Mineral Groups - Major Silicates


More than 90 percent of the minerals in Earth's crust are members of the silicate family. A silicate is a compound of silicon, oxygen, and usually one or more metallic elements, such as aluminum or iron. In all silicates, the basic building block is the silica tetrahedron, consisting of four oxygen atoms bonded to a central silicon atom. The mineral Quartz is made entirely of tightly bound silica tetrahedra. Quartz has the chemical formula SiO2.
Homework: Due Thursday, Janaury 10, 2008
Textbook: Read Chapter-section 5.4, pages 108-111. Answer questions 1-4.

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