Final answer:
A mineral that crystallizes from magma deep inside Earth can be characterized by its chemical composition, crystal habit, and likely a coarse-grained crystal size due to the slow cooling process. However, the hardness cannot be directly determined without testing.
Step-by-step explanation:
Given that a mineral crystallizes from magma deep inside Earth, we can infer the following characteristics:
- Chemical composition: This refers to the specific chemical formula of a mineral, which generally does not vary much for most minerals. An example is halite, which is always NaCl. The composition of the mineral can sometimes be determined by the context of how it formed.
- Crystal habit: This is the characteristic appearance of crystals that form as magma cools and solidifies. They typically have time to grow forming recognizable shapes.
- Crystal size: The rate at which magma cools affects crystal size. Slow cooling, as would occur deep within the Earth, allows crystals to grow larger, leading to a coarse-grained texture.
It is challenging to determine the hardness of a mineral without direct observation or testing. The cooling process of molten material and the original composition of the magma are critical in the classification of igneous rocks and, by extension, the minerals that make them up.