A mineral can scratch any mineral harder than itself. True or False? I said it is false. My Mom told me I am wrong, it is true!! Can you tell me who is correct?
Your mom is right. She get's an A. Here is a site where you can read about the moh scale of hardness.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohs_scale_of_mineral_hardness
Thinking logically, I would go with your theory, but after I looked at the Wikipedia page, I realized that your mom is right. Logic is not always the right solution. :)
To determine who is correct, let's understand the concept of mineral hardness and the Mohs Scale of Hardness.
The Mohs Scale of Hardness is a scale used to measure the relative hardness of minerals based on their ability to scratch one another. The scale ranges from 1 to 10, with 1 being the softest mineral (talc) and 10 being the hardest (diamond).
According to the scale, a mineral can scratch any mineral with a lower hardness rating than itself. For example, a mineral with a hardness of 5 can scratch any mineral with a hardness of 1 to 4 but would be unable to scratch a mineral with a hardness of 6 or higher.
So, if a mineral has a hardness rating of 7, it can scratch any mineral with a hardness of 6 or lower, but it cannot scratch a mineral with a hardness of 7 or higher.
In this case, you are correct. A mineral cannot scratch any mineral harder than itself. Therefore, the statement that "a mineral can scratch any mineral harder than itself" is false.