1. Minerals

2. What is a mineral? Naturally occurring (gold silver, diamonds)
Inorganic
Solid
Crystalline structure (ruby)
Physical and chemical composition

3. Gold
Diamond & Coal
Ruby
Copper

4. 5 Physical Characteristics of Minerals

5. 1. Luster How light is reflected off a mineral
Metallic luster- looks like a metal (shiny) OR
Non-metallic luster- glassy, waxy, pearly, earthy or brilliant
Earthy
Waxy
Glassy

6. 2. Hardness
Diamonds can only scratch diamonds
The Moh’s Hardness Scale is used to measure the ability of a mineral to resist scratching.
Fingernail= 2 copper penny= 3
glass= nail= 6
(used in field testing kits)

7. 3. Streak The color of a mineral in powdered form Streak plate is used
Streak may be different than outside color of mineral

8. 4. Cleavage/fracture
Cleavage- ability to break evenly along a point of weakness
Fracture- mineral breaks unevenly

9. 5. Color Gold sapphire diamond
Not a reliable physical characteristic because minerals can come in several different colors
Gold
sapphire
diamond

10. Others magnetic crystal structure double refraction fluorescence
-Radioactivity
-Density