The chemical composition of a mineral is obtained using many different analytical techniques. Each of these provide data in different units that is converted into a standard format for chemical formulas using "atoms per formula unit." The calculations required must consider the effects of oxides, iron and hydrogen. Finally, the chemical composition of minerals can be represented graphically using a ternary plot or 3-D structural models.
Topics covered in Chapter 10 include:
Mineral Formula Calculation
Formula Recalculations Based on Oxides
The Trouble with Iron
What about Hydrogen?
Graphical Depictions of Mineral Chemistry
Compositional Variation in Minerals
Assigning Cations to Structural Sites
"Grammar" Rules for Mineral Formula
