Answer:
the Silicate minerals are the mineral class that accounts for more than 90 percent of the earth's crust
Step-by-step explanation:
The silicates, owing to their abundance on Earth, constitute the most important mineral class. Approximately 25 percent of all known minerals and 40 percent of the most common ones are silicates; the igneous rocks that make up more than 90 percent of Earth’s crust are composed of virtually all silicates.
The fundamental unit in all silicate structures is the silicon-oxygen (SiO4)4– tetrahedron. It is composed of a central silicon cation (Si4+) bonded to four oxygen atoms that are located at the corners of a regular tetrahedron. The terrestrial crust is held together by the strong silicon-oxygen bonds of these tetrahedrons. Approximately 50 percent ionic and 50 percent covalent, the bonds develop from the attraction of oppositely charged ions as well as the sharing of their electrons.