1. (How can we identify which mineral is which?)
8 Ways to Identify Minerals

2. 1. Color

3. 2. Luster the way the mineral’s surface reflects light.
metallic, earthy, waxy, greasy, glassy

4. Luster
Resinous luster

5. Discuss…
How is luster different from color?

6. 3. Streak-- the color of the powder

7. Streak – the color of the powder

8. -Cleavage 4. The way the mineral breaks
-breakage occurs along smooth,flat surfaces

9. Examples of Cleavage

10. -Fracture
Breakage occurs in curved or irregular shapes

11. 5. Hardness resistance to scratching Mohs Hardness Scale 1-10
Talc-- 1 (SOFTEST)
Diamond 10 (Hardest)

12. 6. Density Minerals have different densities
How much MASS something has in relation to its size
Pyrite= 5.01g/cm3

13. 7. Crystal Systems
Minerals can form different shaped crystals with varying numbers of sides.

14. 8. Special Properties
Some properties only apply to a few types of minerals
Fluorescence
Magnetism
Chemical Reactions
Taste
Optical Properties
Radioactivity

15. example of optical properties
Calcite
Quartz