Identifying Rocks and Minerals

How might scientists identify different minerals? Write or record your ideas.

What words tell about colour and lustre?

Groups:

(a) Colour

,

(b) Lustre

• black

• shiny

• glittering

• red

• dull

• orange

What words could describe a mineral's crystal shape? Choose ALL the correct answers.

• hexagon

• square

• shiny

• rhombus

Streak means...

• the colour of a mineral

• the colour of a line drawn with the mineral

Match.

Groups:

(a) Fracture

,

(b) Cleavage

• when a mineral breaks into straight lines

• when a mineral breaks into random pieces

A mineral with a hardness of 10 is...

• very soft

• very hard

How might scientists use all these ideas to identify minerals? Record your ideas.

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