1. Mineral Properties

2. Interesting Fact:
Nearly 2500 minerals are found in Earth's crust, most are rare, with only about 100 occurring in abundance.

3. A minerals properties are used to identify them.

4. Let’s Look at Some Cool Minerals

5. Easiest property to observe
Color
Easiest property to observe
Only useful for a few minerals that are always the same color.
Ex. Quartz that is “pure” is clear but can be many
different colors.

6. Luster
-How a mineral reflects light (its shininess) 3 types of luster: 1.Metalic 2. Submetalic 3. Nonmetalic

7. Streak
-The color of a minerals powder * The streak does not change even if the color of the mineral does. Ex. Quartz streak is always white

8. - Mineral splits evenly along flat surfaces
Fracture
Cleavage
- Mineral breaks apart in a jagged pattern
- Mineral splits evenly along flat surfaces

9. A mineral can scratch any mineral softer than itself
Hardness
Mohs hardness scale ranks minerals from 1 to 10 in order of hardness (1 is softest, 10 is hardest)
A mineral can scratch any mineral softer than itself

10. Steel nail
glass
penny
fingernail

11. Density
- The measure of how much mass is in a given amount of space
- always the same for each mineral m
D= (mass) (volume) v

12. special properties fluorescence- glows in the dark Magnetic
chemical reactions
Taste (halite taste salty)