Briefly discuss three properties of minerals that are useful for identification.

A mineral has certain characteristics that helps in distinguishing from one mineral to another. There are various properties that enables to identify these mineral. Three of the mineral properties for mineral identification are as follows-

(1) Color- It is one of the primary property. Minerals appears to be in different colors and these colors forms under different conditions. These colors ranges from dark to light colored. For example, the color of olivine is olive green in color.

(2) Luster- It is the property that describes how light is reflected from the crystal's surface. DIfferent minerals have different lusters. Lusters are of various types such as metallic, non metallic, dull, pearly and earthy luster. For example, pyrite has a metallic type of luster.

(3) Hardness- It is defined as the mineral's resistance to breaking. The hardness varies from mineral to mineral. According to the Mohr's hardness scale, the hardness of minerals ranges from 1 to 10. For example, diamond has a hardness of 10.