Discuss the basic unit and structure of silicates.

Explanation

Silicates are the compounds in which the anions are present as either discrete `SiO_(4)^(4-)` tetrahedral or a number of such units joined together through corners. Silicates are basically made up `SiO_(4)^(4-)` tetrahedra ( as shown in the figure ) in which silicon atom is bonded to four oxygen atoms in a tetrahedral manner. In the figure big circles indicate oxygen atoms and samall circle indicates silicon atoms.