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Is color a useful tool to identify minerals?

In: Geology [Edit categories]

Answer:

yes

First answer by 333lena333. Last edit by 333lena333. Contributor trust: 1 [recommend contributor ]. Question popularity: 3 [recommend question].

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Why can't you identify a mineral by color?
Because there might be a mineral that are the same color.
How can color and luster help identify minerals?
Color can help identify minerals by how those few minerals that always have their own characteristic color. Luster on the other hand you must simply check it's luster. :)
Why would it be difficult to identify a mineral by it's color?
A mineral's color may be influenced by inclusions of other elements or minerals, or even exposure to heat, light, and radiation. A more reliable identification based on color would be the streak, or...
Why isn't color useful in classifying minerals?
Because many different minerals have multiple colors like the sapphire has like 5 different colors and the colorless one looks almost = like a diamond so you can't really classify by color. miss...
What is the most useful way to identify a mineral?
Streak because it allows you to see more of the mineral(as in the inside), and the least useful way to identify a mineral is by color. This is because color can vary in each form of the mineral.