Name: _______________________

LAB 4 - THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES:
This lab introduces the 6 most important properties used to identify minerals: luster, hardness,
crystal form, cleavage, color and streak. You will learn how to define, observe, and test these
properties and associate them with useful and geologically significant minerals.

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS:

• cleavage • fracture (conchoidal) • crystal form
• hardness • striations • crystal face/cleavage
• luster • metal/ nonmetal • angles
• streak • mineral

MINERALS:
Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic solids, possessing a well-defined and restricted
chemical composition and a regular, repeated, three-dimensional arrangement of atoms (a
crystal structure). Aggregates of minerals form rocks.

Each specific mineral has characteristic physical properties that are due to the mineral’s
chemical composition (defining the types and amounts of atoms present), arrangement of the
atoms, and type of chemical bonding between atoms.

Note: The questions below relate to the specimens at the numbered stations. Carefully
examine these materials and heed the comments on labels, and your instructor’s directions.

LUSTER

Luster refers to the way a mineral’s surface reflects light. The brightness and quality of
reflectance varies with the amount of light absorbed by the mineral and the smoothness of its
surface. Minerals having metallic luster reflect nearly all the incoming light, so they are opaque;
they are limited to a small number of chemical groups (native elements, sulfides, or oxides).
Most minerals have non-metallic luster, which is further divided into the categories listed below.
Luster Terms
(Listed in decreasing order of brightness or reflectivity)
• Metallic Brilliant, highly reflective metal (e.g. stainless steel, auto “chrome”).
• Non-metallic:
Glassy Shiny like broken glass. May be transparent to opaque.
Resinous Like resin (fractured, hardened epoxy or rosin--hardened tree sap).
Waxy Weakly reflective, like paraffin wax.
Dull Very weakly reflective due to light scattering (like soil, earth, or clay).

Luster decreases by handling, contact with the atmosphere (tarnish), and weathering. Freshly
broken surfaces and crystal faces (defined below) show the highest luster; the highest luster is
the most important to record.

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Station 1: Luster

1) Examine the specimens at this station (samples A to F). Under the column “Metallic Luster”
note which minerals have metallic or non-metallic luster. Use “M” for metallic and “NM” for non -
metallic.

2) In the second column, name the highest luster type for the non-metallic samples.

Specimen/Mineral Name: Metallic Luster: Specific Non-Metallic Luster:

A muscovite

B galena

C pyrite

D talc

E calcite

F quartz

3) The minerals shown to you here in lab were chosen specifically for the physical
property we wished you to see. What do you think could happen to the luster of
minerals after they go through the hands of hundreds of students a year, or are
exposed to the elements in nature?

4) Design a solution to this problem.

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HARDNESS

Geologists use relative scratch tests to define hardness. Harder objects will scratch softer ones,
and those of similar hardness scratch each other. To obtain more quantitative results, unknown
minerals can be tested with reference minerals of known hardness. Friedrich Mohs (1773-1839)
recognized that minerals show an enormous hardness range. His scale is still in use.

Mohs’ Scale of Relative Hardness

1 Talc (baby powder) 5.5 Glass, steel nail
2 Gypsum (plaster) 6 K-feldspar
2.5 Fingernail 7 Quartz
3 Calcite (cement) 8 Topaz (a gem stone)
3.5 Copper wire 9 Corundum (including ruby and sapphire)
4 Fluorite 10 Diamond (hardest of all substances)
5 Apatite (teeth)

Cautions and Limitations, Hints and Tricks:

a. Use care to avoid injury. When performing a scratch test with the nail or copper wire, hold
the specimen securely against the table surface with one hand. Press the glass plate firmly
against the table and scratch the mineral against it. Don’t hold the glass in your palm!
b. After each test be sure to remove any powder; check to see which object has a visible
scratch or groove. Both objects may have scratches if they have the same hardness.
c. If the hardnesses of two objects is similar, you will have to use more force to scratch them.
d. Very soft minerals (H approximately 1) will easily mark paper with powder, although the
marks left by light-colored minerals may go unnoticed. You are likely to see the powder left
behind on your fingers.
e. The powdering of a rock sample does not always indicate that its minerals are soft. For
instance:
• Fine-grained samples: When the particles or grains making up a sample are too small to
see, scratches on the mineral surface cannot be observed, even with a hand lens.
• Poorly-consolidated samples: Samples may have visible particles that appear to be
scratched, but they may be crushed, crumbled, or disaggregated instead.
f. Start with your fingernail (H=2.5), then go to your hardest test object (glass plate or nail). If
the unknown sample is harder than a nail, you need not do any other hardness tests.
g. Avoid indiscriminate testing! Make short scratches. Try not to break the samples.
Please follow procedures and be respectful of the class materials.

