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Scratch, Shine and Streak is a free printable Grade 5 science worksheet on identifying minerals from a table of test results, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 5-PS1-3. It prints 7 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

Set 12 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.

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Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.

Scratch, Shine and Streak

5-PS1-3

NameDate

Read the record, then answer the questions.

1.Read the record, then answer the questions.

Four Unlabeled Minerals

Test results for four unlabeled minerals, each tested the same five ways. WHAT EACH MINERAL DID Mineral A: scratched by a fingernail, pearly shine, white streak, not pulled by a magnet, no fizz Mineral B: scratches glass, glassy shine, no streak, not pulled by a magnet, no fizz Mineral C: not scratched by a coin, metallic shine, black streak, pulled by a magnet, no fizz Mineral D: scratched by a coin but not a fingernail, glassy shine, white streak, not pulled by a magnet, fizzes with vinegar Tests: scratch, shine, streak on a rough white tile, magnet, a drop of vinegar.

  1. 1. A and D both leave a white streak. Which test tells them apart?
  2. 2. What claim does this record support?
  3. 3. Which mineral scratched glass?
  4. 4. Why was every mineral given the same five tests?
2.Four gray minerals are tested and only one is pulled by a magnet. What is that test good for?
  • A.Finding how hard they are
  • B.Picking that one out from the rest
  • C.Telling the other three apart
3.What does the streak test show?
  • A.The color of the powder a mineral leaves when rubbed on a rough white tile
  • B.How heavy the mineral is
  • C.How shiny the mineral is
4.Why use several tests rather than one?
  • A.One test may give the same result for two different minerals
  • B.More tests always give the same result
  • C.One test is never useful
5.Fool's gold looks like gold but leaves a greenish-black streak, while gold leaves a yellow one. What does that show?
  • A.A streak test can tell apart minerals that look alike
  • B.Streaks are always black
  • C.Fool's gold is real gold
6.Two minerals give the same result in every test you ran. What should you do?
  • A.Stop testing
  • B.Decide they are different
  • C.Try another test, or consider that they may be the same mineral
7.Which of these minerals is the softest?
  • A.One a fingernail can scratch
  • B.One a coin cannot scratch
  • C.One that scratches glass

LessonPrint · 5-PS1-3 · Set 12 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Scratch, Shine and Streak

Set 12. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. The scratch test: a fingernail scratches A but not D. The vinegar test works too, because only D fizzes. 2. Minerals can be told apart by a set of properties, each tested the same way. 3. Mineral B. 4. So the results can be compared and each mineral told apart from the others.
  2. 2.Picking that one out from the rest
  3. 3.The color of the powder a mineral leaves when rubbed on a rough white tile
  4. 4.One test may give the same result for two different minerals
  5. 5.A streak test can tell apart minerals that look alike
  6. 6.Try another test, or consider that they may be the same mineral
  7. 7.One a fingernail can scratch

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 5-PS1-3 of the Next Generation Science Standards.