Rock Forming Minerals

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Rock Forming Minerals

• Silicates--Seven common rock-forming minerals
  Olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, biotite, mica,
  feldspar, and quartz.
• Non Silicates

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Silicates

• Most common mineral group
• Large amounts of silica create light colored
  rocks with high viscosity (high resistance to
  flow)
• Silica-rich rocks contain the minerals quartz,
  feldspar, mica, and amphibole.
• Silica-poor rocks do not contain quartz but
  feldspar, olivine, and pyroxene are relatively
  common.
• Silicon-oxygen tetrahedron is the basic building
  block (four atoms of oxygen atoms surrounding a
  silicon atom)
• Single tetrahedrons, chains, sheets, and 3-D
  networks

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Silicon Oxygen Tetrahedron
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Olivine
http//www.tspink.com/product/media/olivine.jpg,
October 21, 2008
http//www.flickr.com/photos/hisgett/223129554/,
October 21, 2008
5
Pyroxene
http//mac01.eps.pitt.edu/COURSES/GEO1100Lab/Image
s/pyroxene.jpg, October 21, 2008
6
Amphibole
http//www.uwm.edu/Course/422-100/Mineral_Rocks/am
phibole1.jpg, October 21, 2008
7
Mica
http//mac01.eps.pitt.edu/COURSES/GEO1100Lab/Image
s/biotite.jpg, October 21, 2008
http//www.belmont.sd62.bc.ca/teacher/geology12/ph
otos/minerals/Muscovite-Mica.jpg, October 21, 2008
8
Feldspar
http//wapi.isu.edu/geo_pgt/Mod03_PlanetaryEvo/ima
ges/Plagioclase.JPG, October 21, 2008
9
Quartz
http//www.gggems.com/images/Quartz20brut/Quartz_
92grXXL.jpg, October 21, 2008
10
Non-Silicates

• Make up a ¼ of the continental crustconsidered
  scarce compared to silicates
• Oxides, sulfides, sufates, native elements,
  halides, carbonates

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Hematite
http//www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/H/hemati
te.html, February 9, 2009
12
Pyrite
http//www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/P/pyrite
.html, February 6, 2009
13
Gypsum
http//www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/G/gypsum
.html, February 9, 2009
14
Halite
http//www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/H/halite
.html, February 9, 2009
15
Calcite
http//www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/C/calcit
e.html, February 9, 2009