Mineral ID Self-Instruction Lab Name _________________________ Geology 100 – Harbor Section Your goal for this lab is to become familiar with the physical properties used to identify minerals. Physical properties are determined by the chemical and crystalline properties of the given mineral. However, many properties of a number of common minerals are not always the same. The most variable property is color, because the ability of a substance to absorb or reflect light is greatly affected by minute quantities of impurities. Rely on color with caution and defer to other characteristics where possible. If you like, old textbooks in the lab have mineral property appendices. Once you have become familiar with the physical properties, you will use them to identify several of the common rock-forming and ore minerals. Minerals have many physical properties that depend on their chemistry and crystal structure. They are listed in approximate order of importance. Make sure you understand each property. Sample numbers refer to minerals in the top drawer of the lab benches (we’re focusing on #’s 1-22 now, 23+ are metamorphic minerals for later) Luster Cleavage and fracture (the most important characteristics for many identifications!) Hardness Color and streak Density and specific gravity Effervescence (acid test: but you can do without it in most cases) Crystal form (useful only where crystals have had the space to grow) Magnetism (for magnetite) Smell and taste? Commonly, the first property used to distinguish between many minerals is luster, especially the difference between metallic and non-metallic minerals. Other lusters are described as vitreous, greasy, and pearly. Look at the luster examples at the side lab bench and then match the following samples from the mineral drawers with a luster. 2 ______ A. vitreous 14 ______ B. greasy 15 ______ C. metallic 22 ______ D. earthy Magnetism is helpful for identifying magnetite and a few other iron bearing minerals. Which of the samples is most highly attracted to the magnet?Harbor’s Intro Geo M ineral Lab 2 Cleavage is the tendency for a mineral to break along flat planar surfaces. It is defined by 3 characteristics • 1) the number of cleavage planes, • 2) the angular relationship between the planes, and • 3) the quality of the cleavage (poor, good, perfect). The number of cleavage planes and their angular relationship determines the shape of a broken piece of mineral. Use the information below to learn the distinctive shapes formed by the variety of cleavage directions and angular relations. See examples at the back of the lab. A few minerals with one or more good to perfect cleavage have a distinctive characteristic called striations, which appear like record album grooves along the cleaved surface when viewed in reflection. Striations are a diagnostic characteristic of plagioclase feldspar (albite). Fracture occurs where a mineral break along irregular surfaces not determined by a regular crystal weakness. One diagnostic type of fracture is called conchoidal fracture. It is smoothly curved surface, like when small chips are removed from a piece of glass.Harbor’s Intro Geo M ineral Lab 3 For the following samples from the drawers, determine the number of cleavage planes and their quality (easy = perfect, uncertain = poor). Where there is more than one direction, determine the approximate angle between the cleavage directions (90°). Use the names from the boxes above where applicable. Some may have no cleavage planes (just fracture). Describe the fracture if it is conchoidal. I will set out some examples of cleavage in trays at the back of the lab. •Make sure that you are examining a single crystal and not aggregates of crystals. •Watch out for crystal faces! Acute AngleObtuse AngleSamples with 2 cleavage planesnot at 90° are described by twoangles (ex. 120 and 60) that sumto 180°.60°120° 2 3 4 5 6* 7* 8 & 9 10 11 12 14 19 *For samples 6 and 7, examining the samples carefully using the binocular scope (side/back of lab) and hand lens will help you determine the angle of the cleavage planes. Describe the surface of cleavage planes on sample 4. What are these features called? Which sample is best described as having conchoidal fracture?Harbor’s Intro Geo M ineral Lab 4 Hardness is defined on a relative scale known as Moh’s Hardness Scale. Minerals should be scratched against each other and compared to fingernails (H=2.5), pennies (H=3.5), glass (H=5.5), and steel picks/knifeblades (H=5.5-6). • PLACE GLASS PLATE FLAT ON LAB TABLE WHEN SCRATCHING!! Memorize these minerals in the Mohs Hardness Scale. 1. Talc 2. Gypsum 3. Calcite 4. Fluorite 5. Apatite 6. Orthoclase 7. Quartz 8. Topaz 9. Corundum 10. Diamond Place the following samples and objects in order from softest to hardest (some may be too close to determine, indicate with “=“) fingernail, penny, glass plate, samples 2, 3, 7, 10, 12, 13, 20 Streak is the color of a mineral when it is ground to a powder size using a ceramic streak plate. Describe the two colors and lusters of the two types of sample 17. What about 22? Now describe their streak (rub your thumb across the powder streak). How does this streak differ from samples 21,15, and 18? Most nonmetallic minerals have a clear or colorless streak, which is not helpful. Try a few. Many of the metallic minerals are described by a high specific gravity. Compare the “heft” of similar-sized samples of #16 (S.G.≈7.6) or #17 (S.G.≈5) with # 2 or #5 ( S.G.≈2.7). Approximate the specific gravity of sample #7.Harbor’s Intro Geo M ineral Lab 5 You are now an apprentice geologist, familiar with how to determine mineral properties. Use the binary key on the following page (and possibly, an appendix from an old text in the lab) to determine the names of the minerals listed below. A binary key looks like an inverted tree. Determine the answer to the first question and take the appropriate branch. Continue following the branches until you have identified the mineral. The binary key is a simplified example for our samples. Most of the samples are single large crystals, but some are groups of smaller crystals (use your hand lens). MINERAL DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20