Final answer:
Luster is the mineral characteristic that describes the quality of light reflected from a mineral's surface. It is either termed metallic, where no light passes through, or non-metallic, where some light can pass through.
Step-by-step explanation:
The mineral characteristic that refers to the quality of light reflected from a mineral's surface is known as luster. Luster describes how a mineral looks when light interacts with its surface. This can range from metallic, where the mineral looks like a metal and does not allow light to pass through its atomic structure, to non-metallic, where the mineral allows some light to pass through. It is important to note that just because a mineral is shiny, it does not necessarily mean it has a metallic luster; the two terms are not synonymous. Determining the luster of a mineral is essential for its identification and is one of the many properties geologists study when classifying minerals.