what physical property is defined as the comparative property that reflects the ability of a mineral to resist scratching?
Hardness is a mineral's ability to resist being scratched. Minerals that are not easily scratched are hard. You test the hardness of a mineral by scratching its surface with a mineral of a known hardness. Mineralogists use Mohs Scale, shown in Table 3.2, as a reference for mineral hardness.
Because streak is a more accurate illustration of the mineralâs color, streak is a more reliable property of minerals than color for identification. Hardness is one of the better properties of minerals to use for identifying a mineral. Hardness is a measure of the mineralâs resistance to scratching.