1. Color
2. Density (Specific Gravity)
3. Hardness (1-10) Moh’s hardness scale
4. Breakage (fracture/cleavage)
5. Luster (Metallic/Non-metallic) Metal or non-metal looking

Breakage (fracture/cleavage)- Minerals tend to break along lines or smooth surfaces when hit sharply. Different minerals break in different ways showing different types of cleavage.

Density or Specific Gravity- Density (or Specific Gravity) is a very important property of minerals. The calculation is fairly simple – weight/volume.

Luster (Metallic/Non-metallic) Metal or non-metal looking

Color- Most minerals have a distinctive color that can be used for identification. In opaque minerals, the color tends to be more consistent, so learning the colors associated with these minerals can be very helpful in identification.

Hardness (1-10) Moh’s hardness scale- 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. The Moh’s scale is a set of 10 minerals whose hardness is known.