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A human fingernail has a hardness of approximately 2.5. Which mineral is softer than a finger nail. A. calcite B. gypsum C. apatite D. diamond

Answer :

Nadeshiko
According to the 2011 Earth Science Reference Table, Selenite Gypsum has an approximate hardness of 2.

The hardness of calcite is 3.

The hardness of apatite is 5 according to the Moh's hardness scale.

The hardness of diamond is 10.
fichoh

Minerals that have hardness scale number below 2.5 according to the Mohs Hardness Scale will be softer than a finger nail. Hence, such mineral will be Gypsum.

The Mohs scale of hardness gives assigns an index or scale number ranging from 1 - 10 to signify the level of hardness of different minerals.

  • According to the scale, Diamond has a scale number of 10, making it the hardest mineral,

  • Apatite has a scale number of 5,

  • Gypsum has a scale number of 2 and Calcite 3

Therefore, Gypsum is softer than the human fingernail.

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