Silicates - The Basic Building Blocks of Rocks

S Silicates-The Basic Building Blocks of Rocks 905 Table 40.2 Classification of silicate types depending on the supply of oxygen... 

Silicates and aluminosilicates are the most abundant minerals, which are main constituents of various rocks in the crust and mantle. Si" " combines with 0 to form silicate anion, SiOa" " in silicate crystal. The SiOa" has tetrahedral form (Fig. 1.11). The SiOa tetrahedron is the basic building block of silicates in which silicon is situated at the center of a tetrahedron of four oxygen atoms. SiOq" tetrahedra exist as discrete units or is joined via the O atoms, sharing their particles with other tetrahedra (Fig. 1.12). Silicate minerals mainly consisting of oxygen and... 

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