Warm-Up
metallic luster,
The mineral on the left has a ______
nonmetallic
the one on the right, a ___________
luster.
MYP Unit Question:
Area of Interaction:
What’s a world without
rocks?
Human Ingenuity
Learner Profile: Thinker
Standard: Students will investigate the
scientific view of how the earth’s surface is
formed.
T
Learning
Target: Today I am learning about the
properties of minerals because minerals are in
everything around me.
• Bell ringer: How is a diamond formed?
• Work Session:
Finish notes on mineral properties
Demos of “special properties”
Closing: What’s your birthstone?
Properties of
Minerals
Geologists use
characteristics to tell one
mineral from another
Mineral Properties we will study
Luster
Hardness
Cleavage
Streak
Luster
• Refers to the way light reflects
from the surface of the mineral.
• There are two types of luster
- Metallic: looks like polished metal.
– Nonmetallic: can be shiny or dull.
Pyrite has metallic luster
Quartz has nonmetallic luster
Hardness
• Is measured by how easy it is to scratch.
• Geologists order the hardness by…
If the reference
mineral scratches
your mineral, the
reference mineral
is harder than your
mineral.
• Talc and Graphite are the softest
minerals and can be scratched by
a fingernail.
Talc
Graphite
Gypsum is soft, it can be
scratched by a fingernail.
Calcite is soft, but a little harder
because it cannot be scratched by a
fingernail, but it can be scratched by
a penny.
Fluorite is harder. It can be
scratched by a nail, but not a penny
or fingernail.
Diamonds are the hardest mineral, so
it scratches every mineral.
Cleavage/Fracture
Cleavage - Some minerals split
easily along a flat surface.
Feldspar splits readily in two
directions, always at or near right
angles.
Calcite and galena cleave in three
directions.
They are said to have three good
cleavages.
Fracture - an uneven break
Streak
The color of a mineral in powdered form.
• Red chalk - red marks.
• White chalk - white marks.
• Not all minerals work this way.
Gold
• When gold is run
across a streak
plate it makes a
yellowish-gold
color.
Pyrite or “Fool’s Gold”
• When pyrite is
run across a
streak plate, it
has a black or
dark green streak.
• fool’s gold.
Hematite
• Hematite’s color is
grey, but its streak is
red.
• The mineral was named
hematite because it
looked like it was
bleeding when it was
taken across a streak
plate.
One mineral property
we will not use…
COLOR
The least reliable.
A mineral can be many different
colors. Below is Mica.
Fluorite
has many colors
Many minerals can be the same color. Below are
gold colored minerals. Which one is gold?
The answer…
None of them were
real gold.
Other properties
Density –
the ratio of the mass of a substance
to the volume of a substance.
• How many atoms are in a specific
amount of space.
• Density = mass
volume
What’s your birthstone?
Closing:
Turn to your table partner and
share as many of the “other
properties” of minerals that you
can.
Where are they now?
Bellringer: Naica Crystal Cave – Mexico
Work Session
Properties of Minerals Notes (continued)
View mineral specimens
• Bell ringer: Geology in the Kitchen
• Work Session:
– Finish notes over properties of minerals
– Look at specimens
– Choose a mineral to research
Warm-Up
August 27
True or False
Ice is a mineral. Explain your answer.
True. It is a solid
Specific chemical composition (H20)
Crystal structure (cubic)
Naturally occurring (not made by man)
Inorganic (never alive)