Measuring the hardness of Minerals

Educational price in school rooms

The activity of a mineral’s hardness may be a motivating addition to a late stage a try of or early stage 3 unit act arithmetic with science or science topics like “Earth and its Surroundings” or Environments. The arithmetic focus would air data, specifically, understanding and constructing tables and graphs. The work would possibly to boot incorporate maths (position) and activity (length, volume and capability, and mass) and selection. 

Number

• Whole numbers — data of ordering numbers.

Data

• Reading and understanding the table of Moh’s hardness scale.
• Constructing a column/line graph to signifies the hardness of the minerals, e.g. x = names of minerals, y = the amount of minerals all can scratch.

Geometry

•  Locating a mineral on a board victimization  co-ordinates, e.g. talc = A4.

Measurement 

• Length — activity and examination the lengths of minerals.
• Volume and capability — creating ways in which of activity a mineral’s volume and capability.
•  Mass — students’ predictions of mass and activity but vital each mineral is.

A teacher is just restricted by their imagination!

How do i live the hardness of minerals?

In order to measure the hardness of minerals, one ought to use Moh’s hardness scale. This procedure has been in use for many years, and remains used of late (Chard, 2005; Edkins, 2005).

How can it work?

Steps for testing the hardness of a mineral:

1. Opt for a recent surface of the unknown mineral.
2. Hold the mineral associated scratch it with associate degree object/mineral of notable hardness, e.g. nail (H =2.5) or quartz (H = 7) (or despite is most convenient — its hardness ought to be notable though).
3. Press the object/mineral gently but firmly against the unknown surface.
4. If the take a glance at object is harder than the unknown mineral it got to leave associate incised line in its surface. 
5. Examine unknown mineral for associate incised line. If there is a line the unknown mineral is softer than the testing object/mineral; e.g., if using your nail it will be however a try of.5, if using quartz it will be however seven. If there is not any line this means the unknown mineral is harder than the testing object, and a harder testing object is presently required.
6. Repeat methodology until the unknown object ar typically notable. (Challoner & Walshaw, 2000; Maricopa Centre for Learning and Instruction [MCLI], 2003). 

Who made-up it?

All sources used in aggregation this paper agree that Friedrich Moh (1773–1839), a German man of science, made-up Moh’s hardness scale.

Why was it invented?

In the early nineteenth century, there was no universal suggests that of examination the hardness of rocks and minerals, and there was a selected wish for it by metallurgists, mineralogists and gemmologists. Moh devised a basic comparative scale of 10 minerals that were ordered from least to most scratch resistant, i.e. least arduous to most arduous mineral. He designated those minerals that were merely accessible by most mineralogists (Chard, 2005). 

When was it invented?

Sources vary once it involves once Moh made-up this scale. Some sources (Challoner & Walshaw, 2000; King Oliver, 1993. Chard, 2005; European country, 2005.) claim it fully was in 1822, whereas another sources (Edkins, 2005; yank Federation of Mineralogical Societies [AMFS], 2005) claim it fully was in 1812. One offer (Cacutt,1992) claims it fully was in 1820, and a couple of sources do not embody a date of invention in any respect. The variation in dates is just small, and is probably going due to the large amount of it slow advance since Moh made-up the dimensions of hardness(almost 2 hundred years ago!).

Relationship to modern systems

Moh’s hardness scale remains being used of late by mineralogists and gemmologists, although metallurgists have little use for it presently. There unit of measurement other ways that of characteristic a mineral, such as:

• Streak take a glance at 
• Fizz (carbon) take a glance at
• Flame take a glance at
• Mineral bead take a glance at

Examining a mineral’s: 

1.  Lusture
2. Cleavage and fracture
3. Magnetism
4. Density
5. Light
6. Emission

Measuring a mineral’s hardness victimization Moh’s hardness scale is solely a way of characteristic a mineral. However, as means as my analysis went there was no totally different suggests that of activity a mineral’s hardness whereas not victimization Moh’s scale of hardness (Oliver, 1993).