1 Properties of Minerals
Properties of Minerals
4
th
Grade
Concepts
Minerals are identified using a set of properties.
Looking at more than one property is important when identifying
minerals.
Objectives
Students will know that minerals are identified by using different
properties such as color, luster, streak, cleavage, and hardness.
Students will compare and contrast the minerals using their
properties.
Students will understand that it necessary to examine more than one
property to identify a mineral.
Outline
At the Museum explore minerals and their properties using the
worksheet.
In the classroom discuss student observations and discoveries and use
them to talk about how properties are used in identification.
Duration
Visit: 20-30 minutes
Location
Gem & Mineral Hall
Supplies
Worksheet
Pencil
Clipboard (optional)
Standards
Science 4.b
Vocabulary
Mineral
Property
Color
Luster
Cleavage
Streak
Hardness
Student Work
SECTION
CLOSED
2 Properties of Minerals
Background
Minerals can be identified by their color, luster, streak, cleavage, hardness, and even by their chemical
composition. Using these properties is one way a Geologist defines and identifies what kind of mineral a
specimen is.
The museum has 6 wall spaces at the museum dedicated to these specific properties with examples. As
the students learn about properties to identify minerals there are actual specimens for students to
explore. Listed below are definitions of the properties:
Color is one category but it is not always a good clue to the identity of a mineral. Many minerals
are found in several colors and many minerals have extra chemicals in them that give them an
unexpected color.
Luster is the way a mineral reflects light. Minerals can be described as metallic, pearly, glassy,
silky, greasy, brilliant, or dull.
Cleavage is when certain minerals break in a definite way
Hardness is measured by seeing how easy it is to scratch a mineral.
Streak is the color a specimen makes by rubbing a mineral across a hard, rough surface like a
bathroom tile.
You may choose to share this information with your students prior to visiting.
Museum Visit
During a trip to the Museum, students will examine the specimens on the wall of the exhibit using the
worksheet. By looking at all the examples in the museum, the students can answer the questions on the
worksheet and will be able to participate in the discussion.
Post-Visit
Back in the classroom, the teacher can lead a whole group discussion on their findings. The students will
discuss the minerals they found and what else they discovered about their properties. For example, they
can tell you that two minerals may have the same color but have a different hardness. The teacher can
begin the discussion of why this happens and why it is necessary to look at more than one property to
identify a mineral. The students can begin to infer that rocks can be identified by using the properties
discovered at the museum.
Variations & Extensions
This introductory lesson can be used to further explore more about the diagnostic properties for minerals.
For example, this lesson can lead into teaching about the Moh’s hardness scale and compare the hardness
of the minerals listed on that scale. Students will learns that the minerals can be scratched by certain
items and that helps to categorize them.
3 Properties of Minerals
Properties of Minerals
In Gem and Mineral Hall
Observe the displays in the Basics of Mineralogy section, and use them to answer the following questions.
1. Write the definition of the following properties of minerals:
Color:
Streak:
Luster:
Hardness:
Cleavage:
2. List the minerals used to demonstrate each property in the table below:
3. Name three minerals that are used for more than one example, and list the
properties that mineral demonstrates:
Color Streak Luster Hardness Cleavage
Mineral
________________________
Properties
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
Mineral
________________________
Properties
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
Mineral
________________________
Properties
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
4 Properties of Minerals
Properties of Minerals
4. Using the Venn diagram below, pick 2 minerals to compare and contrast. Name at least three
similarities and three differences between the two minerals.
Mineral 1
___________________________
Mineral 2
___________________________
