Skip to content
LessonPrint

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

Next set

One paper per student

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425

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. Which mineral scratched glass?
  2. 2. Why was every mineral given the same five tests?
  3. 3. A and D both leave a white streak. Which test tells them apart?
  4. 4. A new mineral is scratched by a fingernail and leaves a white streak. Which is it most like?
2.A mineral scratches glass. What does that tell you?
  • A.It is made of glass
  • B.It is softer than glass
  • C.It is harder than glass
3.Four gray minerals are tested and only one is pulled by a magnet. What is that test good for?
  • A.Telling the other three apart
  • B.Finding how hard they are
  • C.Picking that one out from the rest
4.Why use several tests rather than one?
  • A.More tests always give the same result
  • B.One test may give the same result for two different minerals
  • C.One test is never useful
5.What is a mineral's "shine," or luster?
  • A.How hot it gets in the sun
  • B.The way its surface reflects light
  • C.How heavy it feels
6.A mineral fizzes when a drop of vinegar is put on it. What does that show?
  • A.It reacts with the vinegar, which is a property you can test
  • B.It is magnetic
  • C.It is melting
7.What does the streak test show?
  • A.The color of the powder a mineral leaves when rubbed on a rough white tile
  • B.How shiny the mineral is
  • C.How heavy the mineral is

LessonPrint · 5-PS1-3 · Set 6 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Scratch, Shine and Streak

Set 6. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Mineral B. 2. So the results can be compared and each mineral told apart from the others. 3. The scratch test: a fingernail scratches A but not D. The vinegar test works too, because only D fizzes. 4. Mineral A, which is also scratched by a fingernail and leaves a white streak.
  2. 2.It is harder than glass
  3. 3.Picking that one out from the rest
  4. 4.One test may give the same result for two different minerals
  5. 5.The way its surface reflects light
  6. 6.It reacts with the vinegar, which is a property you can test
  7. 7.The color of the powder a mineral leaves when rubbed on a rough white tile

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