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The most diagnostic physical property of a mineral is its hardness, which is measured on the Mohs scale. Hardness indicates how resistant a mineral is to scratching and can help distinguish between different minerals. For example, talc is the softest mineral on the scale (1), while diamond is the hardest (10). Other important properties include color, luster, and streak, but hardness is often the most reliable for identification.

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Which property is the most unreliable variable diagnostic property of minerals such as quartz?

Color is the most unreliable diagnostic property of minerals like quartz because it can be easily influenced by impurities, resulting in varying colors. This makes color alone insufficient for accurate mineral identification.


What is the most useful physical property when classifying a rock?

The most useful physical property when classifying a rock is its mineral composition. This includes identifying the specific minerals present in the rock and their relative proportions. By analyzing these properties, geologists can categorize rocks into different types based on their mineral content.


What is the most reliable physical property that can be used to identify a mineral?

The most reliable physical property to identify a mineral is its chemical composition. This is because each mineral has a unique combination of elements that make up its structure, which can be determined through chemical testing. Additionally, properties like hardness, cleavage, and specific gravity can also aid in identifying minerals.


The most obvious but most unreliable mineral property is?

Streak


Does fracture make up the most common mineral group?

No, the most common mineral group is silicates, which make up over 90% of Earth's crust. Fracture is a physical property of minerals describing how they break when under stress, such as conchoidal fracture in quartz.


Which property of a mineral most directly results from the internal arrangements of its atoms?

crystal shape


Which property of a mineral most directly results form atom arrangement?

The property of a mineral that most directly results from its atomic arrangement is its crystal structure. The specific arrangement of atoms within the mineral determines its symmetry, shape, and overall crystalline form, which can influence other properties such as cleavage, hardness, and optical characteristics. For example, different atomic arrangements lead to distinct crystal systems, such as cubic, tetragonal, or hexagonal. Thus, the internal architecture of a mineral is fundamental to its physical properties.


Which physical characteristics most helpful in classifing rocks?

Its mineral composition.


What mineral property is the least useful property?

Luster is typically considered the least useful mineral property, as it does not provide much information about the mineral's identity or composition. Luster simply describes how light is reflected off the surface of a mineral, such as metallic, glassy, or dull, and can vary even within the same mineral species.


What chemical property is most commonly used to classify igneous rock List two physical properties that you could use to identify igneous rocks.?

The most commonly used chemical property to classify igneous rocks is their mineral composition, particularly the relative amounts of silica and other oxides present. Two physical properties that can help identify igneous rocks are texture (such as grain size and arrangement of crystals) and color, which can indicate the mineral content and cooling history of the rock.


What The crystal system a mineral belongs to relates most to the mineral's?

The crystal system a mineral belongs to relates most to the mineral's internal atomic structure and arrangement of atoms. This determines the shape and physical properties of the mineral, such as its cleavage, hardness, and color.


Which property would be most useful in identifying the unknown rock?

The property of cleavage or fracture would be most useful in identifying the unknown rock. Cleavage refers to the way a mineral breaks along flat surfaces, while fracture refers to how it breaks when no cleavage is present. These properties can help to determine the mineral composition of the rock.