What property measures a mineral's resistance to scratching and is commonly assessed with the Mohs hardness scale?

What property measures a mineral's resistance to scratching and is commonly assessed with the Mohs hardness scale?

• A. Hardness
• B. Luster
• C. Fracture
• D. Specific Gravity

Answer: (A)

Hardness describes a mineral's resistance to scratching and is commonly assessed with the Mohs hardness scale. The Mohs scale is a simple, relative ranking that compares how easily minerals can scratch one another: if a reference mineral can scratch a sample, the sample is softer; if the sample can scratch the reference, the sample is harder. It runs from soft minerals like talc to very hard ones like diamond, providing a quick way to gauge scratch resistance in identification. This property is distinct from luster, which is about how light reflects off a mineral’s surface; from fracture, which describes how a mineral breaks; and from specific gravity, which relates to density.

Hardness describes a mineral's resistance to scratching and is commonly assessed with the Mohs hardness scale. The Mohs scale is a simple, relative ranking that compares how easily minerals can scratch one another: if a reference mineral can scratch a sample, the sample is softer; if the sample can scratch the reference, the sample is harder. It runs from soft minerals like talc to very hard ones like diamond, providing a quick way to gauge scratch resistance in identification. This property is distinct from luster, which is about how light reflects off a mineral’s surface; from fracture, which describes how a mineral breaks; and from specific gravity, which relates to density.