6.0
The unknown mineral is not a mineral, or the pieces being scratched or doing the scratching are not freshly fractured or cleaved surfaces.
Apatite is a mineral that can scratch feldspar but not quartz. This is because apatite has a higher hardness value than feldspar but a lower hardness value than quartz on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness.
The Mohs scale is used to measure the hardness of minerals. It ranks minerals from 1 to 10 based on their scratch resistance. By comparing the hardness of an unknown mineral to the known hardness of minerals on the scale, one can determine the relative hardness of the unknown mineral.
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.
A mineral's resistance to being scratched is known as it's hardness. You can determine hardness by scratching it with another material whose hardness is already known. If it can be scratched, then the hardness is lower. If the unknown leaves a scratch on the known material, then its hardness is higher.
The unknown mineral is not a mineral, or the pieces being scratched or doing the scratching are not freshly fractured or cleaved surfaces.
The relative hardness of a mineral can be best tested by conducting a scratch test against common minerals with known hardness values, such as the Mohs Scale of Hardness. By observing which mineral scratches another, you can determine the relative hardness of the unknown mineral.
Apatite is a mineral that can scratch feldspar but not quartz. This is because apatite has a higher hardness value than feldspar but a lower hardness value than quartz on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness.
Minerals are tested for hardness by performing a scratch test. The unknown mineral is scratched with another object that the hardness is known. For example, a unknown mineral may be scratched with a piece of metal to compare the resistance.
There are two ways. One way is to buy a scratch test kit and follow the instructions. They will tell you to try to scratch minerals of certain hardnesses and find the hardest one it can scratch. For example, if it scratches a mineral with a hardness of 6 but not one with a hardness of 7, the hardness would be between 6 and 7. If you do not have one of those available, you can try scratching common objects. Your fingernail is 1.5, a penny is 2.5, a pocketknife blade is 5.0, window glass is 5.5, a steel file is 6.5, and quartz is 7.0.
The Mohs scale is used to measure the hardness of minerals. It ranks minerals from 1 to 10 based on their scratch resistance. By comparing the hardness of an unknown mineral to the known hardness of minerals on the scale, one can determine the relative hardness of the unknown mineral.
There are two ways. One way is to buy a scratch test kit and follow the instructions. They will tell you to try to scratch minerals of certain hardnesses and find the hardest one it can scratch. For example, if it scratches a mineral with a hardness of 6 but not one with a hardness of 7, the hardness would be between 6 and 7. If you do not have one of those available, you can try scratching common objects. Your fingernail is 1.5, a penny is 2.5, a pocketknife blade is 5.0, window glass is 5.5, a steel file is 6.5, and quartz is 7.0.
One way is to start with mohs scale which references the ability of one mineral to scratch another.
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 only way is through experimentation. You need to take a number of other minerals whose Mohs scale value you know (Mohs scale is the measure of hardness of a mineral with diamond being the hardest and talc being the least hard). Take your unknown sample and attempt to scratch it with all your control samples. If the known mineral can scratch your sample then it is harder, if it can't - but can be scratched by your sample - then it is lower on the scale. Eventually you will work your way to a point where you can say that your sample is harder than x but not as hard as y. Knowing the values of x and y on the Mohs scale will enable you to approximate a value for your unknown substance.
A blank solution is used in the Mohs hardness test to serve as a point of reference for comparison. By observing how the blank solution interacts with the unknown mineral sample, the tester can accurately assess the hardness of the sample by determining if it scratches, is scratched by, or is comparable in hardness to the blank solution.
A mineral's resistance to being scratched is known as it's hardness. You can determine hardness by scratching it with another material whose hardness is already known. If it can be scratched, then the hardness is lower. If the unknown leaves a scratch on the known material, then its hardness is higher.