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Specific gravity identification and geology

The ratio of the density of a mineral to the density of water 1.0 g/cm³ at 4°C , expressed as a dimensionless number. Specific gravity is determined by chemical composition and crystal packing and ranges from about 1 for some organic minerals to over 19 for native gold. It is an important diagnostic property for mineral identification, especially for distinguishing visually similar minerals with different densities. Field: mineralogy. Example: Barite SG 4.5 feels noticeably heavier in the hand than similar-looking calcite SG 2.7 —this difference in heft is immediately apparent even to beginning geology students.. Related terms: Density, Hardness, Heft, Archimedes principle.

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Sources, scope & corrections

These authoritative resources support category-level nomenclature, terminology, identification methods, and safety. When a specimen-specific safety warning appears, the public-health source listed here directly supports that precaution. They are not line-by-line citations for every other property on this entry, and natural specimens vary.

Editorial owner
GeoMiner
Last updated
2026-03-30T15:19:42.096023+00:00
Review status
Published; not independently peer-reviewed
  • USGS Thesaurus — U.S. Geological Survey. Controlled earth-science terminology used to describe USGS information resources.
  • Glossary of Geologic Terms — U.S. National Park Service. Geologic definitions prepared by the NPS Geologic Resources Inventory.

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Common questions

What does Specific gravity mean in geology?
The ratio of the density of a mineral to the density of water 1.0 g/cm³ at 4°C , expressed as a dimensionless number. Specific gravity is determined by chemical composition and crystal packing and ranges from about 1 for some organic minerals to over 19 for native gold. It is an important diagnostic property for mineral identification, especially for distinguishing visually similar minerals with different densities.
What is an example of Specific gravity?
Barite SG 4.5 feels noticeably heavier in the hand than similar-looking calcite SG 2.7 —this difference in heft is immediately apparent even to beginning geology students.
Which earth-science field uses the term Specific gravity?
Specific gravity is used in mineralogy.
Which terms are related to Specific gravity?
Related terms in this reference are Density, Hardness, Heft, Archimedes principle.

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