Name William Singleton Date 1/12/2020 Class 3rd

Minerals Hardness Worksheet

In 1812 and German scientist named Fredrick Mohs came up with a scale of hardness for minerals. He compared the
hardness of many different minerals by scratching them against each other. The softest mineral was Talc (1), because it
could be scratched by all other minerals. Diamond (10) was the hardest mineral because it could not be scratched by
anything other than itself.

This is Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Talc Gypsum Calcite Fluorite Apatite Orthoclase Quartz Topaz Corundum Diamond

Reading the Scale:

1. Which mineral can scratch Corundum? Diamond

2. Which mineral is just harder than Apatite? Porcelain plate
3. Which two minerals are the softest? Gypsum
4. topaz is one mineral that could scratch quartz, appetite, diamond, topaz, corundum, porcelain plate
5. Topaz could scratch quartz.

Adding to the Scale:

Many times a geologist will not have all 10 of the minerals on the scale, and that makes it difficult to determine the
hardness of an unknown mineral. There are common substances that can be used to help determine the range of
hardness though. Add the following items to the hardness scale above . Type the word in the box and use the
shape tool to insert an arrow pointing to where it would fall on the scale.

Fingernail 2.5 Copper Penny: 3.5 Glass 5.5 Porcelain streak plate 7.0

Applying the Scale:

6. A fingernail could be used to scratch Talcand Gypsum .

7. There are three minerals that could scratch a porcelain streak plate. They are Topaz ,

Conrundum and Diamond.

8. An unknown mineral can be scratched with a copper penny, but not with your fingernail. This mineral is most

likely Diamond.

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Circle or highlight the correct answer to the multiple choice questions.

9. An unknown mineral cannot be scratched by your fingernail but it can be scratched with a glass plate. What is
the range of hardness of the unknown mineral?
a. Less than 2.5
b. 2.5-3.5
c. 2.5-5.5
d. Over 5.5

10. You determine that an unknown mineral cannot be scratched by a copper penny. According to the Mohs
Hardness Scale, this unknown mineral is at least harder than .
a. Gypsum
b. Calcite
c. Fluorite
d. Apatite

11. The gemstone Emerald cannot be scratched by a porcelain streak plate. What is the range of hardness for an
Emerald?
a. 2.5-3.5
b. 3.5-5.5
c. 5.5-7.0
d. Over 7.0

12. Many years after Fredrick Mohs created the Mineral Hardness Scale scientists determined that Talc could be
used to scratch Group 1 Metals, like lithium, potassium, and sodium. What would be the hardness of the Group
1 Metals?
a. Less than 1.0
b. 1.0-2.0
c. 2.0-3.0
d. More than 3.0

13. If a new mineral were discovered that could scratch diamond, what would happen to the Mohs Hardness Scale?
a. The scale would be thrown out and never used again
b. The scale would be adjusted to include the new mineral
c. Scientists would ignore the new information because it does not fit the current scale
d. Scientists would forget about Fredrick Mohs scale because he was wrong and start over on a brand new
scale of hardness

14. You used the Mohs Hardness Scale to determine that two minerals are harder than 5.0. Can you conclude that
the two minerals are the exact same? Explain your answer.
Yes, the two minerals are the exact same because on the scale 5.o it is between those numbers that registers the
two minerals because both of them is between eachother.

15. More than 100 years after Fredrick Mohs developed the Mineral Hardness Scale, Robert Smith and George
Sandland invented the Vickers Hardness Test for metals. Which scientist(s) correctly used science to develop
their scale? Explain your answer:
Fredrick Mohs because he developed the Mineral Hardness Scale . And he used that to develop the
scale.Put 2 eat

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