By the mineral color, streak color, luster, hardness, the property of the mineral, if it's fracture or cleavage and it's specific gravity.
Those are just basic, so there's many other ways to ID a mineral.
hardness
crystal shape
special features
density
streak
luster
fracture
By examining their colour, streak, lustre, transparency, birefringence, hardness, cleavage, breakage, density, and sometimes the way they react with such chemicals as hydrocholoric acid.
You identify a mineral by it's physical properties.
You can identify minerals by looking or studying their color, luster, streak, cleavage, hardness, specific gravity, and chemical composition.
color, streak, hardness, cleavage, luster, and special
no, because the same mineral can be more than one color.
You can use hardness(Moh's Hardness Scale), luster, shape, and fracture to identify quartz.
Mass
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.
Color, streak color, hardness, cleavage, and chemical.
THE EIGHT WAYS TO I.D. A MINERALThe eight ways to identify a mineral such as corundum are 1 hardness 2 crystal shape 3 special features 4 density 5 streak 6 luster 7 cleavage or fracture 8 color. (to find out hardness look up "Mohs scale of hardness" everything else you could search it on google or bing)
the color and streak or luster
The worst way to identify a mineral is by tasting it. When you are classifying a mineral by tasting it doesn't do much. So taste is the worst way to identify a mineral.
the least accurate way to identify a mineral
yes
Mass
what is the most reliable way to identify a mineral?
The observable color is the least dependable method of mineral identification.
yes
you streak it on the ground
Geolgy
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.