How do you use Mohs Hardness Scale?

The Mohs Hardness Scale is used as a convenient way to help identify minerals. A mineral’s hardness is a measure of its relative resistance to scratching, measured by scratching the mineral against another substance of known hardness on the Mohs Hardness Scale.

How do you use Mohs scale to determine what mineral or substance will scratch another?

The Mohs scale measures the hardness of a mineral by observing how its surface is scratched by another substance. In order to use the Mohs scale to measure material hardness, a sharp point of one material is placed on an unmarked surface of another material in an attempt to produce a scratch.

What is the Mohs Hardness Scale and why is it useful in determining an unknown mineral?

This test compares the resistance of a mineral to being scratched by ten reference minerals known as the Mohs Hardness Scale (see table at left). The test is useful because most specimens of a given mineral are very close to the same hardness. This makes hardness a reliable diagnostic property for most minerals.

How hard is 2.5 on Mohs scale?

So, a diamond is the hardest substance known to man. On the Mohs scale, fingernail has hardness 2.5; copper penny, about 3.5; a knife blade, 5.5; window glass, 5.5; steel file, 6.5. Using these ordinary materials of known hardness can be a simple way to approximate the position of a mineral on the scale.

What is the softest mineral on the Mohs hardness scale?

Talc
In 1812, a man named Fredrich Mohs invented a scale of hardness called Mohs Scale which is still used today. He selected ten standard minerals, and arranged them in order of increasing hardness. Talc is the softest and diamond is the hardest. Each mineral can scratch only those below it on the scale.

What is the softest mineral on the Mohs scale?

What is the hardest thing on the Mohs scale?

diamond

What is the hardest mineral prove it?

Diamond
Definition

10	Diamond
9	Corundum
8	Topaz
7	Quartz	(porcelain – 7)
6	Orthoclase	(steel file – 6.5)