Physical properties of

minerals
Brave Manda
[email protected]
 Rocks
Rocks are defined as collections or aggregates of a mineral.
Most rocks have more than one kind of mineral i.e. they are
polymineralic e.g. granite.
 Rocks
Some rocks are monomineralic i.e. contain one
mineral only
Limestone (Calcite)
Rock salt (Halite)
 Minerals
A mineral is a naturally - occurring,
homogenous, solid, and generally
inorganic substance, with a definite
chemical composition and an ordered
atomic arrangement.
Each of the six parts of the definition
is important and necessary to
understand a mineral.

Quartz (SiO2)
 Minerals
Homogenous: means something that is the same through
 Cannot be broken into simpler components
 Thus, rocks such as granite or basalt are not minerals because they
contain more than one compound
Naturally occurring: minerals are the result of natural geological processes
 Thus, synthetic minerals e.g. industrial diamonds are not minerals
 Solid: minerals must be able to maintain a set shape nearly indefinitely
 Liquids are not minerals.
 Minerals

Definite chemical composition: means that atoms or groups of atoms must occur in
specific ratios e.g. quartz (SiO2)
 For ionic crystals (i.e. most minerals) ratios of cations to anions will be constrained
by charge balance, however, atoms of similar charge and ionic radius may substitute
freely for one another; hence definite but not fixed e.g. Mg+2 and Fe+2
Ordered atomic arrangement: means crystalline
 Minerals have a fixed atomic pattern that repeats itself over a large region relative
to the size of atoms
 Glasses such as obsidian, which are disordered solids, liquids (e.g. water, mercury),
and gases (e.g. air) are not minerals
 Minerals
Glass: no organized molecular structure

Minerals: Organized molecule

 Mineral
• Generally Inorganic: means that crystalline
organic compounds formed by organisms are
generally not considered minerals
However, carbonate shells are minerals because
they are identical to compounds formed by purely
inorganic processes  
 Properties of Minerals
The physical properties of a mineral are determined by its
chemical composition and its crystalline Structure
Relevant mineral physical properties include:
Optical properties
Shape/ Crystal habit
Strength
Density
Specific gravity
Cleavage/Fracture
 Optical Properties
Luster Light Transmission
Refers to the way light reflects The amount of light able to be passed
through a mineral determines its
from the surface of the mineral. transparency.
Light can pass through transparent
There are two types of luster, minerals;
 translucent minerals partially let light pass
Metallic: looks like polished through;
metal. and opaque minerals do not let any light
Nonmetallic: does not look like through.
polished metal. Nonmetallic A mineral can exhibit more than one level
can be shiny or dull of transparency, and, in fact, most
transparent minerals also occur in
translucent forms due to the presence of
impurities.
 Quartz has a nonmetallic luster  Pyrite has a metallic luster and is
and is translucent Opaque
 Colour
This is commonly the most striking feature of a
mineral but can be misleading
Minerals with the same chemistry can have
different colours, usually caused by mineral
impurities in the crystal
Quartz can be clear, white, pink, purple, grey,
red, yellow, green, brown, and even black.
The mineral corundum (Al2O3) is colorless when
pure but when it contains chromium and iron it is
red in color and is called a ruby; when it contains
iron and titanium it is blue and is called sapphire. Varying colors of quartz. From left to
Right – clear quartz, amethyst (purple
Quartz) smoky (black quartz), citrine
(yellow quartz) and rose (pink quartz).
 Streak
Streak is the colour of a mineral in powder form. Seen when
the mineral scratched on a porcelain plate/streak plate ( true
colour of the mineral)
Not all minerals work this way. When some minerals are
scratched along a ceramic streak plate, it creates a different
colour.
Pyrite (fool’s gold) is a mineral which has a streak colour
very different from the colour of the mineral and that
distinguishes it from real gold.
Pyrite will leave a black powder if it is scratched on a white
tile, whereas gold will leave a yellow gold smear.
 Streak (Cont’d)

Streak plates showing a black pyrite Hematite (Fe2O3) can have various Colours,
streak (top) and a yellow gold streak but its streak is always Reddish brown
(bottom)
Shape / Habit
External expression of the orderly
internal arrangement of atoms
Habit may help in identifying a mineral
if all faces are developed.
When the faces are well-developed due
to uncrowded growth a crystal is called
a euhedral, one with partially
developed faces is a subhedral, and
one with undeveloped crystal faces is
called anhedral
 Hardness
The measure of a mineral to resist
scratching,
Minerals can also be identified by
comparing their relative hardness
If a substance is able to scratch
another substance, it is harder
Represents the strength of bonds in
the crystal lattice
Measured on a qualitative scale called Testing mineral hardness. The harder
Mineral (quartz) scratches the softer one
Mohs Hardness Scale
(calcite)
Mohs Hardness Scale
 Cleavage and Fracture
Cleavage and fracture are used to describe the way a mineral breaks.
Cleavage - Tendency of minerals to break along smooth, flat surfaces
and every fragment has the same general shape. Following planes with
weaker bonds in the mineral structure.
Fracture - Tendency of minerals to break at random with rough or
jagged edges. Minerals with equally strong bonds throughout their
structure will fracture due to the absence of weaker zones.
Mineral fractures can be: irregular, conchoidal, or fibrous.
 Tenacity
The term tenacity refers to a mineral’s resistance to breaking or
deforming.

Minerals that are ionically bonded such as fluorite and halite, tend to
be brittle and shatter into smaller pieces when struck.

By contrast, minerals with metallic bonds such as native copper are
malleable and can easily be hammered into different shapes.
 Tenacity
Tenacity is divided into four classes namely
Brittle - Minerals that are ionically bonded such as fluorite and
halite, tend to be brittle and shatter into smaller pieces when struck.
Malleable - By contrast, minerals with metallic bonds such as
native copper are malleable and can easily be hammered into
different shapes
Sectile - Minerals including gypsum and talc that can be cut into
thin shavings are described as Sectile.
Elastic - Other minerals are Elastic and will bend and snap back to
their original shape after stress is released eg Mica.
 Density and specific gravity
Density is a measure of the mass of a substance per unit
measure. For example, the density of a one-inch cube of iron
is much greater than the density of a one-inch cube of cotton.
In most cases, denser objects are also heavier.
As a rule, non-metallic minerals have low densities while
metallic minerals have high densities
Specific Gravity is the ratio of the weight of a mineral to the
weight of an equal volume of water. The average value is
approximately 2.7.
 Other Properties
Magnetic: Magnetite (Fe3O4)
Reaction to hydrochloric acid: Calcite (CaCO 3); Dolomite
[Ca(Mg)CO3] will fizz slowly when in powered form.
Taste: Salty taste - Halite (NaCl)
Smell: Sphalerite (Zinc sulfide) has a “rotten egg” odour;
Kaolin will smell earthy when wet (as will other clays)
 Conclusion
1. Why is color not always a useful property in mineral
identification? Give an example of a mineral that supports
your answer
2. What do we mean when we refer to a mineral’s tenacity?
List three types of tenacity
3. What differentiates cleavage from fracture
4. What simple chemical test is useful in the identification of
the mineral calcite