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 metallic | minerals that shine like polished metals. Gold |
| nonmetallic | minerals that do not shine like metals but have a dull, greasy, earthy appearance. |
| luster | the way a mineral reflects light from its surface |
| cleavage | the tendency of a mineral to break along flat surfaces |
| color | least reliable physical property in identifying a mineral |
| fracture | the manner in which a mineral breaks along either curved or irregular surfaces |
| hardness | a measure of the ability of a mineral to resist scratching |
| mineral | a naturally occurring, inorganic solid that has a crystal structure and a definite chemical composition |
| streak | the color of a mineral's powder |
| organic | living, or once living |
| inorganic | means "not alive and never was" |
| polyminerallic | Made of 2 or more minerals |
| monominerallic | This is a rock which is made of only one mineral |
| Moh's scale of Hardness | minerals are assigned a number between 1 & 10 to indicate their hardness |
| nonrenewable | A resource that cannot be reused or replaced in a short period of time or at all; metals, minerals, petroleum, fossil fuels |
| silicates | minerals that contain silicon and oxygen and usually one or more other elements |
| tetrahedron | a triangular pyramid formed of four equilateral triangles, the base being one of the faces |