What is it called when a mineral breaks irregularly?

What is it called when a mineral breaks irregularly?

Fracture. When a mineral breaks irregularly, the breaks are called fractures. The breaks can be described as grainy, hackly (jagged), conchoidal (curved), or splintery.

What is it called when a mineral breaks into several irregular and uneven pieces?

fracture. minerals that break with uneven, rough, or jagged surfaces. gems.

How do you describe a mineral breakage?

“Very simple! There are two major ways in which minerals break when you give them a hit: (1) they can break irregularly, in which case we say they ‘have fracture’; or (2) they can break along parallel, planar (flat) surfaces, in which case we say they ‘have cleavage’! Look at the two pictures!” “Looks simple!”

What does cleavage and fracture mean?

Cleavage is the property of a mineral that allows it to break smoothly along specific internal planes (called cleavage planes) when the mineral is struck sharply with a hammer. Fracture is the property of a mineral breaking in a more or less random pattern with no smooth planar surfaces.

What does mineral cleavage mean?

cleavage, tendency of a crystalline substance to split into fragments bounded by plane surfaces. Cleavage is described by its direction (as cubic, prismatic, basal) and by the ease with which it is produced. A perfect cleavage produces smooth, lustrous surfaces with great ease.

Which of the following describes a mineral response to surface breakage?

Cleavage is the tendency of a mineral to break along certain planes to make smooth surfaces. The cleavage properties of a mineral are described in terms of the number of cleavages and, if more than one cleavage, the angles between the cleavages.

What is the difference between mineral cleavage and mineral fracture?

What’s can break other than along planes of cleavage what property of minerals is shown in this situation?

Quartz can break other than along planes of cleavage. What property of minerals is shown in this situation? Some minerals like mica has surfaces with planes of weak bonds in the crystals.