What determines the hardness of a mineral how a mineral breaks and its crystal shape?

What determines the hardness of a mineral how a mineral breaks and its crystal shape?

Like a mineral’s cleavage, a mineral’s hardness is determined by its crystal structure and the strength of the bonds between its atoms. Harder minerals have stronger bonds. A scale known as the Mohs scale is often used to describe a mineral’s hardness.

What determines the properties of a crystal?

Properties that help geologists identify a mineral in a rock are: color, hardness, luster, crystal forms, density, and cleavage. Crystal form, cleavage, and hardness are determined primarily by the crystal structure at the atomic level. Color and density are determined primarily by the chemical composition.

What determines crystal hardness?

The hardness of minerals is diagnostic because the hardness is determined by the strength of bonds and the structure of the mineral lattice. Hardness is basically the stress required to create and grow extended lattice defects such as micro-fractures, stress twins, and dislocations.

What properties of a mineral describe the way it breaks apart?

Cleavage. The way in which a mineral breaks along smooth flat planes is called cleavage. These breaks occur along planes of weakness in the mineral’s structure.

What determines a mineral hardness?

Hardness (H) is the resistance of a mineral to scratching. The degree of hardness is determined by observing the comparative ease or difficulty with which one mineral is scratched by another or by a steel tool.

How do you determine the hardness of each mineral?

Hardness is measured by the resistance which a smooth surface offers to abrasion. The degree of hardness is determined by observing the comparative ease or difficulty which which one mineral is scratched by another. Table showing Mohs’ relative hardness scale.

What causes a mineral to have the properties that it has?

The physical properties of minerals are related to their chemical composition and bonding. Some characteristics, such as a mineral’s hardness, are more useful for mineral identification. Color is readily observable and certainly obvious, but it is usually less reliable than other physical properties.

What is mineral and its physical properties?

Most minerals can be characterized and classified by their unique physical properties: hardness, luster, color, streak, specific gravity, cleavage, fracture, and tenacity.

What determines the property of hardness in a mineral?

Hardness. The ability to resist being scratched—or hardness—is one of the most useful properties for identifying minerals. Hardness is determined by the ability of one mineral to scratch another. Each higher-numbered (harder) mineral will scratch any mineral with a lower number (softer).

What would you use to determine the hardness of a mineral?

The Mohs Hardness Scale is used as a convenient way to help identify minerals. A mineral’s hardness is a measure of its relative resistance to scratching, measured by scratching the mineral against another substance of known hardness on the Mohs Hardness Scale.

What determines the heaviness of a mineral?

The heaviness of a mineral mainly depends on the kinds of materials that the mineral is made of. Minerals are made up of different chemical elements. If a mineral is made up of heavier chemical elements it will feel heavier than another mineral of the same size, made up of lighter chemical elements.

How are the physical properties of a mineral determined?

Minerals can be identified by their physical characteristics. The physical properties of minerals are related to their chemical composition and bonding. Some characteristics, such as a mineral’s hardness, are more useful for mineral identification.

How is the hardness of a crystal determined?

The hardness is not determined by formation of crystal lattice defects and dislocations as in Mark’s explanation, but rather by movement of individual crystals. Assuming you could have had a single huge clay crystal, it would be much harder than the common lump of clay. Also, take for example graphite.

Are there any minerals that are not crystalline?

All minerals are crystalline, but only some have the opportunity to exhibit the shapes of their crystals, their crystal forms. Many minerals in an introductory geology lab do not exhibit their crystal form.

What causes a mineral to be very hard?

For example, Si-O-Si and Al-O-Al bonds usually cause minerals to be hard, such as in the case of quartz and feldspar. However, if you look at clays and other related minerals, they also have similar bonds. In this case, however, crystal morphology is the determining factor.