This is a simple essay explaining the Bowen Reaction Series.

Works Cited: Chernicoff & Fox Essentials of Geology, Ghaly Basic Geosciences Illustrations For all Levels The Bowen Reaction Series In 1922, Norman Levi Bowen and his colleagues determined the sequence in which silicate minerals crystallize as magma cools (Chernicoff 56). This work made it possible to summarize a complex set of geochemical relationships, called Bowen's Reaction Series. This series shows that silicate mineralscancrystallize from mafic magmas in two ways, in a discontinuous series or a continuous series. …

…and the continuous series have crystallized completely from an initially mafic magma, less than 10% of the original liquid remains (Chernicoff 57). Depending on its composition, this liquid may now contain higher concentrations of silica, potassium, and aluminum. In such a case, potassium feldspar, potassium-aluminum mica, and quartz are the last minerals to crystallize (Cherincoff 57). Higher Temperature: Basic Magma Olivine Anorthite Bytownite Pyroxene Labradorite Amphiboles Andesine Oligoclase Biotite Albite Orthoclase Muscovite Quartz Low Temp: Acidic Magma (Ghaly 21).