Question

What is a mafic mineral?

Answer 1

A mineral is an inorganic solid that occurs naturally and has a specific chemical composition and atomic arrangement. This can appear to be a mouthful at first, but it becomes clearer once you break it down. Minerals can be found in the natural world. Humans did not create them.

Complete answer:
A mafic mineral or rock is a magnesium and iron-rich silicate mineral or igneous rock. The most popular rock-forming mafic minerals are olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite, which are all dark in colour. Basalt, diabase, and gabbro are examples of mafic rocks. Plagioclase feldspar with a high calcium content is common in mafic rocks.

Mafic rocks are chemically rich in iron, magnesium, and calcium, and they are usually dark in colour. The felsic rocks, on the other hand, are typically light in colour and high in aluminium, silicon, potassium, and sodium. The density of mafic rocks is usually higher than that of felsic rocks. The word loosely translates to "basic rock" in the older sense.

Mafic lava has a lower viscosity than felsic lava before cooling, due to the lower silica content in mafic magma. Water and other volatiles can escape from mafic lava more quickly and gradually. As a result, eruptions of mafic lavas are less explosively violent than eruptions of felsic lavas.

Note: Mafic is used for silicate minerals, magmas, and rocks that have a comparatively high percentage of heavier elements, whereas Felsic is used for silicate minerals, magmas, and rocks that have a lower percentage of heavier elements and are correspondingly enriched in lighter elements, such as silicon.