MINERALS
There are a lot of minerals so obviously I can't state them all. So I am going to tell you other info. The Mohs scale of hardness is a good way to tell two minerals apart. The scale goes from 1-10, 2.5 on the scale is about the hardness of your fingernail and 10 being the hardness of a diamond.
Another good way to tell minerals apart are the fractures and the cleavage. Fracture is if you tried to chip away a part of a mineral and a big piece of the mineral came off. Cleavage is when you would try to rip apart the mineral and it would rip off as if it were a page of a book.
Luster is probably one of the best ways to find out a mineral because Luster is based on the shininess of the mineral, silky luster goes by its name and looks like silk in the sunlight. Pearly luster has a sheen like a pearl. Waxy goes by its name by having a waxy looking luster. Greasy luster looks like it has been covered with a layer of oil. Glassy luster has a reflection of glass. And the shiniest luster is called “Adamantine”, it has a really strong shine like a diamond.
Crystal Structure is really important because you would have to know it if you had anything to do with minerals. Crystals have striaght edges, flat sides and regular angles. There are 7 types of crystal structures and they are: Triclinic, Monoclinic, Orthohombic, rhombohedral, tetragonal, hexagonal, and cubic.
Now Colour is most important because a lot of the minerals have the same colours. The colour of the mineral is composed by 2 or more physical properties. The minerals Sapphire and Ruby are both the same except for one composition, Sapphires are blue and Ruby’s are red and just one kink in the combination tells the difference of the colour.
Now last but not least is the streak of the mineral. The streak can be a different colour than the mineral. To see the streak of the mineral you must scratch it on a porcelain tile.
Another good way to tell minerals apart are the fractures and the cleavage. Fracture is if you tried to chip away a part of a mineral and a big piece of the mineral came off. Cleavage is when you would try to rip apart the mineral and it would rip off as if it were a page of a book.
Luster is probably one of the best ways to find out a mineral because Luster is based on the shininess of the mineral, silky luster goes by its name and looks like silk in the sunlight. Pearly luster has a sheen like a pearl. Waxy goes by its name by having a waxy looking luster. Greasy luster looks like it has been covered with a layer of oil. Glassy luster has a reflection of glass. And the shiniest luster is called “Adamantine”, it has a really strong shine like a diamond.
Crystal Structure is really important because you would have to know it if you had anything to do with minerals. Crystals have striaght edges, flat sides and regular angles. There are 7 types of crystal structures and they are: Triclinic, Monoclinic, Orthohombic, rhombohedral, tetragonal, hexagonal, and cubic.
Now Colour is most important because a lot of the minerals have the same colours. The colour of the mineral is composed by 2 or more physical properties. The minerals Sapphire and Ruby are both the same except for one composition, Sapphires are blue and Ruby’s are red and just one kink in the combination tells the difference of the colour.
Now last but not least is the streak of the mineral. The streak can be a different colour than the mineral. To see the streak of the mineral you must scratch it on a porcelain tile.