What mineral is slippery?
Talc has a score of 1, and gypsum has a score of 2, which makes these two minerals similar and difficult to differentiate between. Feel both pieces of rock for how slippery they are. If the rock is slippery, it may be talc.
What mineral has a reddish brown streak?
hematite
Can Garnet be scratched with a fingernail?
(Can be scratched by a steel pocket knife. Will scratch a fingernail and a copper coin.) Orthoclase is a feldspar, and in German, “feld” means “field”. (Will not scratch glass but will scratch steel blades, copper coins & fingernails.)…
| Mohs Substance | Hardness |
|---|---|
| Quartz | 8 |
| Topaz | 9 |
| Garnet | 10 |
| Fused zirconia | 11 |
What mineral can be scratched with a fingernail?
Hardness
| mineral | Mohs hardness | observations on the minerals |
|---|---|---|
| gypsum | 2 | can be scratched by the fingernail |
| calcite | 3 | very easily scratched with a knife and just scratched with a copper coin |
| fluorite | 4 | very easily scratched with a knife but not as easily as calcite |
| apatite | 5 | scratched with a knife with difficulty |
Can graphite be scratched with a fingernail?
Your fingernail is a 2, a pocket knife is about a 5-6, and a piece of glass is a 6-7….Mohs Hardness Scale.
| 1 | Talc Graphite | Can be scratched with a fingernail and by any stone rated 2+ |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Calcite Celestite Barite | Can be scratched with a knife and any stone rated 4+ |
What is the strongest precious stone?
diamond
Is Ruby harder than diamond?
Rubies have a hardness of 9.0 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. Among the natural gems only moissanite and diamond are harder, with diamond having a Mohs hardness of 10.0 and moissanite falling somewhere in between corundum (ruby) and diamond in hardness.