How do you remember the Mohs Hardness Scale?

Published by Charlie Davidson on

How do you remember the Mohs Hardness Scale?

For example, pyrite, rutile, feldspars, and epidote all have hardness of about six on the Mohs scale. Visually connecting these minerals with “sticks”, the mnemonic peg word for six, (perhaps by imagining the minerals as components of a shish kabob on a stick) will help a student remember each mineral’s hardness.

How hard is a 7 on Mohs scale?

The Mohs scale starts approximately linear, but the curve climbs sharply at the high end. Corundum (9) is twice as hard as topaz (8), and diamond (10) is four times as hard as corundum….The Mohs Scale of Hardness.

10 Diamond
9 Corundum (rubies and sapphires)
8 Topaz
7 Quartz [Example: It scratches window glass]

How hard is 6.5 on Mohs scale?

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…

What is the hardest mineral in Mohs scale of hardness?

diamond
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.

Which technique would a student use with the Mohs hardness scale?

The rhyming peg mnemonic device, appropriate for learning an ordered set, is used to teach Mohs hardness scale. Students begin by learning the “pegs” – a set of words, each rhyming with a number from one to ten, to which each mineral will be linked.

What is the hardest thing on the Mohs scale?

How do you perform a hardness test?

A hardness test is typically performed by pressing a specifically dimensioned and loaded object (indenter) into the surface of the material you are testing. The hardness is determined by measuring the depth of indenter penetration or by measuring the size of the impression left by an indenter.

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