Somewhere between 3 and 5 on the Mohs scale of relative mineral hardness...
Othoclase, apatite, fluorite, calcite, gypsum, and talc.
Minerals that have a hardness less than that of a knife blade (5.5 on the Mohs scale) can be scratched with a knife. These minerals include gypsum, calcite, and talc.
The unknown mineral has a hardness greater than that of apatite (which has a hardness of 5 on the Mohs scale) since it can scratch it. However, it has a hardness less than corundum (which has a hardness of 9) since it can be scratched by it. Therefore, we can conclude that the hardness of the unknown mineral is between 5 and 9 on the Mohs scale.
Quartz is harder than apatite, quartz being a 7 on the Mohs mineral hardness scale and apatite being a 5.
Minerals that can scratch apatite include fluorite, quartz, topaz, and corundum. These minerals have a higher hardness level than apatite on the Mohs scale, which allows them to scratch apatite.
The mineral that would scratch apatite but not scratch fluorite is quartz. Quartz has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, while apatite has a hardness of 5 and fluorite has a hardness of 4. Therefore, quartz can scratch apatite but is too hard to be scratched by fluorite.
No, apatite cannot scratch glass because glass ranks higher on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness than apatite. Apatite has a hardness of 5 on the Mohs scale, while glass has a hardness of around 5.5, meaning glass is harder than apatite.
What is pink color nonmetalic and galssy luster softer than topaz quuartz scratches apatite harder than fluorite has clevage and is scratched by a steel file?
Fluorite and apatite are two minerals that are harder than calcite but softer than quartz on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. They have hardness values of 4 (fluorite) and 5 (apatite) respectively, compared to 3 for calcite and 7 for quartz.
apatite with a steel knife feldspar with window glass
Moh's Scale of Hardness # Talk # Gypsum # Calcite # Fluorite # Apatite # Orthocalse Feldspar # Quartz # Topaz # Corundum # Diamond Has only 10 minerals in it. There are literally 100s if minerals to be found in the rocks that are not used in the scale but that can have their hardness related to the scale. e.g. graphite, galena, beryl, zircon etc.
The mineral would have a hardness between 5.5 and 6.5 on the Mohs scale. It cannot scratch glass (hardness of about 5.5) but can scratch an iron nail (hardness of about 4). This places it in the range of minerals like orthoclase feldspar or apatite.