Name_____________________________________________ Period ________
Properties of Minerals: Power Point Notes
What is a Mineral? List the five common characteristics.
1.
2.
4.
5.
3.
Major Characteristic Properties:
COLOR: the _________________ ________________ of the mineral

The same mineral can be _______________ colors.

Exposure to ______________ or _______________ can change a mineral’s color
LUSTER: the way a mineral ____________ _____________ from the surface
Examples: (List)
STREAK: ___________ left from rubbing a mineral across a __________ _________

Minerals can leave a different ____________ streak than they appear to the eye

Shows a mineral’s __________ ___________
CLEAVAGE: the ability of a mineral to break along ______________ _____________
Examples: mica, halite (salt), calcite
FRACTURE: to break along _____________ or ________________ surfaces

Three kinds: 1. ___________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE: Atoms in a mineral line up in a _______________ ____________

Classified by the number of ___________ or sides and the ____________ at which
the faces meet
Examples: Halite = ___________ (isometric) (Know “cubic” for test)
___________ = hexagonal
HARDNESS: is the _____________________ to being scratched

can be measured using a ____________ test

can be measured using ___________ Hardness scale, which compares how
minerals scratch each other
Know the hardness for talc _______, quartz _______, and diamond _______
DENSITY: how much _____________ is in a given ______________
*Density stays the same no matter what the volume.
Formula: Density = __________ divided by ____________
SPECIAL PROPERTIES:
Magnetic: _________________________________
Radioactive: _______________________________
Reacts: ___________________________________
Glows: ____________________________________
Salty: _____________________________________
Bends light: ________________________________
Bad smell: _________________________________