How to identify whether it is rock or mineral in lab?
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First let's do it pratically÷
If it is rock then it feel felt like and put a chemical on it then the rock of tge colour will appear and if is mineral then see from microscope.
If it is rock then it feel felt like and put a chemical on it then the rock of tge colour will appear and if is mineral then see from microscope.
Darshjain1:
Mark as brainlist plz.
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Minerals, quite simply, are the building blocks for making rocks, and a rock is made up of one or more minerals. When you look at a rock and see different colors, those colors are minerals that make up that specific rock. There are over 3,000 named minerals; however, there are really only about 30 minerals that people who are not geologists will come across or need to concern themselves with.
There are four criteria that must be met in order for something to be called a mineral:
Not formed from the remains of plants or animals; that is, inorganic
Naturally occurring, not man-made
Has the same chemical makeup wherever it is found (Ex: Quartz is always SiO2)
Has a crystalline structure, which means that it has a specific repeating pattern of atoms.
If all four of the criteria are not met, the substance is not a mineral. Therefore, “minerals” made in a lab are not true minerals because they did not occur naturally.
Here are a few tests that geologists rely on to identify what minerals they are looking at.
Color – Color is a very common way to try to identify a mineral; however, it should not be used on its own. Because any mineral can be any color, you cannot use color alone to identify a mineral. Color can merely help you. (Or, sometimes, confuse you!)
Shape – Minerals form in certain shapes based on the elements that make them up. Some minerals, such as quartz, only form in one particular shape. Others, such as calcite, can be found in multiple shapes. Sometimes shape isn’t enough and you need to use other tests to help you identify a mineral.
Hardness – How hard or soft a mineral is can tell you right away what mineral it could or could not be. The hardness of minerals is based on the Mohs Hardness Scale, which ranges from 1-10, 1 being the softest and 10 the hardest.
Streak – The streak of a mineral is simply the color of a powder that’s left behind when the mineral is scratched along a white, ceramic, unglazed tile. Even if the color of the mineral itself changes from one specimen to another, the streak color is always the same.
Luster – Luster simply means the way that light reflects off a mineral. Light can make a mineral look very dull or as shiny as a diamond.
There are many other tests that geologists use; however, the tests listed above are usually sufficient for the amateur, and can help you identify the mineral.
There are four criteria that must be met in order for something to be called a mineral:
Not formed from the remains of plants or animals; that is, inorganic
Naturally occurring, not man-made
Has the same chemical makeup wherever it is found (Ex: Quartz is always SiO2)
Has a crystalline structure, which means that it has a specific repeating pattern of atoms.
If all four of the criteria are not met, the substance is not a mineral. Therefore, “minerals” made in a lab are not true minerals because they did not occur naturally.
Here are a few tests that geologists rely on to identify what minerals they are looking at.
Color – Color is a very common way to try to identify a mineral; however, it should not be used on its own. Because any mineral can be any color, you cannot use color alone to identify a mineral. Color can merely help you. (Or, sometimes, confuse you!)
Shape – Minerals form in certain shapes based on the elements that make them up. Some minerals, such as quartz, only form in one particular shape. Others, such as calcite, can be found in multiple shapes. Sometimes shape isn’t enough and you need to use other tests to help you identify a mineral.
Hardness – How hard or soft a mineral is can tell you right away what mineral it could or could not be. The hardness of minerals is based on the Mohs Hardness Scale, which ranges from 1-10, 1 being the softest and 10 the hardest.
Streak – The streak of a mineral is simply the color of a powder that’s left behind when the mineral is scratched along a white, ceramic, unglazed tile. Even if the color of the mineral itself changes from one specimen to another, the streak color is always the same.
Luster – Luster simply means the way that light reflects off a mineral. Light can make a mineral look very dull or as shiny as a diamond.
There are many other tests that geologists use; however, the tests listed above are usually sufficient for the amateur, and can help you identify the mineral.
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