A crystal structure is the repetitive patterns in a mineral form. Cleavage is the ability of a mineral to break into flat surfaces. A fracture is a term used for an irregular way a mineral breaks apart.
Study of the mineral and the crystal structure.
The underlying internal architecture of a crystalline substance, or its crystal structure, is expressed in a mineral's outward morphology. The three-dimensional regular (or ordered) arrangement of chemical units (atoms, ions, and anionic groups in inorganic materials; molecules in organic substances) that make up a crystal structure is reproduced in different ways via translational and symmetry operations and are referred to as motifs.
The term "cleavage" describes the way some minerals fracture along specific structural lines of weakness. Mica is a wonderful example since it breaks along flat planes that are very closely spaced apart and produces thin "sheets."
A mineral can fracture when it splits in an irregular pattern without any smooth, plane surfaces.
To learn more about minerals, crystal structure, and their breakage pattern ( a fracture and cleavage), refer to-
