The computer did not tell students if their lists of properties were accurate or if they had correctly identified their mineral sample. Because the Computer Mineral Group was not allowed to manipulate real minerals this necessitated some differences in the treatment activity of the two groups. In a field hardness test a mineral is scraped by materials of different known hardness. A hardness range on a number scale from one to ten can then be established by observing which materials were able to scratch the mineral and which were not. The results of the scratch tests were given to the Computer Mineral Group and students then had to interpret these results to give the hardness range.
Cleavage describes a mineral that breaks along flat surfaces.
Since the Computer Mineral Group could not turn their mineral around to see how many flat surfaces the mineral had, this information was given to them directly. In a streak test a mineral is scraped along a ceramic plate. The color of the streak on the plate is then observed. A picture of a streak plate with the mineral's streak was shown on the computer screen of the Computer Mineral Group. Since one group handled real minerals their experience during the treatment was different in a number of ways.