Marble Mohs Hardness

Granite on the mohs scale granite is a blend of different minerals fused together by the tectonics of the earth making it difficult to determine the hardness of the material.

Marble mohs hardness.

The test is useful because most specimens of a given mineral are very close to the same hardness. This test compares the resistance of a mineral to being scratched by ten reference minerals known as the mohs hardness scale see table at left. A fingernail is too soft to scratch marble but a copper penny can easily scratch this material. Being composed of calcite marble has a hardness of three on the mohs hardness scale.

The mohs scale of mineral hardness m oʊ z is a qualitative ordinal scale characterizing scratch resistance of various minerals through the ability of harder material to scratch softer material. What is mohs hardness scale. What is the hardness of shale on the. Granites like the black granite that we work with rate between 6 and 7 on the mohs scale.

This means that marble is less scratch resistant than granite. As a result marble is easy to carve and that makes it useful for producing sculptures and ornamental objects. One of the most important tests for identifying mineral specimens is the mohs hardness test. Calcite the mineral group including marble and limestone rates a 3 on mohs hardness scale just slightly harder than alabaster.

Granite comes in at a 6 to 7 on the mohs scale meaning it is relatively hard. On the mohs hardness scale marble is at number 3. These countertops are the least susceptible to scratching and many other damages. A knife will do virtually nothing to a stone this hard while the mineral itself can scratch glass and weaker stones and only be scatched itself by something harder.

An example of the hardness of a granite countertop can be seen in the fact that a knife blade will not scratch the surface. Depending on the limestone and the mineral combination within the marble most marble rates from three to five on the mohs hardness scale. It is a part of the calcite group which also includes limestone dolomite boric acid brass and serpentine. Marble has a mohs hardness scale rating between 3 4.

The translucence of marble makes it especially attractive for many types of sculptures. The igneous rock is comprised of mostly quartz and feldspar along with smaller amounts of various other minerals.