Analysis
What do the results mean?
Amethyst is the hardest mineral of the 6 minerals tested.
Do they really show that?
Yes, using the scratch test, amethyst was scratched with the sand paper, which had a value of 6.
Did they support my hypothesis, or is further work needed?
My hypothesis is accepted. The amethyst was the hardest. Opal and apatite were tied as second. Halite was the third. And muscovite and graphite were tied as the softest minerals tested.
How do my results compare to what I’ve read about this topic?
On the Mohs Hardness Scale, amethyst is a 7, opal is a 5.5- 6.5, apatite is a 5, halite is a 2, muscovite is a 2 –2.5 and graphite is a 1-2. My results are very similar to the Mohs Hardness Scale.
What could have been better about my method?
It was difficult to apply the same amount of pressure when performing the scratch test. Some of the rocks had scratch marks from before, a magnifying glass would have been beneficial.