7. Formation of Clay Minerals
The chapter discusses the formation and structure of clay minerals, highlighting the importance of silicate minerals in clay soils. It explains the structural units—tetrahedral and octahedral—used in the assembly of clay minerals and describes different types of clay minerals, their characteristics, and properties. Additionally, it emphasizes the arrangement and organization of soil particles, known as soil fabric, which impacts water retention and soil behavior.
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Sections
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What we have learnt
- Minerals are classified based on the nature of their atoms, with silicate minerals being crucial for clay soils.
- Clay minerals are formed from basic structural units that combine into sheets.
- The arrangement of particles within a soil mass is termed its fabric, which influences water retention.
Key Concepts
- -- Tetrahedral Unit
- A basic structural unit consisting of a central silicon atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms.
- -- Octahedral Unit
- A basic structural unit consisting of a central ion (aluminium or magnesium) surrounded by six hydroxyl ions.
- -- Isomorphous Substitution
- The replacement of the central atom in tetrahedral or octahedral units by another atom during the formation of mineral sheets.
- -- Soil Fabric
- The arrangement and organization of particles and other features within a soil mass.
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