Question

list the properties that are used to identify minerals?
suppose that you find a white, non - metallic mineral harder than calcite. you identify the sample as quartz. wyou infer based on your observations?

Explanation:

To identify minerals, several key properties are used. These include:

1. Color: The apparent color of the mineral, though it can be variable due to impurities.
2. Luster: How the mineral reflects light (e.g., metallic, non - metallic like vitreous, pearly, dull).
3. Hardness: Measured on the Mohs scale (1 - 10, with talc = 1 and diamond = 10), indicating how easily the mineral can be scratched.
4. Streak: The color of the mineral's powder when it is scraped across an unglazed porcelain plate.
5. Cleavage and Fracture: Cleavage is the way a mineral breaks along flat, smooth planes (e.g., mica has perfect cleavage), while fracture is the way it breaks when not along cleavage planes (e.g., conchoidal fracture in quartz).
6. Crystal Form: The geometric shape of the mineral's crystals (e.g., cubic for halite, hexagonal for quartz).
7. Density (Specific Gravity): The ratio of the mineral's mass to the mass of an equal volume of water.
8. Magnetism: Some minerals (like magnetite) are magnetic.
9. Reaction to Acid: For example, calcite fizzes in dilute hydrochloric acid.
10. Transparency/Translucency/Opaqueness: Whether light passes through the mineral (transparent), partially passes through (translucent), or does not pass through (opaque).

Answer:

The properties used to identify minerals are: color, luster, hardness, streak, cleavage and fracture, crystal form, density (specific gravity), magnetism, reaction to acid, and transparency/translucency/opaqueness.