Imagine working in the field and discovering a mineral that looks like a diamond. Which common mineral could you use to determine whether the mineral was a valuable diamond or a common quartz crystal by performing a scratch test? Refer to Moh's hardness scale (Table 27.1).

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The best choice for performing a scratch test on a mineral that looks like a diamond would be topaz. This is because topaz has a higher ranking on the Moh's hardness scale than both diamond and quartz, with a score of 8. Diamond has a score of 10, while quartz has a score of 7. Therefore, if the mineral is a diamond, it will not be scratched by topaz and will scratch topaz itself. However, if the mineral is quartz, it will be scratched by topaz.

Imagine Working in the Field and Discovering a Mineral That