Question #6f83d

1 Answer
Brian MacKenzie
Jan 27, 2016

The Mohs Scale.

Explanation:

First you try to scratch other minerals of known hardness with the sample, and then you try to scratch the sample with progressively harder materials. This will allow you to approximately place the sample on the Mohs scale, and thus give you a qualitative determination of the hardness.

Basically it will put the sample in a range that reads as "harder than x but softer than y" where x and y are minerals on the Mohs scale.

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