Mineral Identification Flowchart · Earth and Space Sciences Reference Tables (ESSRT)

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The Mineral Identification Flowchart from the Reference Tables for Earth and Space Sciences (ESSRT) is a two-page key for identifying common minerals from their physical properties. It primarily supports HS-ESS2-3.

What the Mineral Identification Flowchart shows

Each path through the flowchart begins with luster. For nonmetallic minerals the next questions are whether the mineral is harder or softer than glass and whether it shows cleavage, and in how many directions; for metallic minerals the next question is the color of the streak. Boxes at the end of each path give distinguishing features (such as a salty taste, a reaction with acid or a soapy feel), luster, color and hardness, and name the mineral. Page 1 covers the nonmetallic minerals that are harder than glass, including quartz, garnet, olivine, amphibole, pyroxene and the feldspars, and softer minerals without cleavage; it also includes the Mohs hardness scale from talc (1) to diamond (10), with a fingernail (2.5), copper penny (3.5), glass plate (5.5) and steel nail (6.5) as test tools. Page 2 covers the softer nonmetallic minerals with cleavage, such as the micas, talc, gypsum, halite, calcite, dolomite and fluorite, and the metallic minerals magnetite, graphite, galena, pyrite, chalcopyrite, hematite and ilmenite.