The mineral’s physical properties are used in identifying minerals and are determined by its chemical composition and crystal structure.
Streak is the color of the mineral in powdered form and since it is a more accurate illustration of the mineral’s color, its is a more reliable property of minerals than color for identification.
Hardness is one of the better properties of minerals to use for identifying a mineral. Hardness is a measure of the mineral’s resistance to scratching.
Density may be used to identify minerals. It is used to describe the amount of matter in a certain amount of space. Substances that have more matter packed into a given space have higher densities.
