Understanding Physical Properties of Minerals

What property of minerals describes how they reflect light?

• Hardness

• Color

• Luster

• Streak color

Which mineral can be clear, purple, or pink due to impurities?

• Gold

• Quartz

• Mica

• Talc

What is the main reason color is not always a reliable property for identifying minerals?

• A) Minerals are always the same color

• B) Minerals can have different colors due to impurities

• C) Color is not a property of minerals

• D) All minerals are colorless.

Fill in the blank: The ______ of a mineral refers to how easily it can be scratched.

• Color

• Luster

• Hardness

• Streak

Which mineral is mentioned as having a dull luster?

• Gold

• Mica

• Kaolinite

• Quartz

Which mineral breaks into thin, flat sheets?

• Halite

• Quartz

• Mica

• Feldspar

Fill in the blank: The streak color of a mineral is the color of the ______ left behind when a mineral is scraped across a piece of unglazed porcelain.

• powder

• surface

• luster

• fracture

What type of rock is granite?

• Sedimentary

• Metamorphic

• Igneous

• None of the above

Fill in the blank: Sedimentary rocks are formed when minerals and small rock particles are ______ together over time.

• melted

• pressed

• crystallized

• fractured

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

What does the streak color of a mineral help identify?

• The mineral's luster

• The mineral's hardness

• The mineral's true color

• The mineral's cleavage.