Rocks and Minerals

Why is color alone unable to identify a unknown mineral?

• A. Many minerals have the same color.

• B. Specific minerals change colors when cleaved.

• C. Certain levels of hardness have specific colors.

• Minerals change colors when exposed to light.

How can you determine the color of the streak in the rock sample?

• A. use a rock with the known mineral to strike the sample .

• B. rub the sample on a piece of unglazed clay tile

• C. use a file to break off a piece of the sample

• D. scratch the sample with an iron nail

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

Luke and Lilly have gathered a collection of rock samples from the school yard to study. They scraped the rocks against a their fingernail and a penny. Which property of minerals are the students investigating?

• A. Texture

• B. Color

• C. Hardness

• D. Streak

Students observed that a diamond was able to scratch a piece of talc. What does this observation BEST support?

• A. Diamonds have sharp edges.

• B. Talc is softer than diamonds.

• C. Diamonds are very valuable.

• D. Talc and diamonds are both minerals

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

Which property is the MOST reliable for identifying one mineral from another?

• A. texture

• B. hardness

• C. crystal shape

• D. surface color

How could you BEST find out the cleavage pattern of a sample of rock?

• A. shining a light on the mineral.

• B. soaking the mineral in water.

• C. rubbing a penny against the mineral.

• D. breaking off a piece of the mineral.

Betty is trying to determine if a mineral is metallic or non-metallic. Which two mineral identification tests should Betty use?

• A. color and streak

• B. luster and streak

• C. cleavage and color

• D. hardness and cleavage

A geologist studies a mineral and observes that it breaks into thin sheets. What physical property is the geologist using to identify the mineral?

• A. hardness

• B. cleavage

• C. luster

• D. streak

What is the reason for a streak test?

• A. to determine the color of a mineral in powdered form

• B. to determine the way minerals scratch each other

• C. to determine the many types of minerals found in a rock

• D. to determine the number of planes present when a mineral is broken

How would you determine a mineral′s luster?

• A. by heating the mineral

• B. by breaking the mineral

• C. by reflecting light off the mineral

• D. by observing the color of the mineral

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2