Mohs Hardness of the Elements

The Mohs scale is a qualitative ordinal scale from 1 to 10 characterizing scratch resistance: a harder material can scratch a softer one. Introduced in 1822 by Friedrich Mohs, it remains widely used for mineral identification in the field, though it is not a precise quantitative measure.

Data available for 55 of 118 elements. Highest: Boron (9.3). Lowest: Cesium (0.2).

Visualize Mohs Hardness in the periodic table →

118 elements

Mohs Hardness of the Elements
		Symbol
5	Boron	B	9.3
24	Chromium	Cr	8.5
74	Tungsten	W	7.5
23	Vanadium	V	7
75	Rhenium	Re	7
76	Osmium	Os	7
14	Silicon	Si	6.5
44	Ruthenium	Ru	6.5
73	Tantalum	Ta	6.5
77	Iridium	Ir	6.5
22	Titanium	Ti	6
25	Manganese	Mn	6
32	Germanium	Ge	6
41	Niobium	Nb	6
45	Rhodium	Rh	6
92	Uranium	U	6
4	Beryllium	Be	5.5
42	Molybdenum	Mo	5.5
72	Hafnium	Hf	5.5
27	Cobalt	Co	5
40	Zirconium	Zr	5
46	Palladium	Pd	4.75
26	Iron	Fe	4
28	Nickel	Ni	4
33	Arsenic	As	3.5
78	Platinum	Pt	3.5
29	Copper	Cu	3
51	Antimony	Sb	3
90	Thorium	Th	3
13	Aluminum	Al	2.75
12	Magnesium	Mg	2.5
30	Zinc	Zn	2.5
47	Silver	Ag	2.5
57	Lanthanum	La	2.5
58	Cerium	Ce	2.5
79	Gold	Au	2.5
52	Tellurium	Te	2.25
83	Bismuth	Bi	2.25
16	Sulfur	S	2
34	Selenium	Se	2
48	Cadmium	Cd	2
20	Calcium	Ca	1.75
31	Gallium	Ga	1.5
38	Strontium	Sr	1.5
50	Tin	Sn	1.5
82	Lead	Pb	1.5
56	Barium	Ba	1.25
49	Indium	In	1.2
81	Thallium	Tl	1.2
3	Lithium	Li	0.6
6	Carbon	C	0.5
11	Sodium	Na	0.5
19	Potassium	K	0.4
37	Rubidium	Rb	0.3
55	Cesium	Cs	0.2
1	Hydrogen	H	—
2	Helium	He	—
7	Nitrogen	N	—
8	Oxygen	O	—
9	Fluorine	F	—
10	Neon	Ne	—
15	Phosphorus	P	—
17	Chlorine	Cl	—
18	Argon	Ar	—
21	Scandium	Sc	—
35	Bromine	Br	—
36	Krypton	Kr	—
39	Yttrium	Y	—
43	Technetium	Tc	—
53	Iodine	I	—
54	Xenon	Xe	—
59	Praseodymium	Pr	—
60	Neodymium	Nd	—
61	Promethium	Pm	—
62	Samarium	Sm	—
63	Europium	Eu	—
64	Gadolinium	Gd	—
65	Terbium	Tb	—
66	Dysprosium	Dy	—
67	Holmium	Ho	—
68	Erbium	Er	—
69	Thulium	Tm	—
70	Ytterbium	Yb	—
71	Lutetium	Lu	—
80	Mercury	Hg	—
84	Polonium	Po	—
85	Astatine	At	—
86	Radon	Rn	—
87	Francium	Fr	—
88	Radium	Ra	—
89	Actinium	Ac	—
91	Protactinium	Pa	—
93	Neptunium	Np	—
94	Plutonium	Pu	—
95	Americium	Am	—
96	Curium	Cm	—
97	Berkelium	Bk	—
98	Californium	Cf	—
99	Einsteinium	Es	—
100	Fermium	Fm	—
101	Mendelevium	Md	—
102	Nobelium	No	—
103	Lawrencium	Lr	—
104	Rutherfordium	Rf	—
105	Dubnium	Db	—
106	Seaborgium	Sg	—
107	Bohrium	Bh	—
108	Hassium	Hs	—
109	Meitnerium	Mt	—
110	Darmstadtium	Ds	—
111	Roentgenium	Rg	—
112	Copernicium	Cn	—
113	Nihonium	Nh	—
114	Flerovium	Fl	—
115	Moscovium	Mc	—
116	Livermorium	Lv	—
117	Tennessine	Ts	—
118	Oganesson	Og	—

Mohs Hardness of the Elements

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