Minerals have several characteristic properties that help in their identification:
Color: The color of a mineral can vary, but it is not the most reliable property for identification due to impurities.
Luster: It refers to how light is reflected from the surface of the mineral. Common types of luster include metallic, glassy, pearly, and dull.
Hardness: The ability of a mineral to resist scratching. This property is measured using the Mohs scale of hardness, which ranges from 1 (softest, talc) to 10 (hardest, diamond).
Cleavage and Fracture: Cleavage refers to the way a mineral breaks along planes of weakness, while fracture describes how the mineral breaks when no cleavage is present.
Crystal Form: Some minerals exhibit distinct crystal shapes, such as cubic, prismatic, or tabular forms.