Minerals are identified by different properties Minerals such as Fluorite can occur in many colors and the crystals can be well formed or poorly formed. You cant identify a mineral by just appearance alone. Minerals are identified by different properties A minerals appearance will help identify it. When you observe it you will be looking for color or how it reflects light. When you observe a mineral your looking for color and streak. Minerals are identified by different properties A minerals color changes due to an element that is not part of the minerals composition An example of that would be tiny amounts of iron that give certain pieces of quartz a violet color. (Amethyst) Minerals are identified by different properties A minerals color can also be due to its location near the earths surface and defects in its crystal structure Minerals also have a different color when they are grounded into fine powder Even if the same mineral looks different they will leave the same streak Minerals are identified by different properties A minerals luster is another way in which we classify minerals. The two types of luster are metallic and nonmetallic. Two examples would be pyrite for metallic and garnet for nonmetallic. Minerals are identified by different properties The way a mineral breaks off can help identify it. The same mineral will always break off in the same way. Cleavage is the way a mineral breaks along flat surfaces. Geologists consider the direction and smoothness of the minerals breaking. Minerals are identified by different properties Fracture from the opposite point of view is the minerals ability to break in irregular pieces. An example would be the way quartz breaks off. If a mineral displays fracture the atoms are equal in strength in all directions of the mineral. Minerals are identified by different properties You can also identify minerals by their density. For the most part the heavier a substance the more dense it is. Minerals are identified by different properties An example would be the minerals pyrite and gold. These two minerals look similar. Gold is much more dense than pyrite and about four times the mass. Minerals are identified by different properties A minerals hardness is another way to identify a mineral. The Mohs hardness scale is used to identify a mineral. Minerals are identified by different properties The scale is based on the fact that a harder mineral will scratch a softer one. Minerals are identified by different properties A mineral can be scratched only by a mineral with the same hardness or harder