She'll be Testing all the Minerals
Original lyrics penned 1993, © 2004 by James West Nelson
Tune: " She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain "
She'll be testing all the minerals in the lab
She'll be testing all the minerals in the lab
She'll test hardness streak and breakage, heft and unique features
Lustre, shape, and color in the lab
Well she knows that diamond hardness is a "ten"
And she also knows talc hardness is a "one"
She found she can determine, on thee Moh's Scale of Hardness
The identity of minerals, and it's fun
The lustre is how glossy minerals shine
Metals are metallic all the time
Non-metals can be silky ...glassy, pearly, waxy
Or just plain old dull-looking without shine
The breakage of a mineral tells a lot
If the mineral breaks real even when it's lopped
We say that it has cleavage, cuz fracture breaks uneven
The difference is real easy, you can spot
Some minerals leave a mark on a streak plate
Some minerals when they're tested will not rate
Metals will streak heavy, non-metals will streak lightly
The streak test on a mineral works real great
The shape of a mineral helps us see
Crystal shapes of atoms so tine-knee
The color can be helpful, but you'd better be real careful
Cuz pyrite looks like gold to you and me
The hefting of a sample handily
Will compare the specific gravity
Natural magnetism, taste, smell or double prism
Can be the unique features that we see
She'll be testing all the minerals in the lab
She'll be testing all the minerals in the lab
She'll test hardness streak and breakage, heft and unique features
Lustre, shape and color in the lab