Mineral Identification Lab
By Alisha Oliver Earth Science 11
Biotite Mica • Chemical Formula: K(Mg1Fe)3AlSi3O10(F1OH)2 • Luster: vitreous to pearly • Cleavage: yes • Color: dark brown, greenish-brown, blackish-brown, yellow, white • Streak Color: colorless • Hardness: softness of a nail • Special Properties: highly perfect basal cleavage • Uses: constraining ages of rocks, useful in assessing temperature histories of metamorphic rocks • Sources: -wikipedia.com –glencoe.com “virtual mineral lab”
Calcite • Chemical Formula: CaCO3 • Luster: vitreous to pearly on cleavage surfaces • Cleavage: yes • Color: colorless or white, also grey, yellow, green • Streak Color: white • Hardness: softer than glass but harder than nail • Special Properties: may fluoresce red, blue, yellow, and other colors under either SW and LW UV • Uses: gun sights in World War II, soil remediation, soil stabilization, and concrete repair • Sources: -wikipedia.com –glencoe.com “virtual mineral lab”
Feldspar • Chemical Formula: KAlSi3O8-NaAlSi3O8-CaAl2Si2O8 • Luster: vitreous • Cleavage: two or three • Color: pink, white, gray, brown • Streak Color: colorless • Hardness: harder than glass • Special Properties: crystallize from magma • Uses: feldspar is a common raw material used in glassmaking, ceramics, and to some extent as a filler and extender in paint, plastics, and rubber • Sources: -wikipedia.com –glencoe.com “virtual mineral lab”
Fluorite • Chemical Formula: CaF2 • Luster: vitreous • Cleavage: octahedral • Color: can be any color of the spectrum • Streak Color: colorless • Hardness: softer than glass but harder than nail • Special Properties: sometimes phosphoresces when heated or scratched, other varieties fluoresce • Uses: major source of hydrogen fluoride • Sources: -wikipedia.com –glencoe.com “virtual mineral lab”
Galena • Chemical Formula: PbS • Luster: metallic • Cleavage: yes • Color: lead gray and silvery • Streak Color: lead gray • Hardness: softness of a nail • Special Properties: natural semi conductor • Uses: applied around the eyes to reduce the glare of the desert sun, lead • Sources: -wikipedia.com –glencoe.com “virtual mineral lab”
Graphite • Chemical Formula: C • Luster: metallic, earthy • Cleavage: yes • Color: iron-black to steel-gray, deep blue in transmitted light • Streak Color: black to gray • Hardness: softer than a nail • Special Properties: layered, planar structure in which the atoms are arranged in a honeycomb lattice • Uses: writing or drawing • Sources: -wikipedia.com –glencoe.com “virtual mineral lab”
Gypsum • Chemical Formula: CaSO4-2H2O • Luster: vitreous to pearly • Cleavage: yes • Color: colorless to white; may be yellow, tan, blue, pink, brown, reddish brown or gray due to impurities • Streak Color: white • Hardness: softer than a nail • Special Properties: moderately water-soluble • Uses: drywall • Sources: -wikipedia.com –glencoe.com “virtual mineral lab”
Halite • Chemical Formula: NaCl • Luster: vitreous • Cleavage: three directions cubic • Color: colorless or white; also blue, purple, red, pink, yellow, orange, or gray • Streak Color: colorless • Hardness: softness of a nail • Special Properties: salty flavor, fluorescent • Uses: managing ice • Sources: -wikipedia.com –glencoe.com “virtual mineral lab”
Hematite • Chemical Formula: Fe2O3 • Luster: metallic • Cleavage: none • Color: metallic gray, dull to bright red • Streak Color: bright red to dark red • Hardness: harder than glass • Special Properties: magnetic • Uses: ornamental jewelry, face paint, and used to form iron • Sources: -wikipedia.com –glencoe.com “virtual mineral lab”
Magnetite • Chemical Formula: Fe3O4 • Luster: metallic • Cleavage: fracture • Color: black, gray with brownish tint in reflected sun • Streak Color: black • Hardness: harder than glass • Special properties: most magnetic of all naturally occurring minerals • Uses: magnetic compass, and understanding the conditions under which rocks form • Sources: -wikipedia.com –glencoe.com “virtual mineral lab”
Muscovite Mica • Chemical Formula: KAl2(AlSi3O10)(F1OH)2 • Luster: vitreous, pearly • Cleavage: yes • Color: white, gray, silvery • Streak Color: white • Hardness: softness of a nail • Special Properties: the ability to split into thin transparent sheets • Uses: fireproofing • Sources: -wikipedia.com –glencoe.com “virtual mineral lab”
Pyrite • Chemical Formula: FeS2 • Luster: metallic • Cleavage: fracture • Color: pale brass-yellow reflective • Streak Color: greenish-black to brownish-black • Hardness: harder than glass • Special Properties: resemblance to gold • Uses: ignition in early firearms, and paper industry • Sources: -wikipedia.com –glencoe.com “virtual mineral lab”
Quartz • Chemical Formula: SiO2 • Luster: non-metallic • Cleavage: fracture • Color: colorless through various colors to black • Streak Color: white • Hardness: harder than glass • Special Properties: six-sided prism • Uses: making of jewelry and hardstone carvings • Sources: -wikipedia.com –glencoe.com “virtual mineral lab”
Sulfur • Chemical Formula: S8 • Luster: non-metallic • Cleavage: fracture • Color: yellow • Streak Color: yellow to white • Hardness: softer than nail • Special Properties: burns with a blue flame • Uses: fertilizers, and insecticides • Sources: -geology.com –glencoe.com “virtual mineral lab”
Talc • Chemical Formula: Mg3Si4O10(OH)2 • Luster: non-metallic • Cleavage: yes • Color: white or greenish • Streak Color: white • Hardness: softer than a nail • Special Properties: ultraviolet fluorescence • Uses: paper making, plastic, and cosmetics • Sources: -wikipedia.com –glencoe.com “virtual mineral lab”