Name: ______Pd.: ______Date: ______Treasures in the Earth Worksheet

# Question Answer 1 If you have found a mineral that scratches quartz, could it be gypsum?

2 If you have found a pale yellow, shiny nugget that leaves a greenish-black streak and cannot be scratched by fluorite, could it be gold? 3 If you have a whitish-gray stone with a nonmetallic luster that leaves a colorless streak that can be scratched by a steel file by not by a knife, what do you have? 4 If you found a sample of a red mineral that leaves a gray streak, that can be scratched with a fingernail and with a penny and can be easily cut with a knife, what is it? 5 If you are holding a very soft mineral that leaves a black grease on your fingers, that leaves a black streak and has a shiny luster, what do you have? 6 If you have a metallic, gray mineral that leaves a gray streak, has crystals that appear cubic, breaks with a clean cleavage and scratches gypsum, is it graphite? 7 If you have a pile of white, nonmetallic stones that leave a white streak and can be scratched with a fingernail, what are those stones? 8 If you have some yellow stones that leave a yellow streak, can be scratched with a fingernail and does not have a metallic luster, what could they be? 9 If you have a pale white stone that has hexagonal crystals, leaves a white streak and can be scratched by a knife but not by a fingernail, could it be dolomite? 10 If you have a mineral that feels soapy, leaves a white powdery residue on your hands, is very soft and flakes off, what have you found? 11 If you have a colorless chunk that breaks apart into cubes, has no luster, is soft enough to be scratched by fluorite and when wet, begins to dissolve, what do you have? 12 If you find a colorless chunk of mineral that cannot be scratched by calcite, has no shine to it and seems to break apart in many directions, what have you found? 13 If you have found a large amount of a mineral that has various colors, some is nearly clear, appears to have hexagonal crystals and is hard enough to scratch a steel file, what have you found? 14 If you have found a deep red mineral that looks like a gem, leaves a colorless streak and is harder than quartz, could it be a garnet? 15 If you have a brown mineral that leaves a brown streak, fractures irregularly, can be scratched by a steel file but not a knife and has a metallic luster, what mineral might it be? 16 If you have found a whitish mineral that glows when you put it under ultraviolet light, leaves a colorless streak and cannot be scratched with a penny but can be scratched with a knife, what might it be? 17 If you have been given a gem to examine that is blue, has a colorless streak, doesn’t scratch anything you can find but does scratch quartz, what might it be? 18 If you have found a mineral that is coppery-red, can be scratched by fluorite and has a metallic luster, is this possibly copper? 19 If you have a mineral that leaves a black streak, has a metallic luster and cannot be scratched by a fingernail, knife or a penny, is it galena? 20 If you have a yellow gem that you think is topaz, will it scratch a steel file?

21 If you have a shiny, silvery-white mineral that leaves a light gray streak and is hard enough to scratch calcite, could it be silver? 22 If you have a green, nonmetallic mineral that leaves a colorless streak, can be scratched by a penny but not easily scratched by a fingernail, could it be muscovite?