Use the Mohs Hardness Scale chart to answer the question. A mineral is scratched by apatite but not by calcite. What could its hardness value be?

Question

(1 point)
Responses

1
1

2
2

4
4

6
6

Answer 1

To determine the hardness of the mineral based on the provided information, we can refer to the Mohs Hardness Scale, which ranks minerals on a scale from 1 to 10 based on their ability to scratch one another.

Apatite has a hardness of 5, and calcite has a hardness of 3 on the Mohs scale. Since the mineral is scratched by apatite (hardness 5), its hardness must be less than 5. However, since the mineral is not scratched by calcite (hardness 3), its hardness must be greater than 3.

The only hardness value that fits this criteria (greater than 3 and less than 5) is 4.

Therefore, the mineral's hardness value could be 4.