Minerals Study Guide
Name Answer Key
Standard S6CS2 Students will use standard safety practices for all classroom laboratory and field
investigations.
Safety in Science:
What three senses do you not use when working with an unknown substance?
Taste, touch, smell
Know five basic safety rules for laboratory investigations.
1. Follow all instructions
2. No horseplay
3. Wear safety goggles when using chemical, flames or heating, or glassware
4. Tie hair back, no loose clothing, wear lab apron, if appropriate
5. Keep work area clean and uncluttered
Standard S6E5b. Investigate the contribution of minerals to rock composition.
Use your Minerals Crossword to study vocabulary words: (#s correspond to crossword definition)
Solid 6
Luster 2
Inorganic 5
Density 11
Naturally occurring 8
Hardness 4
Crystal structure 7
Crystal systems 1
Definite chemical composition 13
Cleavage 9
Color 3
Fracture 14
Streak 12
Tenacity 10
Know the five basic characteristics for defining a mineral (remember your flip book)
S—solid
I—inorganic
N—naturally occurring
C—crystal structure
C—definite chemical composition
Be able to name some special properties of minerals
Magnetism, fluorescence, radioactivity, reactivity
Be able to identify a mineral based on its properties:
Mineral
Color
Streak
Pyrite
Gold
Silver
Yellow
Yellow
Silver
Galena
Quartz
Lead gray
White,
colorless,
other colors
Light green,
yellow, purple
Colorless,
white
Colorless
Fluorite
Calcite
Halite
Luster
Hardness
Density
(g/cm3)
Greenish
Yellow
Silver to light
gray
Lead gray
White
Metallic
Metallic
Metallic
6-6.5
2.5-3
2.5-3
5.0
19.3
10.0
Metallic
Glassy
2.5
7
7.4
2.6
Colorless
Glassy
4
3.0
White to
grayish
White
Glassy
3
2.7
Glassy
2.5
2.1
-How is gold different from pyrite?
Pyrite has a greenish streak; gold’s streak is yellow. Pyrite is harder than gold. Gold is denser than
pyrite.
-What tests could you use to tell the difference between gold and pyrite?
Streak test is simpler and most practical; pyrite would scratch gold since pyrite is harder. You could also
measure mass and volume and calculate density.
-Of the metallic minerals given, which is the densest?
Metallic describes luster so locate the four metallic minerals according to their luster. Look at the
density column—gold has the largest density.
-Which of the glassy minerals given could scratch all of the others?
Glassy describes luster so locate the four glassy minerals according to their luster. The ability to scratch
is a property of hardness. Look at the hardness column—quartz is the hardest of all four glassy
minerals.
-You find a glassy mineral that is light green. You think it may be fluorite, but you know that quartz is
one of the most abundant minerals and can be found in different colors. How could you tell which
mineral?
Compare quartz and fluorite in the chart. If the mineral is fluorite, its streak will be colorless; if it is
quartz, its streak will be white. You could also check hardness. A steel knife would scratch fluorite but
would not scratch quartz.