Review Questions for Lecture 14: Earth's Crust
Tectosilicates I.
1. Why is 75% of the Earth's crust composed of tectosilicates?
2. Olivine occurs in mafic and ultramafic rocks, whereas quartz
occurs in felsic or silic rocks. Why?
3. Draw a radial cross section of the Earth, labeling the major
minerals or element in each subdivision, and the approximate
depth of each subdivision.
4. What is the primary building block of a tectosilicate?
5. Quartz is chemically simple but structurally complex. Name
two high pressure forms and two high temperature forms.
Based on the P-T of their formation, which would have
the
closest packing?
If you find coesite in your rock, what would it tell you about
the conditions in which your rock formed?
Why do you not find alpha and beta quartz together in
your rock?
6. Why is opal referred to as a "Mineraloid"?
(What is a mineraloid?)