Minerals Vocabulary

What is the term for the breaking of a mineral along a smooth, flat surface?

• Cleavage

• Fracture

• Luster

• Streak

What is the process by which atoms form a solid with an orderly, repeating pattern?

• Crystalline

• Amorphous

• Sublimation

• Diffusion

What is the amount of mass and a material per unit of volume called?

• Density

• Viscosity

• Elasticity

• Conductivity

What is the term for the breaking of a mineral along a rough or irregular surface?

• Fracture

• Cleavage

• Luster

• Streak

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

• Hardness

• Luster

• Cleavage

• Streak

What is the term for something that is not from biological origins?

• Inorganic

• Organic

• Cellular

• Biogenic

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

• Luster

• Streak

• Cleavage

• Hardness

What is the color of a mineral's powder called?

• Streak

• Luster

• Cleavage

• Hardness