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Station 2: Hardness

5) Use your fingernail, glass plate, nail, and copper wire to test the hardness of specimens G to
M. Record the results of each test in the first three blank columns, using the following letters
and symbols:
H if the mineral is harder than the test implement in the column heading
S if the mineral is softer than the test implement
= if the mineral and implement have the same hardness (they scratch each other)

6) Fill in the column “Hardness Range” based on the results of the three tests on each sample
in station 2. For example, if a mineral is scratched by the iron nail, but not by the copper
wire, its hardness range is 3.5 to 5.5 (in other words, greater than 3.5 and less than 5.5). If
any tests are inconsistent, redo them. Notice that you have not determined a precise
hardness (a single number) for any of the samples.

Hardness of mineral relative Hardness

Sample Mineral to objects of known hardness: Range
Number Name Finger Nail Copper Wire Nail or Glass (based on
H=2.5 H=3.5 H=5.5 3 tests)
G quartz
H muscovite
I talc
J K-feldspar
K gypsum
L calcite
M fluorite

CRYSTAL FORM AND CRYSTAL FACES

Crystal faces are planar surfaces bounding crystals that grew unimpeded in nature. Mineral
samples with crystal faces have a crystal form. Crystals are among the most beautiful of
natural objects. Most minerals don’t form in environments that permit continuous, unimpeded
growth, so most do not exhibit their crystal form. Nevertheless, when crystal form is visible, it is
often the most useful property in mineral identification.

All minerals start as small “seed” crystals, and grow by adding material to the outside. In order
to grow, open space must be available around the seed. Typically, this space is filled with a
fluid medium such as magma or water. Crystal faces are present during the early growth period
when space is abundant. But, as other crystals grow nearby, they crowd together and obliterate
each other’s’ crystal forms. Some crystals are attached on one end and grow inward into a
cavity, forming beautiful, crystal-lined pockets called “geodes”.

Distinguishing Crystal Faces from Cleavage Surfaces:

Crystal faces and cleavage surfaces (described at Station 5) look similar. Unless you have
broken the sample yourself, it is often difficult to distinguish them, even to experienced
geologists.
In this class, you will see well-formed crystals of quartz (N), garnet (P), and pyrite (Q). These
are the only crystals you will see in this lab. Assume that all other mineral surfaces are due to
cleavage or fracture.

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Station 3: Crystal Form and Crystal Faces

7) Examine the quartz, garnet, and pyrite crystals; recognize their distinctive shapes which are
diagnostic properties. Sketch a typical crystal of each mineral and briefly describe its shape and
surface features. Note: none of these minerals have cleavage.

The flat surfaces visible on minerals that are still attached to the bedrock are the crystal faces.
The base of a crystal, which may be a smooth cleavage plane, is where the crystal was broken
off the rock. Planar, internal cracks are commonly caused by cleavage but only rarely, are
cleavages parallel to the crystal faces.

Examine the single quartz crystals (N). These have two types of crystal faces: 1) those forming
a point at the end of the crystal, and 2) those around the sides of the crystal. Note that the
sides of the crystal have striations (fine parallel lines or grooves), whereas the faces around
the terminating point are smooth. The presence of striations is a good way to tell real, natural
quartz crystals in jewelry from fake, cut crystal shapes.

Mineral Crystals: Sketch of Typical Crystal: Description of Crystal Shape:

•N quartz

•P garnet

•Q pyrite

8) Measure and record the 6 obtuse interfacial angles between adjacent faces around the
sides of a quartz crystal (N) using a contact goniometer. The interfacial angle is an important
diagnostic property of minerals.

Look over your results for Station 3. Visually compare several of the quartz crystals. Would you
agree with the following generalizations?
• The angles between adjacent crystal faces are constant, regardless of how large
or well developed the faces are.
• Crystals of a particular mineral tend to be similar in overall form or shape.
• The similar forms of the crystals of a particular mineral reflect the similarity and
regularity of the distribution of atoms in its crystal structure.

6 interfacial angles: , , , , ,

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FRACTURE vs. CLEAVAGE

The way a mineral breaks is another diagnostic property. Breakages are divided into two
subgroups: fracture and cleavage.

