One of the main goals in this course, and the principal goal of the laboratory portion, is to learn to identify mineral specimens in hand sample (as opposed to using a microscope or other tools). You should be able to identify the minerals below, on their own, or within a rock matrix (assuming the crystals are large enough to determine identifying features).

As you will learn in the lab portion, the main tools you will use for this identification are your hand lens (cleavage, crystal shape, state of aggregation), a hardness set, a streak plate, and a magnet. During labs 2-5, you will compile a personal list of the key features that differentiate each mineral from those others that can look superficially similar.