Answer: Mass and size are properties not commonly used to identify minerals.
Q. Which mineral is white or colorless?
Mineral Classification Tables
Table of Contents
- Q. Which mineral is white or colorless?
- Q. What are light colored minerals called?
- Q. What property of minerals will you use to identify clear quartz and calcite?
- Q. What property of minerals will use to identify them?
- Q. Why is color not always reliable when identifying minerals?
- Q. Can you identify a mineral by its color and nothing else?
- Q. What is the difference between a mineral’s streak and color?
- Q. Does quartz have any special properties?
- Q. What color streak will hematite always give you?
- Q. Do the hematite and galena have the same color?
| Table 1. Nonmetallic Luster—Light Color | ||
|---|---|---|
| Typical Color | Hardness | Mineral Name |
| colorless or white | 2.5–3 | halite |
| colorless or white | 2.5 | muscovite |
| colorless or white | 2 | gypsum |
Q. What are light colored minerals called?
The most common light-coloured minerals are the feldspars, feldspathoids, and silica or quartz, giving the term felsic; other felsic minerals are corundum, zircon, muscovite, lepidolite, and calcite.
Q. What property of minerals will you use to identify clear quartz and calcite?
Hardness. Mineral hardness is a key characteristic that scientists use in sample identification. Quartz is about four times harder than calcite. A piece of quartz can scratch a sample of calcite, but calcite cannot scratch quartz.
Q. What property of minerals will use to identify them?
Using Characteristics of Minerals to Identify Them. Most minerals can be characterized and classified by their unique physical properties: hardness, luster, color, streak, specific gravity, cleavage, fracture, and tenacity.
Q. Why is color not always reliable when identifying minerals?
Why is color not a reliable way to identify a mineral? Because weathering and impurities can change the color. the way a mineral reflects light from its surface.
Q. Can you identify a mineral by its color and nothing else?
True or false/ You can identify a mineral by its color and nothing else. True or false/ The streak a mineral leaves is always the same color as the mineral itself. False.
Q. What is the difference between a mineral’s streak and color?
A few minerals appear to change color when viewed in different light. Streak is the color of a minerals powder when it is crushed. Some minerals have a different color powder than their actual color. Every mineral has an inherent streak no matter what color it is.
Q. Does quartz have any special properties?
Its usefulness can be linked to its physical and chemical properties. It has a hardness of seven on the Mohs Scale which makes it very durable. It is chemically inert in contact with most substances. It has electrical properties and heat resistance that make it valuable in electronic products.
Q. What color streak will hematite always give you?
reddish streak
Q. Do the hematite and galena have the same color?
Also, different minerals may be the same color, but they may have a different color streak. For example, samples of hematite and galena can both be dark gray. They can be told apart because hematite has a red streak and galena has a gray streak. The hematite shown here has a red streak.