Fracture is breakage through a mineral that produces a non-planar surface. Fracture surfaces
may be curved, rough, jagged, or irregular, but are not flat and rarely are parallel to each other.
Fractures do not produce flashy, mirror-like reflections. Some minerals lack cleavage because
none of thier broken surfaces form well-defined planes. Those minerals chemical bonds are the
same strength in all directions. The curved fracture characteristic of broken quartz is termed
conchoidal (“shell-like”). Conchoidal fracture occurs in thick glass and in obsidian – a volcanic
glass that was used to make arrowheads.

Cleavage is breakage along planar zones of weakness within a crystal, producing a planar
surface. When present, cleavage shows a geometric relationship to crystal form, because both
properties are determined by the crystal structure.

All parallel cleavage planes within a mineral belong to the same cleavage direction called “a
cleavage” for simplicity. If a mineral grain or crystal contains intersecting cleavage planes, it
has more than one cleavage direction. Cleavage may be represented by parallel planes on
both sides of a mineral or by parallel planar cracks seen within transparent minerals. Micas
(muscovite and biotite) have one cleavage, and break into parallel sheets. Many minerals have
multiple cleavages that intersect at characteristic angles. When more than one cleavage is
present, the sample’s edge will often have a “stepped” appearance due to the interesting
cleavages.

The number of cleavages and the angle between them are diagnostic properties. Particularly
important is whether the cleavages intersect at nearly 90 degrees (perpendicular) or if the
angle is greater or less than 90 degrees. The table below lists the cleavage patterns you are
most likely to see.

Cleavage Patterns
Number of Angles Between Examples
Cleavages Cleavages (minerals and mineral groups)
1 - Micas (muscovite, biotite)
2 approx. 90o Pyroxenes, feldspars
(plagioclase, K-spar)
2 not 90o Amphiboles (hornblende)
3 (cubic) approx. 90o Halite, galena
3 (rhombohedral) not 90o Calcite
4 not 90o Fluorite

Practical Aspects of Defining and Measuring Cleavages:

a. Fresh cleavage surfaces reflect light; they generally show a sample’s highest luster.

b. Cleavages may form flat edges on single, large mineral samples. To determine the number
of cleavages and the angles between them, sight along the edge of the sample, or place streak
plates against the surfaces and then examine the angles.

c. Cleavage surfaces often will “flash” or reflect light upon rotation. To use the “rotation flash
method”, hold the mineral in one of its “flash” positions, then rotate it using your fingers as
axes until you see another flash. Note the angle of rotation between the flashes.
• If the sample flashes twice about 180 degrees apart (half a complete rotation),
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 the sample has one cleavage (one pair of directions).
• If four flashes occur during a complete rotation, two cleavages are present. Note
if the angle between the flashes is approximately 90 degrees or not equal to 90
degrees.

Combinations of Fracture and Cleavage:

Minerals having 1 or 2 cleavages must also fracture in order to form a three-dimensional shape.
Minerals with 3 or more cleavages do not generally fracture. Because their cleavage planes
are the weakest zones of breakage, cleavages will completely bound the mineral fragment.

Station 4: Fracture and Cleavage

Calcite Breakage Demonstration: Your instructor will break a small piece of calcite with a
hammer.

• Examine the calcite before breaking and then the resulting fragments (R). Use a
hand lens to examine the small pieces.
• Also examine the medium-sized cleavage fragments (S) and the big exhibit
specimen (T). Handle these samples carefully; they are fragile

9) What do all the calcite pieces have in common?

10) On S, measure the number of cleavages and the angles of intersection. Describe and
sketch the geometry and shape of the specimen.

Number of cleavages and angles of intersection on S:

Description and sketch of specimen

11) Locate a couple of transparent calcite fragments with visible internal cracks. Hold them
up to the light and rotate them, carefully examining the cracks with a hand lens. If these
fragments were hammered, it is likely that they would break along the cracks. How can these
cracks (incipient cleavage planes) be used to distinguish cleavage from crystal form?

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12) Examine the specimens U to Z. Determine and record the number of non-parallel
cleavage planes or the type of fracture (conchoidal or irregular). If more than one cleavage is
present, estimate their angle of intersection. If the cleavage angles are approximately
perpendicular, write  90o in the appropriate spaces; if they are clearly not 90 degrees, write 
90o.

