What mineral has the highest specific gravity?

What mineral has the highest specific gravity?

Osmium

Which is the most reliable clue to a mineral’s identity?

streak plate

Why is color not reliable for identification?

Many minerals are colored by chemical impurities. Other factors can also affect a mineral’s color. Because color alone is unreliable, geologists rarely identify a mineral just on its color. To identify most minerals, they use several properties.

What methods of mineral identification are the most reliable?

ONE OF THE MOST USEFUL TESTS; the measure of how easily a mineral can be scratched; hardness scale developed by Frederich Mohs -he compares the mineral’s hardness to 10 known minerals; the scale works like this – any mineral that has a greater hardness can scratch a mineral that is softer; hardness is the most reliable …

Why is color not a reliable clue for 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.

Which are examples of tests that can be used for mineral identification?

Geologists use the following tests to distinguish minerals and the rocks they make: hardness, color, streak, luster, cleavage and chemical reaction. A scratch test developed by a German mineralogist Fredriech Mohs in 1822 is used to determine mineral hardness.

What can you infer about graphite from the fact that you can scratch it was just your fingernail?

What can you infer about graphite from the fact that you can scratch it with just your fingernail? It’s not very lustrous. It’s not very hard. Its streak is black colored.

What is a defining trait of all minerals?

Answer: are solid. are inorganic. are naturally occurring. have a definite chemical composition and crystalline structure.

What is a defining trait?

1a : a distinguishing quality (as of personal character) curiosity is one of her notable traits. b : an inherited characteristic. 2a : a stroke of or as if of a pencil. b : touch, trace.

What are the 5 characteristics of a minerals?

A mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic solid with an orderly crystalline structure and a definite chemical composition. What are the five characteristics of a mineral? Naturally occurring, solid substance, orderly crystalline structure, definite chemical composition and generally considered inorganic.

What are the 5 characteristics that all minerals share?

Five Characteristics of a Mineral

• Minerals Are Natural. You must find minerals in nature; substances concocted in laboratories don’t qualify.
• Minerals Are Inorganic.
• Minerals Are Solids.
• Definite Chemical Composition.
• Crystalline Structure.

What are four ways to identify one mineral from another?

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1. METHODS USED TO IDENTIFYING. MINERALS.
2. CRYSTALS. One of the best ways to identify a mineral is by examining its crystal form (external shape).
3. CLEAVAGE AND FRACTURE.
4. COLOR.
5. The hardness of a mineral can be measured by its resistance to scratching or abrasion.
6. STREAK.
7. LUSTER.
8. SPECIFIC GRAVITY.

What four characteristics do all minerals share?

A mineral is an inorganic, crystalline solid. A mineral is formed through natural processes and has a definite chemical composition. Minerals can be identified by their characteristic physical properties such as crystalline structure, hardness, streak, and cleavage.