Minerals Properties Vocabulary 3.2

What is the best way to identify a mineral?

• Color

• Hardness

• Streak

• Luster

Which property relates to a mineral's resistance to being scratched?

• Color

• Streak

• Hardness

• Luster

What is the color of a mineral in powdered form called?

• Luster

• Fracture

• Cleavage

• Streak

What is the way that a mineral reflects or absorbs light at its surface called?

• Luster

• Streak

• Cleavage

• Fracture

Why is it necessary to use more than one property for mineral identification?

• To waste time

• To make it difficult

• To confuse students

• To ensure accurate identification

Why do mineralogists use ordinary objects to test the hardness of unknown minerals?

• To compare hardness

• To confuse students

• To show off their knowledge

• To make it complicated

What is the resistance of a mineral to being scratched called?

• Color

• Luster

• Hardness

• Streak

What is the color of a mineral in powdered form useful for identifying?

• Hard minerals

• Soft minerals

• Nonmetallic minerals

• Metallic minerals

What is the way a mineral breaks called?

• Cleavage

• Streak

• Hardness

• Luster

What is the arrangement of atoms or ions and the strengths of the bonds between atoms that determine how a mineral breaks?

• Cleavage

• Streak

• Hardness

• Luster