Minerals and Soil Quiz

Which of the following is not a characteristic of minerals?

• Have a definite chemical composition

• Can be a liquid or gas

• Must be inorganic

• Must occur naturally in the earth

What is the physical property used to describe how a mineral reflects light from its surface?

• Color

• Luster

• Hardness

• Streak

Which mineral has the highest hardness on the Mohs Hardness Scale?

• Quartz

• Diamond

• Feldspar

• Talc

Is a mineral's color a dependable source for identification?

• YES

• NO

What is the color of the powder scraped off a mineral when it is rubbed against a hard, rough surface?

• White

• Different from the mineral's color

• The same as the mineral's color

• Black

What is the measure of the amount of matter in a given volume of a mineral?

• Streak

• Density

• Luster

• Hardness

How does the size of a mineral crystal relate to the cooling rate of magma?

• Slow cooling produces small crystals

• Fast cooling produces large crystals

• Slow cooling produces large crystals

• Fast cooling produces small crystals

Each mineral has a distinctive way of breaking. Which of the following is the term for when a mineral breaks along certain lines?

• Fracture

• Streak

• Cleavage

• Crusher

Each mineral has a distinctive way of breaking. Which of the following is the correct term for when a mineral has a jagged, rough breakage?

• Cleavage

• Fracture

• Crusher

• Streak

Which of the following is an example of a special property of minerals?

• Density

• Color

• Hardness

• Magnetism