Specimens:
U galena
V muscovite
W halite
X fluorite
Y pyrite
Z quartz

U Cleavage planes: Angle of intersection:  90o or  90o (Circle which)

V Cleavage planes: Angle of intersection:  90o or  90o (Circle which)

W Cleavage planes: Angle of intersection:  90o or  90o (Circle which)

X Cleavage planes: Angle of intersection:  90o or  90o (Circle which)

Y Fracture type

Z Fracture type

13) How would you distinguish cleavage from crystal shape?

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STREAK

Streak is the color of a powdered mineral. It is obtained by rubbing the unknown mineral
against a streak plate -- a flat piece of hard, white, unglazed tile.

Cautions and Limitations, Hints and Tricks:

1. Streak is particularly useful for distinguishing minerals that have metallic luster.
2. Streak may be a more reliable diagnostic property than color and luster. For example,
different hematite specimens) may be dull, earthy red; metallic black and massive or
granular; or micaceous and brilliantly metallic blue-black. However, they all have a brownish-
red streak.
3. Minerals harder than 7 cannot be streaked.
4. Many minerals, even colored ones, leave white streaks. A white streak is not diagnostic

Station 5: Streak

14) Using the streak plates, test the streak of the three opaque minerals listed and record
their streak colors. The streak color of each of these minerals are useful in identification
because they are always the same.

EE Galena Chemical composition: PbS

FF Hematite Chemical composition: Fe2O3
GG Pyrite Chemical composition: FeS2

15) Based on their chemical formulas, what elements are present in each mineral? Use the
periodic table provided in your lab manual and write the element names.

Specimen: Streak Color: Chemical Elements Present:

Formula:
• EE galena PbS
• FF hematite Fe2O3
• GG pyrite FeS2

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COLOR

Color is the easiest property to observe (if you are not color-blind) and is helpful for identifying
some minerals that possess a characteristic color. Most minerals have variable colors due to
minor chemical impurities or minute inclusions (clear quartz vs. purple quartz “amethyst”)--these
are definitely not essential properties of the mineral.

The most important division is between dark colored and light colored minerals which is
usually (but not always) diagnostic.

Station 6: Color

16) Record the colors of the micas, muscovite and biotite. Indicate whether each is dark (“D”) or
light (“L”). Color is the main way to distinguish these two minerals.

17) Examine the differences in the metal elements contained in each mica. The difference in
the colors of muscovite (CC) and biotite (DD) is due to the chemistry. Which metal is
responsible for biotite’s dark color? Hint: This element is absent in muscovite. It also
causes the dark color of other silicates (hornblende, olivine, and pyroxenes, like augite),
and of non-silicate minerals (magnetite, hematite, and pyrite).

Specimen: Color: Chemical Metal Responsible for

Formula: Color:
• CC muscovite KAl2(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
• DD biotite K(Mg,Fe)3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2

18) The quartz specimens at this station (AA) display some of its many colors. What physical
properties are common to all of the samples, despite their color differences? The purple
quartz (amethyst) is the birthstone for February, and was highly prized by the ancient
Egyptians. The black (smoky) quartz was damaged by natural radioactivity.

Common properties of Quartz:

19) Examine the differently colored specimens of fluorite (BB). What physical properties are
characteristic of all these samples?

Common properties of Fluorite:

20) Based on 18 and 19, how can you distinguish fluorite from quartz?

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• Part 2
Identify the 10 numbered specimens. Concentrate on making careful and thorough
observations of each of the 10 mineral’s physical properties. Write down your observations in
the chart.

1. Is the luster metallic or nonmetallic?

2. Is the color dark or light?
3. Is it harder or softer than glass?
4. Does it have cleavage? If so, how many planes and at what angles?

Use your observations as you answer questions in the “Mineral Identification Key”. Write the
best choice for the mineral’s name in the last column of the chart.

Notes:

1. Although there are two plagioclase and two gypsum categories in the Mineral
Identification Key there is only one of each present as a sample.

2. Don’t be concerned with the identity of a specimen when you 1st pick it up.
Concentrate on making careful and thorough observations of its physical properties.

3. Do not record properties that you may have read about but are absent in the
specimen you are examining!

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 Record Only What You Observe in Your Sample!

Luster - Color Cleavage Other Diagnostic Properties

Sample (M if metallic, also give Hardness (# of planes & angles (including crystal form, Mineral
Number streak color; NM if non- Note between them if more than 1 magnetism, relative density, and Name
metallic, also record H for Harder than direction; if no cleavage, use reaction with hydrochloric acid) (based on Mineral
L or D color and more glass and S for F to indicate Fracture) Identification Key)
specific luster term) softer than glass

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

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