1. How to Classify a Mineral
It is very useful to know how to identify minerals when looking at different rock types because they are the basic building blocks of many of the everyday materials we use. ... The ability of a mineral to resist scratching and abrasion is known as its hardness. ... Minerals that are harder than 7 will scratch a streak plate, rather than leave colored powder behind. ... How and where magma cools determine the size of the mineral crystals; when magma cools slowly beneath the Earth's crust, large crystals form and when it cools rapidly, small crystals form (Marshak 124). ... This is how the ...
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