Definitions
"Rock" the test!
TRUE or FALSE
Book work
Mixed plate
100
What are minerals?
natural, non-living solid crystals that make up rocks
100
What are the two hands-on tests scientists do to identify minerals?
They can scratch a mineral against another (to test hardness) and they can scratch a mineral on a special plate (to see streak color)
100
Luster measures the age of a mineral.
FALSE - luster is the way a mineral's surface reflects light.
100
What materials would you need to do a streak test?
A mineral and a special plate
100
What is the second-softest mineral on the Mohs scale?
gypsum
200
What is luster?
the way a mineral's surface reflects light
200
What do scientists do when they conduct a streak test?
They rub the mineral on a special plate and look at the color of the powder
200
Color is the best way to identify a mineral.
FALSE - the same mineral can have different colors.
200
Luster is related to hardness. TRUE or FALSE?
False - luster is how the mineral reflects light.
200
I have a mineral that can be scratched by topaz, and can leave scratches on feldspar. What is the Mohs rating of my mineral?
7 - topaz is harder (8) and feldspar is softer (6)
300
What is the Mohs Scale for Hardness?
a special chart that ranks minerals from 1 to 10
300
Luster is related to color.
FALSE - luster has to do with how a mineral reflects light
300
Streak is a better way to identify minerals than color alone.
TRUE - a mineral may come in several colors, but its streak is almost always the same color
300
Review page 240. Why is it important to use the streak test to identify halite?
Halite can come in different colors, but its streak is always white. You cannot use color alone to identify halite.
300
Most of the Earth's more than 3,000 minerals form rocks. TRUE FALSE
FALSE
400
What is a streak?
the color of the powder a mineral leaves when it is scratched on a special plate
400
What is the softest mineral on the Mohs Scale of Hardness?
talc
400
A mineral with a Mohs Scale of Hardness rating of 3 can scratch a mineral with a rating of 4.
FALSE - A mineral rated 3 can scratch any mineral with a lesser number (1, 2).
400
Name three minerals that can be scratched by feldspar.
apatite, fluorite, calcite, gypsum, talc
400
Name the properties that scientists test to identify a mineral.
color, luster, hardness, streak
500
What are the physical properties tested by scientists?
color, streak, luster, hardness
500
How do scientist's test a mineral's hardness?
They find out how easily it can be scratched
500
Diamond cannot be scratched by any other mineral.
TRUE - diamond is a 10 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness, which means it can scratch any mineral with a lesser number
500
Look at the chart on p. 241. Which mineral can scratch all of the other minerals shown?
Quartz - its Mohs rating is 7, and all of the other minerals are rated less than 7, which means they are softer.
500
What is the hardest mineral on the Mohs Scale?
diamond
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