Author Question: You are a geologist hiking along a trail collecting rock samples. You come across a group of loose ... (Read 9 times)

plus1 · **on:** Jul 16, 2018

You are a geologist hiking along a trail collecting rock samples. You come across a group of loose crystals which have broken away from the rocks, so you bring them back to the lab to figure out which minerals they could be.

What tests can you put them through to figure out what they are? (2.1)
What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Can you think of something that is not matter?

What will be an ideal response?

kaillie · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 16, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Answer: First, I would examine the color and luster of the crystals to narrow it down a bit. I would find the different masses of the minerals to determine their density and compare them to other specimens in textbooks. This would narrow my search down even more. Then, I would conduct the scratch test on the various minerals, scratching one another and ranking them in order, then comparing them to the Mohs Hardness Scale. After, I would examine the cleave of the mineral, and compare that to known minerals' cleaves. Last, I would find the streak of the minerals, and at this point, the minerals should be identified.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: energy