Your task will be to locate information on each of these minerals and input the necessary information into your database. Your source of information can be science textbooks, the internet, CD-ROMs, mineral books, and anything else available in your local library. Once you have located the information and put it into your database, you are ready to attempt to use this database to identify the minerals selected by your instructor. In order to identify the minerals, you will need to understand the termonology being used for the various mineral tests. Name , of course, refers to what a mineral is called.
Some minerals have more than one common name.
These names might vary depending upon the location where the mineral was found. Color is referring to the appearance of the mineral by just looking at it. Some mineral may have a wide range of colors. Color is not the best criteria for identification. Luster refers to the way light is reflected from the surface.