Mineral Unknown Lab Name______Period ______

Introduction

Scientists have identified several thousand minerals. Many of these are quite rare. A few together constitute 90 percent of all the minerals found in Earth’s crust. Each mineral has a distinct composition and structure, however, for practical purposes, most can be identified by observing a few of their basic properties. In this investigation, you will study some basic properties of minerals. Use these properties to identify the minerals, and determine the uses for the minerals.

Objectives

1.  Make observation and perform tests to determine some minerals properties.

2.  Identify some common minerals.

3.  Identify the groups of rock-forming minerals.

4.  Determine the uses of common minerals.

5.  Understand the density (and specific gravity) of minerals

Materials

15 unknown minerals, streak plate, nail, penny, glass plate, acid, Table 1, textbook

Procedures

1.  Complete questions in Part 1

2.  Complete Part 2

3.  Complete Part 3

  1. Obtain a set of minerals for identification.
  2. Run the test for identification as indicated on Table 1.
  3. Use your textbook, pages 700-701, to identify the minerals.
  4. Use supplementary resources available in the classroom to find uses for each mineral.

4.  Complete Part 4 the analysis question.

Part 1: General Understanding.

Complete the following set of questions using your notes and the textbook.

1. What are the five characteristics that define a mineral?

A.  ______

B.  ______

C.  ______

D.  ______

E.  ______

2. Use your book, pages 108-111 to fin the table below.

Rock Forming Mineral groups

Group Name / Elements / Mineral Examples
Silicates
Carbonates
Oxides
Sulfides

3. Use the Properties of Some Common Minerals Table, pages 700-701, to name the properties that could be used to distinguish between the following minerals.

A.  Feldspar and Quartz ______

______

B.  Magnetite and Amphibole ______

______

C.  Talc and Mica ______

______

D.  Calcite and Fluorite ______

______

E.  Pyrite and Sphalerite ______

______

F.  Halite and Calcite ______

______

G.  Hematite and Pyrite ______

______

Part 2: Density/Specific Gravity

Students will utilize the triple beam balance, a graduated cylinder, and a calculator to determine the density of the two minerals provided at a designated station.

A.  Pick up each mineral in your, record your observations: ______

______

B.  Sample 1:

  1. Mass: ______
  2. Volume: ______
  3. Density: ______

Sample 2:

  1. Mass: ______
  2. Volume: ______
  3. Density: ______

C.  Compare you observations from A with the densities you found in B. Is the result what you expected. ______

______

Part 3: Identifying unknown minerals.

Students will utilized a glass plate, ceramic tile, nail, penny, their fingernail, paper clip, and HCL (diluted acid) to identify 10 of the minerals in the box of minerals provided. Students must where their goggles during the mineral identification portion of this lab. Student can choose any 10 minerals to identify and record the information in the table provided. Please be sure that you record the number of the mineral from the slot in the mineral box and return that mineral to the same slot. Students will need to see their teacher if they wish to test the mineral using HCL. Only the teacher will place the acid on the mineral in question.

Part 4: Analysis Questions

A.  Did all of your mineral descriptions exactly match the ones in the book? Why or why not?

B.  What physical properties are the most reliable and useful for identification? Explain.

C.  What physical properties are the least reliable and the most likely to yield different results? Explain.