What are the physical characteristics of minerals?

What are the physical characteristics of minerals?

Most minerals can be characterized and classified by their unique physical properties: hardness, luster, color, streak, specific gravity, cleavage, fracture, and tenacity.

How can you measure the physical property of a mineral?

Properties that help geologists identify a mineral in a rock are: color, hardness, luster, crystal forms, density, and cleavage. Crystal form, cleavage, and hardness are determined primarily by the crystal structure at the atomic level. Color and density are determined primarily by the chemical composition.

What physical properties of minerals numerically describe the density of a mineral?

Mineralogists have often used a similar property called specific gravity to describe the density of a mineral. Specific gravity is simply a ratio of the mineral’s mass to the mass of an equal volume of water.

What are the 5 characteristics of minerals?

A mineral has 5 characteristics, naturally occurring, solid, inorganic, crystalline structure, and the same chemical composition throughout So repeat after me A mineral is Naturally occurring-naturally occurring Inorganic solid-inorganic solid Crystalline structure The same chemical composition throughout.

What do the physical characteristics of a rock reflect?

The physical characteristics of rock reflect the chemical composition of the rock as a whole and of the individual minerals that make up the rock. 24. Chemical stability determines the rate at which rock weathers and the way it breaks apart.

Why are physical properties of minerals important?

Why is it important to know the properties and characteristics of minerals? Each mineral can form only if the temperature, pressure, and chemical conditions are just right. So finding a particular mineral in a rock can tell us a lot about the temperature, pressure, and chemical environment of its formation.

What does the mineral property of luster measure or describe?

Luster describes how a mineral appears to reflects light, and how brilliant or dull the mineral is. The terms used to describe luster are: Metallic (also known as splendent)

What does the mineral property of hardness measure or describe?

Hardness (H) is the resistance of a mineral to scratching. The degree of hardness is determined by observing the comparative ease or difficulty with which one mineral is scratched by another or by a steel tool.

How are the physical properties of a mineral determined?

Minerals can be identified by their physical characteristics. The physical properties of minerals are related to their chemical composition and bonding. Some characteristics, such as a mineral’s hardness, are more useful for mineral identification.

What are the physical characteristics of a yellow mineral?

For example, a mineral described as “shiny yellow” is being described in terms of luster (“shiny”) and color (“yellow”), which are two different physical properties. Standard names for luster include metallic, glassy, pearly, silky, greasy, and dull.

Which is more reliable the color or streak of a mineral?

Streak is the color of a mineral’s powder. Streak is a more reliable property than color because streak does not vary. Minerals that are the same color may have a different colored streak. Many minerals, such as the quartz in the figure 3, do not have streak.

How are luster and color of a mineral different?

Luster is how the surface of a mineral reflects light. It is not the same thing as color, so it crucial to distinguish luster from color. For example, a mineral described as “shiny yellow” is being described in terms of luster (“shiny”) and color (“yellow”), which are two different physical properties.