Describe how magnesium can be exchanged for iron in olivine without destroying the internal framework of the mineral

What will be an ideal response?


Answer: Magnesium and ferrous iron both have charges of 2+, so they can be switched in the mineral structure without too much trouble because the ions are roughly the same size.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

You might also like to view...

Which of these numbered features contains the least amount of Earth's water?



A) 1 Ocean
B) 2 Atmosphere
C) 3 Glaciers and ice sheet
D) 4 Groundwater
E) 5 Lakes

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Calcite, halite, gypsum, and quartz are all light colored minerals with a similar appearance; however each mineral has a diagnostic property that makes it distinguishable from the others. Discuss in detail how you could easily identify these minerals

What will be an ideal response?

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

What are the characteristics of the lithosphere?

What will be an ideal response?

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Which of the following statements about solid solution minerals is true?

a. two minerals with the same chemical composition can have different internal structures b. a mineral can have a variable internal structure depending on the chemical composition c. two ions can substitute in a mineral in various proportions without changing the internal structure d. none of the above

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences