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Copper and steel have hardness of around 3 and 6 respectively on the Mohs scale. You can use them to test any mineral, and roughly estimate its hardness. If it's scratched by copper, it's less than 3, if it's scratched by steel but not by copper, it's between 3 and 6, if neither copper nor steel scratches it, then it's above 6.
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What mineral can be scratched by a steel knife but not a copper penny?
Copper. Copper has a hardness of 2.5-3 on the Mohs scale, while a steel knife generally has a hardness of around 5.5 - 6.5. This means that a steel knife can scratch copper, but a copper penny cannot scratch a steel knife.
How do you determine the hardness of a mineral?
The hardness of a mineral is determined by scratching it with materials of known hardness, such as a fingernail, a copper penny, a steel nail, or a piece of glass. The mineral is assigned a hardness value based on which material can scratch it. This is known as the Mohs scale of hardness.
How to determine the hardness of a mineral?
The hardness of a mineral can be determined by using the Mohs scale of hardness, which ranks minerals from 1 (softest) to 10 (hardest). This scale is based on the ability of one mineral to scratch another. By testing the mineral's resistance to scratching with common objects of known hardness, such as a fingernail (2.5), a copper penny (3.5), a steel nail (5.5), and a glass plate (5.5), you can determine its hardness level.
Can a steel file scratch muscovite?
Yes, a steel file can scratch muscovite because muscovite has a Mohs hardness of 2.5-3, while a steel file typically has a hardness of around 6.5. Harder materials can scratch softer materials according to the Mohs scale of mineral hardness.
What a hardness of a penny?
A penny is made of copper-plated zinc and has a hardness range of 2.5 to 3 on the Mohs scale, which is a measure of mineral hardness. This means that a penny is relatively soft compared to harder materials like steel or diamond.
What mineral can be scratched by a steel knife but not a copper penny?
Copper. Copper has a hardness of 2.5-3 on the Mohs scale, while a steel knife generally has a hardness of around 5.5 - 6.5. This means that a steel knife can scratch copper, but a copper penny cannot scratch a steel knife.
How do you determine the hardness of a mineral?
The hardness of a mineral is determined by scratching it with materials of known hardness, such as a fingernail, a copper penny, a steel nail, or a piece of glass. The mineral is assigned a hardness value based on which material can scratch it. This is known as the Mohs scale of hardness.
What mineral can scratch glass but can be scratched by steel file?
The mineral that can scratch glass but can be scratched by a steel file is quartz. Quartz has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, allowing it to scratch glass, which typically has a hardness of around 5.5. However, a steel file, which has a hardness of about 6.5 to 7, can scratch quartz.
What is the hardness of a steel nail on the Mohs scale?
The hardness of a steel nail is about 4.5 (About the same hardness of the mineral Fluorite.)
How to determine the hardness of a mineral?
The hardness of a mineral can be determined by using the Mohs scale of hardness, which ranks minerals from 1 (softest) to 10 (hardest). This scale is based on the ability of one mineral to scratch another. By testing the mineral's resistance to scratching with common objects of known hardness, such as a fingernail (2.5), a copper penny (3.5), a steel nail (5.5), and a glass plate (5.5), you can determine its hardness level.
Can a steel file scratch muscovite?
Yes, a steel file can scratch muscovite because muscovite has a Mohs hardness of 2.5-3, while a steel file typically has a hardness of around 6.5. Harder materials can scratch softer materials according to the Mohs scale of mineral hardness.
What a hardness of a penny?
A penny is made of copper-plated zinc and has a hardness range of 2.5 to 3 on the Mohs scale, which is a measure of mineral hardness. This means that a penny is relatively soft compared to harder materials like steel or diamond.
What can Garnet scratch?
Garnet, a mineral with a hardness of 6.5-7.5 on the Mohs scale, can scratch materials with a hardness lower than itself, like glass, steel, and softer minerals such as calcite and fluorite.
Which object can scratch calcite but not apatite?
On the Mohs mineral hardness scale, calcite is about a 3, and apatite is about a 5. So, whatever is at a hardness of 4 will scratch a 3 but not a 5. That mineral is fluorite.
What can a copper penny scratch?
A copper penny can scratch materials with a Mohs hardness of 2.5 or lower, such as gypsum, talc, and some plastics. It will not scratch harder materials like glass, steel, or most ceramics.
How do you find hardness of an 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.
What are you referring when you address the hardness of a mineral?
A minerals hardness is basically its tendency to scratch or be scratched by another mineral or object. For example if a mineral is very soft (Like Talc or Gypsum) then you can scratch it with your finger but if you have a very hard mineral such as diamond you will not be able to scratch it with anything other than another diamond. The hardness values are quantified in Mohs hardness scale using the numbers 1-10 with 1 being the softest (Talc) and 10 being the hardest (Diamond). Ordinary objects with a known hardness can be used to determine a minerals relative hardness by simply seeing if the object will scratch the mineral or not. Pencil lead=1.5, Fingernail =2.2-2.5, Penny=3.2-3.5, Pocketknife=5.1, Glass plate=5.5, Steel file=6.5, Streak plate=7.0
