
Sedimentary

14. What is an igneous Rock? Igneous rocks
Created from cooling of melted rock called magma
As the magma cools it crystallizes

15. Igneous Rocks-Characteristics
Most igneous rocks are very hard
Made of crystals
Layering is not common in igneous rocks