Identify What are four features of a mineral in a sixth grade standard
Four features of a mineral that may be covered in a sixth grade standard include:
1. Hardness: Minerals have different levels of hardness. Hardness refers to a mineral's resistance to being scratched. For example, diamond is the hardest mineral on the Mohs scale, while talc is the softest.
2. Color: Minerals can come in a variety of colors. The color of a mineral is determined by its chemical composition and impurities present. However, it's important to note that some minerals can have different colors, so color alone is not enough to identify a mineral.
3. Luster: Luster refers to how a mineral reflects light. Minerals can have metallic luster (shiny like metal) or non-metallic luster (such as vitreous or glass-like, pearly, silky, dull, etc.). Luster can help in identifying minerals.
4. Cleavage and Fracture: Cleavage is the tendency of a mineral to break along certain planes of weak bonding. A mineral can have one or more cleavage planes. Fracture, on the other hand, refers to how a mineral breaks when it is not along cleavage planes. Fracture can be conchoidal (smooth, curved) or uneven. Both cleavage and fracture provide information about how a mineral breaks.