Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Prepare for your exams
Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points to download
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
An overview of the composition, structure, and classification of silicate minerals, which are the most important mineral group and make up most of the rock-forming minerals on earth. It covers the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron molecule as the basic building block, various silicate structures, and common silicate minerals such as olivine and pyroxene.
Typology: Slides
1 / 10
This page cannot be seen from the preview
Don't miss anything!
Comprise most of the rock-forming minerals
Very abundant due to large amounts ofsilicon and oxygen in Earth’s crust
Four oxygen ions surrounding a muchsmaller silicon ion
Isolated tetrahedra
Ring structures - Single and double chain structures - Sheet or layered structures - Complex 3-dimensional structures
Single chain structures involving iron andmagnesium
Two distinctive cleavages at nearly 90 degrees - Augite is the most common mineral in thepyroxene group
