MINERAL IDENTIFICATION. Minerals have Physical Properties based on the INTERNAL ARRANGEMENT OF ATOMS...
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Transcript of MINERAL IDENTIFICATION. Minerals have Physical Properties based on the INTERNAL ARRANGEMENT OF ATOMS...
MINERAL IDENTIFICATION
Minerals
• What is a mineral? Naturally occurring (not man-made)
Inorganic (not part of or a product of a (once)living organism )
Solid (not made of liquid or gas) with a definitechemical structure which give it uniquephysical properties.
Minerals• What is a mineral?
Naturally occurring (not man-made)
Inorganic (not part of or a product of a (once) living organism )
Solid (not made of liquid or gas)
Specific chemical composition(molecular formula)
Definite crystalline structure
Minerals have Physical Properties based on the
INTERNAL ARRANGEMENT OF ATOMS
&
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
Most Minerals can be identified by inspection and or by simple tests.
Mineral Identification Tests Color Hardness Streak Luster Density Specific Gravity and Known Unique Properties
Colorfor some minerals color is directly related to the
compositionColor is the least
diagnostic property
Lusterappearance of a mineral in
reflected lightA mineral that shines like a metal has metallic luster
A mineral that transmits the light has a nonmetallic luster
TextureHow a mineral feels to the
touch.Examples: smooth, greasy, silky, ragged, rough, soapy,
and glassy
StreakColor of finely powdered mineral.The streak color and mineral color are not always identical. The streak color is typically constant for a given mineral.
Hardnesshow easily a mineral can
be scratchedmeasured using Mohs
hardness scale (what can scratch what)
MohsMohs hardness scale hardness scale
Hardest
10. Diamond 4. Fluorite
9. Corundum 3. Calcite
8. Topaz 2. Gypsum
7. Quartz 1. Talc
6. Potassium Feldspar Softest
5. Apatite
Reference Materials
--fingernail at 2.5 --old penny (copper) at 3.5 --window glass or typical
knife blade 5.5 --porcelain plate or good steel
file 7.5
Absolute Hardness1 Talc 72 Orthoclase 3 Gypsum 100 Quartz 9 Calcite 200 Topaz 21 Fluorite 400 Corundum 48 Apatite 1600 Diamond
Cleavage and FractureInternal Arrangement of
Atoms determines how a mineral will break
Cleavage- repeatable breaks along definite plane surfaces, At least one Flat Side
Fracture- uneven non repeated breaks,
All rough Sides
DensityMinerals have a constant
density
Impurities in your sample may cause the density to
vary slightly
Specific GravityWeightair
(Weightair - Weightwater)
Known Unique Properties
Examples Acid Test
Refraction/Reflection of LightMagnetic Properties
Acid TestCalcite (CaCo3) bubbles
(reacts) when dilute hydrochloric acid (HCL) is dropped on its surface