1. MINERALS! WHAT IS A MINERAL? -NATURALLY OCCURING, INORGANIC SUBSTANCES
 MINERALS ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF ROCKS. YOU CAN’T HAVE A ROCK WITHOUT MINERALS

2. - SOME ARE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS OR COMPOUNDS
- SILICON AND OXYGEN ARE THE TWO MOST COMMON ELEMENTS IN THE EARTH’S CRUST
GRAPHITE AND DIAMOND ARE DIFFERENT FORMS OF THE ELEMENT CARBON
- THOUSANDS OF MINERALS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, BUT ONLY ABOUT A DOZEN ARE COMMONLY FOUND

3. WAYS TO IDENTIFY A PARTICULAR MINERAL!
1) COLOR
MANY MINERALS HAVE A CHARACTERISTIC COLOR
EX: PYRITE “FOOLS GOLD” IS TYPICALLY A BRASSY YELLOW COLOR
-UNFORTUNTAELY, MANY CLEAR OR WHITE MINERALS ARE A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT COLORS BECAUSE OF IMPURITES… COLOR IS NOT A GOOD IDENTIFIER!

4. 2) L U S T E R
- THE WAY LIGHT IS REFLECTED OFF A FRESHLY CUT SURFACE.. 2 TYPES
1) METALLIC LUSTER: LOOK, LIKE POLISHED METAL. LIGHT CANNOT GET THROUGH
EX: GALENA, PYRITE

5. 2) NON-METALLIC LUSTER: CAN BE SHINY, BUT DO NOT LOOK LIKE METAL.
EX: QUARTZ, SULFUR

6. 3) STREAK - THE MINERAL IN POWDERED FORM TESTING FOR STREAK:
RUB FRESH EDGE OF MINERAL ACROSS A WHITE, UNGLAZED TILE.
** SOME MINERALS LEAVE A POWDER THAT IS NOT THE SAME COLOR AS THE MINERAL
EX: PYRITE

7. 4) HARDNESS -THE ABILITY OF A MINERAL TO SCRATCH OTHER SOLID OBJECTS
-OBJECTS THAT WE WILL SCRATCH IN ORDER TO TEST FOR HARDNESS INCLUDE….
-YOUR FINGERNAIL (SOFTEST)
-A PENNY
-A GLASS PLATE (HARDEST)

8. MOH’S HARDNESS SCALE: -THIS SCALE ASSIGNS MINERALS A HARDNESS NUMBER
- IF THE MINERAL IS A “1” ON THIS SCALE, IT IS CONSIDERED TO BE ONE OF THE SOFTEST MINERALS
-IF A MINERAL IS A “10” ON THIS SCALE, IT IS CONSIDERED TO BE ONE OF THE HARDEST MINERALS

9. 5) CLEAVAGE
SOME MINERALS BREAK UPON FLAT SURFACES CALLED, CLEAVAGE PLANES
EX: HALITE: BREAKS INTO CUBES
BIOTITE AND MUSCOVITE: BREAK INTO SHEETS
FRACTURE: WHEN A MINERAL DOES NOT BREAK ON AN EVEN CLEAVAGE PLANE.
EX: QUARTZ( CONCHOIDAL FRACTURE)

10. CLEAVAGE
POTASSIUM FELDSPAR
HALITE
CALCITE
MICA

11. FRACTURE
QUARTZ
OLIVINE
GARNET

12. 6) CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
CRYSTAL: REGULARLY SHAPED SOLID FORMED BY AN ORDERED PATTERN OF ATOMS
- MINERALS FORM CHARACTERISTICALLY SHAPED CRYSTALS
EX: CALCITE AND HALITE LOOK VERY SIMILAR.
CALCITE= SQUISHED BOX CRYSTALS
HALITE= REGULAR BOX CRYSTALS

13. HALITE

14. CALCITE

15. 7) DENSITY
DOES IT FEEL HEAVY FOR IT’S SIZE?
EX: GALENA= VERY DENSE