Minerals

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a mineral?

• Solid

• Inorganic

• Hardness

• Formed in Nature

Which of the following would be the best description of the mineral property called luster?

• A minerals resistance to being scratched.

• The color a mineral gives off.

• How a mineral reflects light.

• Observing the color of the powder left behind when scraping across a surface.

The atoms within a mineral are arranged in an orderly, repeating three-dimensional pattern. Which of the characteristics of minerals does this statement describe?

• Solid          

• Inorganic

• Crystal Structure

• Made In Nature

My teacher mentioned that in order for a substance to be a mineral, it has to be _____ or nonliving.

• Inorganic   

• Organic

• Mixture

• Liquid

In the lab, a student wants to identify two different minerals. So, she takes them and scrapes them across a plate to see the color of the powder they leave behind. What property of minerals is she testing?

• Color   

• Hardness

• Luster

• Streak

A measure of a mineral's resistance to scratching. This is measured by scratching it against another substance of known hardness on the Mohs Hardness Scale.

• Color     

• Hardness

• Luster

• Streak

Which statement is the best example of the mineral property of cleavage?  

• The mineral broke and had jagged edges.     

• The mineral broke and had flat edges.

•   Minerals never break

• All are correct

This characteristic of a mineral means the substance is not made by an organism.

• Chemical Composition         

• Solid

• Inorganic

• Crystalline Structure

Each element is made up of only one type of______.

• Atom        

• Element

• Compound

• Chemical

This characteristic of a mineral shows the molecules are closely packed together.

• Chemical Composition        

• Solid

• Inorganic

• Crystalline Structure