Question

The main building block of a silicate mineral is _____.

Answer 1

The main building block of all silicate mineral is tetrahedron

Answer 2

Answer:

silicon-oxygen tetrahedron is the correct answer.

Explanation:

The main building block of a silicate mineral is silicon-oxygen tetrahedron. Silicon-oxygen tetrahedron belongs to the anionic group and the silicon atom is surrounded by four oxygen atom, arranged to determine the edges of a tetrahedron.

This silicate ion consists of one silicon atom, placed in the middle of a tetrahedron and surrounded by four oxygen atom, placed at vertices of a tetrahedron.