Abstract
Some recent physical geology textbooks mistakenly attribute the process by which speleothems (such as stalactites and stalagmites) are formed to evaporation. Other books may acknowledge that loss of carbon dioxide is the cause of precipitation, but fail to explain the process. The precipitation of calcite in caves is controlled by the relative amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, soil air, and cave air. Since many students in physical geology may have a limited chemistry background, this process furnishes a useful example of equilibrium reactions and shows the usefulness of chemistry in understanding geologic processes.
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