A geologist determines that a sample of a mineral can't be scratched by a steel nail but can be scratched by a masonry drill bit

Question

3 years ago

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A geologist determines that a sample of a mineral can't be scratched by a steel nail but can be scratched by a masonry drill bit

. Based on this information, the sample mineral has to be softer than A. orthoclase. B. corundum. C. fluorite. D. apatite.

Biology

1 answer:

Alja [10] · Answer 1 · 2021-12-28T07:46:35+03:00

Answer:

B. Corundum

Explanation:

Using the Mohs scale of hardness, the mineral has a hardness greater than 6.5 (Steel nail) but less than 8.5 (Drill bit). The corundum has a hardness of 9.0, which means it cannot be scratched by a drill bit, but all the other choices have a hardness scale less than 6.5 but the mineral was not scratched by the nail. So the best answer would be B.