Minerals

Minerals are Solid, Inorganic substances of Natural occurrence.

• True

• False

To Test a Mineral Hardness you must locate a clean surface on the mineral, hold it firmly and try to SCRATCH it with another object of known hardness.

• True

• False

To find a scratch line on the mineral, you may have to do this with your fingers over the line to feel if there is a scratch.

• Wet.

• Powder.

• Rub.

• Put on gloves.

If the mineral was able to be scratched, then it is SOFTER than the other object. If not, then it is HARDER than the other object.

• True.

• False.

A mineral that breaks along uneven surfaces has ​ (a)  

​ (b)   is the color of a mineral in its powdered form.

​ (c)   describes how light is reflected or absorbed by a mineral.

The ​ (d)   of a mineral is equal to its mass divided by its volume.

A mineral that breaks along uneven surfaces has ​ (e)  

• cleavage

• Streak

• Luster

• density

• fracture

Match the term with the definition

• Cleavage

• The tendency of a mineral to split smoothly.

• Fracture

• Measure of an ability of a mineral to resist scratching

• Hardness

• The tendency to break unevenly into piece that are curved or irregular

Click on each vocabulary word, then click in the correct box on the graphic organizer.

a

b

c

d

cleavage

streak

luster

hardness

Match the term with the appropriate clue

• cleavage

• a mineral with only one kind of atom

• Mixture

• how mica can be broken into flat sheets

• luster

• the color of a mineral's powder

• Native mineral

• the amount and quality of the light reflected from a mineral's surface

• streak

• two or more substances physically combined, not chemically bonded

Glassy, shiny, opaque, dull. These are words that can be used to describe a mineral's ​ (a)  

• luster.

• hardness.

• streak.

To determine the hardness you have to REPEAT the process with other objects to determine the approximate hardness of the mineral sample.

• True.

• False