Mohs Hardness Field Guide
Unlock Earth’s Secrets
An interactive guide to the Mohs Hardness Scale. Learn to identify minerals in the field using simple, everyday objects and proven techniques.
The Interactive Mohs Scale
This section provides a hands-on way to explore the Mohs scale. Click on any hardness level below to see the corresponding index mineral, its properties, and how it compares to common field-testing items. This interaction helps build a foundational understanding of the entire hardness spectrum.
Field Test Simulator
Put your knowledge to the test! This simulator lets you replicate field conditions by testing common items against various minerals. Select a tool and a mineral to see the result of a scratch test. This exercise is designed to make the abstract concept of relative hardness tangible and memorable.
Your test result will appear here.
Hardness of Common Field Items
Practical Field Guide
Beyond just knowing the numbers, successful field identification requires proper technique and awareness of other mineral properties. This guide provides step-by-step instructions for testing, tips for accuracy, and an introduction to complementary identification methods. Use the tabs to navigate through these essential topics.
Common Mineral Comparisons
Some minerals are notoriously easy to confuse in the field. This section provides direct, side-by-side comparisons of commonly mistaken pairs. Select a pair to see how hardness and other key properties can be used to reliably tell them apart.