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Published byJosephine Eaton Modified over 9 years ago
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What Is A Mineral? Characteristics and properties used to identify minerals.
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What are characteristics of minerals? Solid Formed in nature Non-living Crystalline structure Particles line up in a repeating pattern
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What are the Six Physical Properties of Minerals? Used to identify all minerals
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1. Color The surface color of the mineral Minerals come in a variety of colors
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Examples of Mineral Colors
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2. Luster The way a surface reflects light. (glassy, metallic, waxy, shiny, etc.)
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Examples of Luster Metallic Looks like metal Pearly Looks like a pearl Vitreous/Glassy Looks like glass Dull Non-reflective Resinous Look of dried glue Earthy Looks like dried mud
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3. Streak The color of the mineral in powdered form. Streak color and mineral color are often different. Examples: Hematite – brick red Galena – steel gray Pyrite – brassy yellow or black Olivine – white Feldspar – white Talc – white Gypsum – colorless
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Examples of Streak
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4. Cleavage & Fracture Cleavage = tendency of minerals to break along a flat surface. Fracture = tendency of minerals to break unevenly along a curved or irregular surface
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Examples of Cleavage Cube or cubic Octahedron or Octahedral Pinacoid – 2 parallel faces Prism Pyramid Dome
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Examples of Fracture SubconchoidalUneven JaggedSplinteryEarthy Conchoidal
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5. Hardness A mineral’s resistance to being scratched. Any mineral with a higher hardness rating can scratch a mineral with a lower hardness rating. Diamond is the hardest natural substance known to humans.
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Moh’s Hardness Scale 1.TalcTalc 2.GypsumGypsum --fingernail at 2.5 3.CalciteCalcite --copper (old penny) at 3.5copper 4.FluoriteFluorite 5.ApatiteApatite --window glass or typical knife blade at under 5.5 6.OrthoclaseOrthoclase --streak plate or good steel file at over 6.5streak 7.QuartzQuartz 8.TopazTopaz 9.CorundumCorundum 10.DiamondDiamond
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6. Density How much matter there is in a given amount of space. Galena – specific gravity = 7.4 to 7.6
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What are some Special Properties? Fluorescence MagnetismLight refraction Taste Odor
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What are some uses of minerals? Coins Jewelry Electrical wires Batteries Paint Steel Building materials etc.
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Rocks are made out of minerals, but minerals are not made of rocks.
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