Question 1: Describe the mineralogical differences between Nesosilicates, inosilicates, Phyllosilicates, and tectosilicates. Give an example of each. Explain how the differences between them help explain Bowen's reaction series/Goldich dissolution series.
Question 2: Describe the differences between the various types of clay minerals. What allows some to strongly adsorb and others to only weekly adsorb? What chemical conditions affect the adsorption properties of clays?
Question 3: The data in Table 9.2 of your textbook indicate that goethite (FeOOH) decreases with time in tropical soils, and at the same time, hematite (Fe2O3) increases. From these data, one might hypothesize that goethite transforms to hematite in soils at ∼25 °C over time spans of 104 to 105 years. Assess this hypothesis using thermodynamic data (Appendix IV); in other words, is the transformation of goethite to hematite spontaneous? Or would you expect the reaction to go the other way?