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• Earth is a unique planet because of the properties that make

it habitable.
• o First, it is located in the best location in the solar system.
• o Second, it contains an atmosphere that acts as a planet’s
thermostat.
• o Third, its size and mass are enough to keep a gravitational force that is neither
too weak nor too strong.
• o Fourth, it has a magnetic field that shields solar winds and other space
whether.
• o Lastly, it contains the right amount of water to support
life.
•  The four subsystems of the earth are the atmosphere,
lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere.
• o The lithosphere is the solid portion of the earth and is
composed of the crust, mantle and core.
• o The hydrosphere includes all the waters found on earth.

• o The atmosphere is the gaseous layer that envelops the earth.

• o And the biosphere encompasses all of the earth’s life forms.
• A mineral is defined as a naturally occurring, usually inorganic
solid with distinct chemical composition and an orderly crystalline
structure.
• In order to test whether a sample of matter is a mineral,
scientists need to assess the sample according to the
aforementioned characteristics.
• A silicate mineral contains silicon and oxygen and may consist
of a metal. Examples are feldspar, orthoclase and plagioclase.
• A nonsilicate mineral is one that does not contain silicon and
oxygen. Examples of which are gypsum, galena, and corundum.
Color
Color is a useful property of minerals.
Corundum, a colorless mineral is composed of aluminum and oxygen
atoms.
Corundum that contains traces of chromium, forms a red gem called
ruby.
Another type of corundum is sapphire, a blue colored gem as a result of
traces of iron and titanium.
However, color alone may not be sufficient enough in identifying
minerals since some minerals may have almost the same color though
they differ in their chemical structures.
Luster
• The ability of a mineral to reflect light from its surface is called
luster.
• Metallic minerals have metallic luster.
• This type of luster is manifested by the way polished metals
reflect light.
• While nonmetallic minerals have nonmetallic luster.
• Nonmetallic luster is classified into four types of luster which are
glassy luster (like quartz), waxy luster, pearly luster (like mica),
and brilliant luster (like diamond).
• Streak
• Streak refers to the color of mineral in powdered form. The
color of mineral’s powdered form may differ from its color in
solid form.
• A mineral is rubbed against an unglazed ceramic tile to
observe its streak.
• Metallic minerals have streaks that are dark in color. For
example, the streak of a gold-colored pyrite is black in color.
On the other hand, the streak of nonmetallic minerals is
generally light in color.
• Cleavage and fracture
• Cleavage refers to the ability of a mineral to split along
a weak plane forming flat surface.
• Calcite is an example of mineral that has cleavage in
three directions.
• On the other hand, fracture refers to the capacity of a
certain mineral to break along curved surfaces.
• Quartz is an example of mineral that has fracture.
• Density
• Density is defined as the compactness of a sample of
matter. It is calculated as mass divided by volume.
Different samples of mineral of the same size differ in mass
because of the different elements that make up such
minerals.
• Minerals containing heavy metals like uranium, lead, silver
and gold have densities that range from 7 to 20 g/cm3.The
periodic table of elements shows that each element has a
unique density.
• Hardness
• The tendency of a mineral to resist abrasion (scratching) is
termed as hardness. The Mohs scale of hardness shows the
arrangement of minerals from the softest (talc) to the hardest
(diamond). Hardness is the result of intermolecular bonding. The
Mohs scale of mineral hardness arranges minerals according to
their scratch resistance. From the softest to the hardest mineral,
the sequence of the Mohs scale is as follows:
• Talc, Gypsum, Calcite, Fluorite, Apatite, Feldspar, Quartz, Topaz,
Corundum, and Diamond. Talc is the softest mineral while
diamond is the hardest
• Reaction with acids
• Minerals that contain carbonate (CO32-) react with acid. For
example, a sample of calcite reacts with dilute hydrochloric acid
(HCl).
• Fluorescence
• The ability of minerals to glow when bombarded with ultraviolet
light is called fluorescence. In this condition, minerals may not
glow under ordinary light. This is because such minerals are
selective of the wavelength of light that causes it to glow.
Calcite possesses this property.
• Phosphorescence
• Some minerals would continue to glow
even after a source of ultraviolet light has
been turned off. This ability is called
phosphorescence.
• The ore of lithium possesses this
characteristic.
 Summary
• Minerals have distinct properties that give them their identity.
• o Color refers to the ability of minerals to reflect regions of the visible light.
• o Luster is defined as the ability of mineral to reflect light in its surface.
• o Streak is the color of mineral in powdered form.
• o Cleavage is the ability of minerals to split along weak plane.
• o Fracture refers to the capacity of minerals to break along curved surfaces.
• o Density is the compactness of minerals.
• o Hardness is defined as the tendency of minerals to resist abrasion.
• o Reaction with acids describes how minerals react with acids like HCL.
• o Fluorescence is the ability of minerals to glow when bombarded with ultraviolet light.
• o And phosphorescence refers to the ability of minerals to continue glowing even after a source
of ultraviolet light has been turned off.
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