That procedure tests the streak of the mineral. Oddly, the streak color of some minerals are different from the mineral's color.
By rubbing mineral against a piece of porcelain tile, the objective of the test is to observe the hardness of the mineral.
The test described is called a streak test, and indicates the true color of a mineral as observed in a powdered form.
The test is called a streak test and it leaves a powdered form of the mineral on the porcelain. The powdered mineral reveals the true color, of the mineral specimen, which may or may not match the color of the specimen.
You identify minerals through a streak test. This involves taking the tile and the mineral to be identified and rubbing them together. This produces a colored streak on the tile, which can be used to identify the mineral. Consult a field guide for specific colors.
Which mineral leaves a green-black powder when rubbed against an unglazed porcelain plate?
StreakColor of the mineral when it is powdered.Grind a small amount of a mineral into a powder on a porcelain streak plate and determine the color of the powder.
hardness
Porcelain, as the name suggests.
Streak tests are used to identify minerals. Rubbing a mineral specimen against unglazed white porcelain, or finely powdering it and examining the powder against a white background, is a useful diagnostic test in some cases. Eg. hematite, a black mineral that looks much like many other black minerals, has a distinctive red streak.
Mineral samples can be scraped across the bottom (i.e., the unglazed side) of a tile to create a colour streak which is characteristic of the mineral. Note that it takes more than a colour streak to identify a mineral. Many minerals have the same colour streak. Other characteristics such as the hardness and density will also need to be determined in order to positively identify a mineral.
By rubbing a mineral against a piece of unglazed porcelain tile From Prentice Hall textbook: Inside Earth
hematite