Unit 1 Chemistry Help - Designing a Hardness Test

[captain_kirk]

In chemistry (unit 1) we have been told we have to try and design a test to determine the hardness of the metals:
Copper, Iron, Lead, Zinc, Sodium, Nickel, Lithium, Calcium, Aluminium, Magnesium
More specifically we have to:
Design you own simple test for hardness.
Describe the test and rank the metals in order of hardness.

I have no idea of a simple test that i can create to determine the hardness of a metal as it can not be as complex as the rockwell, brinell, vickers  or mohs hardness tests.
which brings me to my query regarding suggestions because i can not devise an idea suitable to the task.
all help would be greatly appreciated.

2010: Aim: Further: 50
2011: Aim:Chemistry:45+ Physics:45+ Methods:40+ Specialists: 40+ English:40+

[Edmund]

E.g. Take some copper and scratch it against Iron. If Copper scratches Iron, then Copper is harder than Iron

[captain_kirk]

thats clever

so basically, take two of the metals and rub them together and the one that scratches will be the weaker metal in terms of hardness?

[Edmund]

Yep, harder will scratch softer, that's how they rank according to Moh's scale

[captain_kirk]

for the majority that works but what happens when using iron and nickel (which are both 4 on the Moh scale) or magnesium and zinc (which are both 2.5 on the Moh scale)...
will one eventually scratch the other, will the both scratch or will neither scrath?
and if i was having to say which was harder is there an answer or would i just say that basically they have the same hardness?

[Edmund]

You could say that if you rubbed to metals together and nothing scratched, they would be equally as hard. Probably that's what happened so they are both ranked the same on the scale...