Name: Daniel Alvarado, Alexia Theoktisto, Cecilia Date: 19/02/2021

Carcamo

Student Exploration: Mineral Identification

Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.

Vocabulary: crystal, density, hardness, homogeneous, luster, mass, mineral, streak, volume

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

1. Suppose you find a yellow piece of metal in a stream. How could you tell if it is real gold?

The luster, You can drag the gold through a ceramic plate to see if it scratches, You can
wait and see if it becomes dull.

2. In the city a street peddler offers to sell you a diamond ring for thirty bucks. How could you test if the rock in
the ring is a real diamond?

Try to breathe near the diamond to see if it fogs, if it fogs is fake.

Gizmo Warm-up: Determining density

A mineral is a naturally formed crystal. You can identify a mineral
by its properties. In the Mineral Identification Gizmo, under Choose
property to test, select Density.

1. Mass is the amount of substance in an object. Drag the

mineral sample onto the balance.
What is the mass of the mineral? (Units are grams, g.) 36.4 g

2. Volume is the amount of space an object takes up. The volume is measured by how much the water
rises in a graduated cylinder. Drag the mineral into the cylinder.
What is the volume of the mineral? (Units are milliliters, or mL.) 14 mL

3. Density is a measure of how “light” or “heavy” an object is for its size. To find the density of an object,
divide the mass by the volume. (Calculators are recommended.)

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 What is the density of the mineral? (Units are grams per milliliter, g/mL.) 2.6

Get the Gizmo ready:

Activity A: ● Under Property, select Appearance.
Mineral properties ● Check that Sample A is on the screen. (If not, press
Previous until sample A is there.)

Question: What properties allow us to identify minerals?

1. Observe: Minerals are made of atoms in a repeating pattern and often form crystals. The shapes of
crystals can help identify the mineral. Luster is the way the mineral’s surface reflects light. There are many
ways to describe luster, four examples are shown. Color can sometimes be a useful way to identify a
mineral, but it is not always reliable.
A. Describe the crystal shape of Sample A: A pyramid

B. Describe its color and luster: Metallic and has a lot of lostful

2. Calculate: Select the Density test. What is the density of Sample A? 2.6

3. Measure: Select the Hardness test. Hardness is a measure of how easily a mineral can be scratched. It is
measured on a scale of 1 to 10 called Mohs scale. If a mineral scratches a fingernail (hardness 2.5) but not
a penny (3.5), its hardness is about 3.
A. Drag the mineral sample across each test Glass, Street Plate, Penny and
object. Which objects are scratched? Fingernail

B. What is the estimated hardness of the mineral? 6.5

4. Observe: Select the Streak test. The streak is the color of a material’s powder. You can observe the streak
by rubbing the mineral across a tile called a “streak plate.”
Drag the mineral sample across the streak plate. What color is the streak?

It does not scratch the streak plate.

Note: If the mineral is harder than the streak plate (about 6.5), it won’t leave a streak.

5. Observe: Select the Acid test. Some minerals cause hydrochloric acid to bubble and fizz.
Drag the eyedropper of acid over to the mineral. Does the acid fizz?

No, it doesn’t fizz

6. Identify: Now it is time to identify the mineral. Look at your Mineral Key. Find a mineral that has properties
that match Sample A. Type the name under Mineral name in the Gizmo and press Submit. It may take
several guesses to get it right.
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 What mineral is Sample A? Quartz

Activity B:
Get the Gizmo ready:
Identifying
● Click Next so that Sample B is showing.
minerals

Goal: Use a key to identify minerals.

1. Collect data: Use the Gizmo to collect data about minerals B through F. Fill in the data table.

Crystal Color/ Fizzes in

Sample Density Hardness Streak
shape Luster acid?
Rectangle/Irr
B egular Pearly 2.6 6 White No

Irregular
C Yellow 19.3 3 Yellow No

D yellow 2.7 2.5 White Yes

Cube

E black 36.0g 2.5 White No

Rectangle
Glassy
F 2.2 3 White No
Cube metallic

2. Identify: Use the Mineral Key to identify minerals B through F. Submit your answers in the Gizmo. (Use the
Previous and Next buttons to switch samples.) Record your results below:

Sample Mineral name (first try) Mineral name (actual) Correct on first try?
B Feldspar Feldspar Yes
C Gold Gold Yes
D Calcite Halite No
E
F

3. On your own: Continue to practice identifying minerals. (There are 26 samples in the Gizmo: A through Z.)
Record your findings in your notebook or on separate sheets of paper.

4. Form a conclusion: Which properties were most useful for identifying minerals? Why?

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 Mineral Key
Use the following steps to identify a mineral:
1. Decide if the mineral is metallic or non-metallic based on its luster and streak.
2. If the mineral is non-metallic, decide if it is light or dark in color.
3. Find a mineral in the list with the same density and hardness as your sample.
4. Check that the other properties—crystal shape, color, streak, acid reaction—match.

Metallic minerals (luster of each mineral ranges from metallic to dull)

Fizzes
Crystal
Mineral Color Density Hardness Streak in
shape
acid?
Galena Cubic/
Gray 7.5 g/mL 3 Dark gray No
(lead ore) irregular
Golden
Gold Irregular 19.3 g/mL 3 Yellow No
yellow
Graphite
Irregular Dark gray 2.2 g/mL 2 Gray No
(pencil lead)
Hematite Red-brown
Irregular 5.3 g/mL 6 Red-brown No
(iron ore) to black
Magnetite
Irregular Black 5.2 g/mL 6 Black No
(iron ore)
Malachite
Irregular Dark green 4.0 g/mL 4 Light green No
(copper ore)
Pyrite Cubic/ Greenish
5.0 g/mL 6 Dark green No
(fool’s gold) irregular yellow
Silver
Silver Irregular 10.5 g/mL 3 Gray No
gray

Non-metallic minerals, mostly dark in color (glassy, pearly or dull luster)

Crystal Color/ Hardnes Fizzes
Mineral Density Streak
shape luster s in acid?
Corundum Hexagon/ Dark red,
4.0 g/mL 9 No streak No
(Ruby) irregular glassy/dull
Dark red,
Garnet Ball shape 4.0 g/mL 7 No streak No
glassy/dull
Black/white
Mica Flat sheets 3.0 g/mL 3 White No
, glassy

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 Hexagon/ Variable,
Topaz 3.5 g/mL 8 No streak No
irregular glassy

Non-metallic minerals, mostly light in color (glassy, pearly or dull luster)

Fizzes
Crystal Color/
Mineral Density Hardness Streak in
shape luster
acid?
Rhombus/ Variable,
Calcite 2.7 g/mL 3 White Yes
irregular glassy
Pyramid/ Variable,
Diamond 3.5 g/mL 10 No streak No
irregular glassy
Variable,
Dolomite Irregular 2.9 g/mL 4 White Yes
pearly/dull
Rectangle/ Pink/white,
Feldspar 2.6 g/mL 6 White No
irregular pearly
Pyramid/ Variable,
Fluorite 3.2 g/mL 4 White No
irregular glassy
Rectangle/ Variable,
Gypsum 2.3 g/mL 2 White No
irregular pearly/dull
Variable,
Halite Cubic 2.2 g/mL 3 White No
glassy
Variable,
Kaolinite Irregular 2.6 g/mL 2 White No
dull
Hexagon/ Variable,
Quartz 2.6 g/mL 7 No streak No
irregular glassy
Yellow,
Sulfur Irregular 2.1 g/mL 2 Yellow No
waxy
Variable,
Talc Irregular 2.7 g/mL 1 White No
pearly

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