All of the following is NOT one of the five major physical properties of minerals?

• A. Cleavage
• B. Hardness
• C. Color
• D. Mineralogical petrology

Answer: (D)

The correct answer is mineralogical petrology, as it does not represent one of the five major physical properties of minerals. Instead, mineralogical petrology is a field of study focused on the classification and origin of rocks and minerals rather than a physical characteristic of an individual mineral itself.

In contrast, cleavage refers to the way a mineral breaks along specific planes of weakness, reflecting its internal atomic structure. Hardness is a measure of a mineral's resistance to scratching, commonly evaluated using the Mohs scale. Color, while it may vary due to impurities, is often one of the first properties used to identify minerals, although it is not always reliable for classification. Each of these terms is directly related to the physical attributes that can be observed and measured for individual minerals, but mineralogical petrology is more about the science and study of these materials rather than a physical property.