Minerals & Moh’s Study Guide
Name: __________________________________
What are the properties of minerals?
Luster, color, streak, hardness, cleavage, texture
VocabularyMineral- a nonliving, solid material with definite chemical makeup
Luster- the way a mineral shines or reflects light
Color- determined by a mineral’s chemical makeup
texture- the something feels
Streak- the color of a mineral when it is ground to a powder
Hardness- the measure of how easily a mineral can be scratched
Cleavage- the tendency of a mineral to split easily along flat surfaces
Nonmetallic mineral- a mineral that is DULL or GLASSY
Metallic Mineral- a mineral that is shiny like metal
Texture- the way something feels
Facts:
*Talc is the softest mineral.
*Diamond is the hardest mineral
*We use the Mohs Scale of Hardness to measure the hardness of a
mineral
*We use minerals for many things: jewelry, buildings, pencils, baby
powder, watches, etc.
*The streak of a mineral is NOT always the same color as the mineral
*Color is the easiest property to see, but not the most reliable when
trying to identify what the mineral is.
Study Guide- Mohs Scale
When given a Mohs Scale of Hardness, be able to answer questions
using the scale.
1. What can a diamond scratch?
2. What can Apatite scratch?
3. What will Talc scratch?
4. Can a penny scratch quartz?
5. Name two minerals that can scratch Flourite.
6. Name the minerals that Feldspar can scratch.
7. Can your fingernail scratch Gypsum?
8. Can Feldspar scratch Quartz?
1
Talc
Can be scratched with a fingernail, penny, knife blade, and by
any mineral rated 2+
2 Gypsum
Can be scratched with a fingernail and a penny and any
mineral rated 3+; Will scratch Talc
3 Calcite
Can be scratched with a knife blade and any mineral rated 4+;
Will scratch Talc and Gypsum
4 Flourite
Can be scratched with a knife blade and any mineral rated 5+;
Will scratch any mineral rated 35 Apatite
Can be scratched with any mineral rated 6+; Will scratch any
mineral rated 46 Feldspar
Can be scratched with any mineral rated 7+; Will scratch any
mineral rated 57 Quartz
Can be scratched with any mineral rated 8+; Will scratch glass
and any mineral rated 68 Topaz
Can be scratched by minerals 8 – 9; Will scratch glass and any
mineral rated 79 Corundum Can be scratched by diamond; Will scratch glass and any
(ruby,
mineral rated 8sapphire
10 Diamond Will scratch glass and all minerals rated 1-9; the hardest
natural substance on Earth.
Fingernail (H=2.5) Penny (H=3) Knife Blade (H=5.5)