Video Demos

The Bottom Line on Video Resources - Here on Top!

Bottom Line: Short instructional videos may be useful to students as a pre-lab assignment, as an in-lab guide to tests and procedures, as an out-of-lab review, etc. YouTube serves to all devices.

Errors/Suggestions: Contact Scott Brande (see footer).

Uncertainty or Failure of Test Results

Importance of Test Procedure

  • Identifying a mineral by name requires making observations to determine a sample's physical and chemical properties.

  • Physical samples may be tested with relatively inexpensive and common materials, such as a porcelain tile, a piece of glass, a magnet, a flashlight, etc.

Test results are subject in part to correctly conducting a test procedure. For example, if an insufficient amount of vertical force is used to test a sample for its relative hardness on a glass plate, no scratch may develop and the test result will be negative, even if the mineral is in fact harder than a glass plate.

These instructional videos include narration that focuses on procedural details necessary for preventing a failure of observation.

Video Resources You Can Use Elsewhere

  • These video resources on mineral identification are available on Scott Brande's YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/c/ScottBrande (or search "youtube scott brande")

  • You may freely copy and paste the URL for any video for your use elsewhere (e.g., a document, web page, etc.).

  • As a courtesy, if you use or distribute any video URL, I would appreciate a short note. Easy click to contact: mailto:soskarb@gmail.com

More geovids at: http://www.youtube.com/c/ScottBrande

Mineral ID Videos - Background and Demos

M01-Mineral Identification Introduction

M02-Luster

M03-Mohs Hardness-Background

M04-Demo Mohs Hardness

M05-Testing Fingernail Hardness

M06-Color of Minerals

M07-Demo Fracture and Cleavage

M08-Demo Magnetism

M09-Demo Acid Test

M10-Using Student vs Museum Samples

M11-ID Strategies I

M12-Mineral ID WrapUp