Reminder : Be

sure to click on
this video!
Reminder : Be
sure to click on
this video!
 -Color maybe a unique identifying property of
certain minerals (e.g. malachite – green, azurite – blue). There are also lots of minerals that
share similar or the same color/s. In addition, some minerals can exhibit a range of colors.
The mineral calcite for example, can be pink, green, blue , purple, orange, white etc.
on the other hand is the color of a mineral in powdered form. Note that the color
of a mineral could be different from the streak. For example, pyrite (FeS2) exhibits golden
color (hence the other term of pyrite which is Fool’s Gold) but has a black or dark gray
streak. Streak is a better diagnostic property as compared to color. Streak is inherent to
almost every mineral. Color maybe unreliable for identification as impurities within the
minerals may give the minerals a different color.
 –The external shape of a
crystal or groups of crystals is displayed / observed as
these crystals grow in open spaces. The form reflects the
supposedly internal structure (of atoms and ions) of the
crystal (mineral). It is the natural shape of the mineral
before the development of any cleavage or fracture.
Examples include prismatic, tabular, bladed, platy, reniform
and equant. A mineral that do not have a crystal structure
is described as amorphous.

The crystal form also define the relative growth of the

crystal in 3 dimension which are its length, width and
height
 – It is the property of some minerals to
break along parallel repetitive planes of weakness to form
smooth, flat surfaces. These planes of weakness are
inherent in the bonding of atoms that makes up the
mineral. These planes of weakness are parallel to the
atomic planes and appear to be repeating within the
mineral. When minerals break evenly in more than one
direction, cleavage is described by the number of cleavage
directions and the angle(s) between planes (e.g. cleavage
in 2 directions at 90 degrees to each other).
 – Some minerals may not have cleavages
but exhibit broken surfaces that are irregular and non-
planar. Quartz for example has an inherent weakness in
the crystal structure that is not planar. Examples of
fracture are conchoidal, fibrous, hackly, and uneven among
others.
 – It is the ratio of the weight
of a mineral to the weight of an equal volume of
water. A bucket of silver (SG 10) would weigh 10
times more than a bucket of water (SG 1). It is a
measure to express the density (mass per unit
volume) of a mineral. The specific gravity of a
mineral is numerically equal to density.
 – There are certain unique properties
of minerals that actually help in their identification
(e.g. magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to
acid, etc.). Magnetite is strongly magnetic; sulfur
has distinctive smell; halite is salty; calcite fizzes
with acid as with dolomite but in powdered form.
 – minerals containing 2 of the most
abundant elements in the Earth’s crust, namely, silicon and
oxygen. When linked together, these two elements form the
silicon oxygen tetrahedron - the fundamental building block
of silicate minerals. Over 90% of the rock-forming minerals
belong to this group. Aside from Si (46.6 % by wt.) and O
(27.7%), the other most common elements that make the
earth’s crust are Al (8.1), Fe (5.0), Ca (3.6), Mg (3.1), Na
(2.8) and K 2.6).
 – minerals containing Oxygen anion (O2-)
combined with one or more metal ions
 – minerals containing Sulfur and Oxygen
anion (SO4)- combined with other ions
 – minerals containing sulfur anion (S2)-
combined with one or more ions. Some sulfides are
sources of economically important metals such as copper,
lead and zinc.
 – minerals containing the carbonate
anion (CO3)2- combined with other elements
 - minerals that form as
individual elements.
 - minerals with high
thermal and electrical conductivity, typically with metallic
luster, low hardness (gold, lead)

- minerals that are more fragile than

metals and have lower conductivity (arsenic, bismuth)

nonconductive (sulfur, diamond)

 – minerals containing halogen elements
combined with one or more elements.
Hope you understand the lesson!
T H A N K
YOU F OR YOUR
COOPERATION!
From: Neil Tacatani and Jaymark Cervantes