GEOL 1001 Chapter : GEOL 1001 Chapter 3
Document Summary
About earth materials: minerals are composed of atoms bonded together and are the building blocks of rocks, rocks are composed of minerals and they record various geologic processes. Located in discrete energy levels called shells: number of protons atomic number: characteristic for each element, atoms are electrostatically neutral, chemical bonding, formation of a compound by combining two or more elements. Ionic bonding: atoms gain or lose outermost (valence) electrons to form ions. Structure of minerals: minerals consist of an orderly array of atoms chemically bonded to form a particular crystalline structure, the internal atomic arrangement in ionic compounds is determined by ionic size. Mineral groups: silicates, most important mineral group, comprise most rock-forming minerals, very abundant due to large percentage of silicon and oxygen in earth"s crust, silicon-oxygen tetrahedron, fundamental building block, four oxygen ions surrounding a much smaller silicon ion. Joining silicate structures: single tetrahedral are linked together to form various structures including:
