Name ___________________________________________________ Date ____________ Period_________
Mineral essay Review Questions
1.
What characteristics must a substance have to be considered a mineral? Explain why coal and a glass marble are
not minerals.
2.
Water is a nonliving substance that is formed by natural processes in Earth. It has a unique composition.
Sometimes water is a mineral and other times it is not. Explain.
3.
When feldspar breaks apart, it splits easily at right angles. When quartz breaks apart, it produces curved, shell-like
surfaces. What properties are being tested here? Is the way a mineral splits apart enough to enable you to identify
it? Why or why not?
Mineral
Hardness
Density
Luster
Streak
Pyrite
6-6.5
5.0
metallic
greenish, brownish, black
Gold
2.5-3
19.3
metallic
yellow
Silver
2.5-3
10.0-11.0
metallic
Silver to light grey
* Use the table above to answer # 4-6
4.
Could you tell samples of these minerals apart just by using a scratch (hardness) test? Why or why not?
Color
yellow
yellow
silver
5.
One of these minerals is known as “fool’s gold”. Identify that mineral and use evidence from the table to explain
why the name fits.
6.
What tests could you use to make sure a mineral sample was gold instead of “fool’s gold”?
* Use Mohs Hardness Scale below to answer the following questions.
7.
What would happen if you rubbed a mineral of hardness 7.5 against a piece of quartz?
8.
If an unknown mineral has a hardness between 5 and 9, what could you do to the mineral to find out more about its
hardness?
9.
Which minerals in the table will scratch quartz?
10.
What would happen if you rubbed a piece of fluorite against a piece of feldspar?
Mohs Hardness Scale
MINERAL
HARDNESS
Talc
1
Gypsum
2
Calcite
3
Fluorite
4
Apatite
5
Feldspar
6
Quartz
7
Topaz
8
Corundum
9
Diamond
10
Name ___________________________________________________ Date ____________ Period_________
Mineral essay Review Questions
1. What characteristics must a substance have to be
considered a mineral? Explain why coal and a glass
marble are not minerals.
1.) Naturally occurring
2.) Inorganic Solid
3.) Definite Chemical Composition
4.) Orderly Arrangement of Atoms
Coal is not a mineral because it comes from once living
material and glass marble is not a mineral because it is
not naturally occurring.
2. Water is a nonliving substance that is formed by natural
processes in Earth. It has a unique composition.
Sometimes water is a mineral and other times it is not.
Explain.
Water is a mineral only when it is frozen by natural
means. Therefore, the polar ice caps and glaciers are
minerals.
3. When feldspar breaks apart, it splits easily at right angles.
When quartz breaks apart, it produces curved, shell-like
surfaces. What properties are being tested here? Is the
way a mineral splits apart enough to enable you to
identify it? Why or why not?
Cleavage and fracture are the properties being tested
here. All minerals have one or the other. You have to
test other properties.
Mineral Hardness Density Luster
Pyrite
6-6.5
5.0
metallic
Gold
Silver
2.5-3
2.5-3
Streak
greenish,
brownish,
black
yellow
Silver to
light grey
Color
yellow
19.3 metallic
yellow
10.0- metallic
silver
11.0
* Use the table above to answer # 4-6
4. Could you tell samples of these minerals apart just by
using a scratch (hardness) test? Why or why not?
You can tell which one is pyrite because it is the hardest.
But you can’t tell the other two apart.
5. One of these minerals is known as “fool’s gold”. Identify
that mineral and use evidence from the table to explain
why the name fits.
Pyrite – gold and pyrite are both yellow in color and
metallic.
6. What tests could you use to make sure a mineral sample
was gold instead of “fool’s gold”?
Hardness test, density, streak test
* Use Mohs Hardness Scale below to answer the
following questions.
7. What would happen if you rubbed a mineral of hardness
7.5 against a piece of quartz?
The quartz would get scratched
8. If an unknown mineral has a hardness between 5 and 9,
what could you do to the mineral to find out more about
its hardness?
Scratch it with glass, nail or streak plate
9. Which minerals in the table will scratch quartz?
Topaz, corundum, diamond
10. What would happen if you rubbed a piece of fluorite
against a piece of feldspar?
The fluorite would get scratched
Mohs Hardness Scale
MINERAL HARDNESS
Talc
1
Gypsum
2
Calcite
3
Fluorite
4
Apatite
5
Feldspar
6
Quartz
7
Topaz
8
Corundum
9
Diamond
10