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Natural Science 1

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Maria Aime V. Bacolod

October 2, 2015

BSA-4
Final Output:
Rocks and its Classification
Rocks
In geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of one or more minerals
or mineraloids. For example, the common rock granite is a combination of the quartz,
feldspar and biotite minerals. The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of
rock. Rocks have been used by mankind throughout history. From the Stone Age, rocks
have been used for tools. The minerals and metals found in rocks have been essential
to human civilization.
The scientific study of rocks is called petrology, which is an essential component
of geology. Rocks are geologically classified according to characteristics such as
mineral and chemical composition, permeability, the texture of the constituent particles,
and particle size. These physical properties are the end result of the processes that
formed the rocks. Over the course of time, rocks can transform from one type into
another, as described by the geological model called the rock cycle. These events
produce three general classes of rock: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.
Igneous Rocks
Igneous rock, derived from the Latin word igneus meaning of fire, from ignis
meaning fire. It forms through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. This
magma can be derived from partial melts of pre-existing rocks in either a planet's mantle
or crust. Typically, the melting of rocks is caused by one or more of three processes: an
increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition.
About 64.7% of the Earth's crust by volume consists of igneous rocks; making it
the most plentiful category. Of these, 66% are basalts and gabbros, 16% are granite,
and 17% granodiorites and diorites. Only 0.6% are syenites and 0.3% peridotites and
dunites. The oceanic crust is 99% basalt, which is an igneous rock of mafic
composition.
There are two basic types.
1. Intrusive igneous rocks crystallize below Earth's surface and the slow
cooling that occurs there allows large crystals to form

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Examples of Intrusive Igneous Rocks:

Diorite is a coarse-grained, intrusive igneous


rock that contains a mixture of feldspar
pyroxene, hornblende and some quartz.

Gabbro is a coarse-grained, dark colored


intrusive igneous rock that contains feldspar,
pyroxene and sometimes olivine

Granite is a coarse-grained light colored intrusive igneous rock that


contains mainly quartz, feldspar, and mica minerals .

Pegmatite

extremely coarse-grained intrusive


igneous rock. It forms near the
margins of a magma chamber
during the final phases of magma
chamber crystallization. It often
contains rare minerals that are not
found in other parts of the magma
chamber.

is

light-colored,

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Peridotite is a coarse-grained
intrusive igneous rock that is
composed almost entirely of
olivine. It may contain small
amounts of amphibole, feldspar,
quartz or pyroxene.

2. Extrusive igneous rocks erupt onto the surface where they cool quickly to
form small crystals. Some cool so quickly that they form an amorphous glass.
Examples of Extrusive Igneous Rocks:

Basalt is a fine-grained, dark-colored


extrusive igneous rock composed mainly of
plagioclase and pyroxene.

Obsidian is a dark-colored volcanic glass that


forms from the very rapid cooling of molten
rock material. It cools so rapidly that crystals
do not form.

Rhyolite is a light-colored, fine-grained,


extrusive igneous rock that typically contains
quartz and feldspar minerals.

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Pumice is a light-colored vesicular igneous


rock. It forms through very rapid solidification
of a melt. The vesicular texture is a result of
gas trapped in the melt at the time of
solidification.

Scoria is a dark-colored, vesicular, extrusive


igneous rock. The vesicles are a result of
trapped gas within the melt at the time of
solidification. It often forms as a frothy crust on
the top of a lava flow or as material ejected from
a volcanic vent and solidifying while airborne.

Fire Opal is sometimes found filling cavities in rhyolite. Long


after the rhyolite has cooled, silica-rich ground water moves
through the rock, sometimes depositing gems likeopal, red
beryl, topaz, jasper or agate in the cavities of the rock.

Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary rocks are formed at the earth's surface by the accumulation and
cementation of fragments of earlier rocks, minerals, and organisms or as chemical
precipitates and organic growths in water (sedimentation). This process causes clastic
sediments (pieces of rock) or organic particles (detritus) to settle and accumulate, or for
minerals to chemically precipitate (evaporite) from a solution. The particulate matter
then undergoes compaction and cementation during at moderate temperatures and
pressures (diagenesis).
Before being deposited, sediments are formed by weathering or earlier rocks by
erosion in a source area, and then transported to the place of deposition by water, wind,
ice, mass movement or glaciers (agents of denudation). Mud rocks comprise 65%

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(mudstone, shale and siltstone); sandstones 20 to 25% and carbonate rocks 10 to 15%
(limestone and dolostone). About 7.9% of the crust by volume is composed of
sedimentary rocks, with 82% of those being shales, while the remainder consist of
limestone (6%), sandstone and arkoses (12%). Sedimentary rocks often contain fossils.
Sedimentary rocks form under the influence of gravity and typically are deposited in
horizontal or near horizontal layers or strata and may be referred to as stratified rocks. A
small fraction of sedimentary rocks deposited on steep slopes will show cross bedding
where one layer stops abruptly along an interface where another layer eroded the first
as it was laid atop the first.
There are three basic types of sedimentary rocks.
1. Clastic sedimentary rocks are formed from mechanical weathering debris.
Examples:
Conglomerate is a clastic sedimentary rock that
contains large rounded particles. The space
between the pebbles is generally filled with smaller
particles and/or chemical cement that bind the rock
together.

Sandstone
is
a
clastic
rock made up mainly of sand-size
millimeter diameter) weathering
Environments
where
large
sand can accumulate include
deserts, flood plains and deltas.

sedimentary
(1/16 to 2
debris.
amounts
of
beaches,

Shale is a clastic sedimentary rock that is made up of clay-size


(less then 1/256 millimeter in diameter) weathering debris. It
typically breaks into thin flat pieces.

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Oil Shale is a rock that contains significant amounts of organic


material in the form of kerogen. Up to 1/3 of the rock can be solid
organic material. Liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons can be
extracted from the oil shale but the rock must be heated and/or
treated with solvents. This is usually much less efficient than
drilling rocks that will yieldoil or gas directly into a well.

Siltstone is a clastic
from
silt-size
millimeter diameter)

sedimentary rock that forms


(between 1/256 and 1/16
weathering debris.

2. Chemical sedimentary rocks form when dissolved materials precipitate from


solution.

Chert is a microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline


sedimentary rock material composed of silicon
dioxide (SiO2). It occurs as nodules and
concretionary masses and less frequently as a
layered deposit. It breaks with a conchoidal
fracture, often producing very sharp edges.

Rock Salt is a chemical sedimentary rock that


forms from the evaporation of ocean or saline
lake waters. It is also known by the mineral
name "halite". It is rarely found at Earth's
surface, except in areas of very arid climate. It
is often mined for use in the chemical industry
or for use as a winter highway treatment.

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Flint is a hard, tough, chemical or biochemical


sedimentary rock that breaks with a
conchoidal fracture. It is a form of
microcrystalline quartz that is typically called
chert by geologists. It often forms as nodules
in sedimentary rocks such as chalk and
marine limestones.

Dolomite (also known as "dolostone" and


"dolomite rock") is a chemical sedimentary rock
that is very similar tolimestone. It is thought to
form when limestone or lime mud is modified by
magnesium-rich ground water.

Limestone is a rock that is composed primarily of calcium


carbonate. It can form organically from the accumulation of
shell, coral, algal and fecal debris. It can also form chemically
from the precipitation of calcium carbonate from lake or ocean
water. It is used in many ways..

Iron Ore is a chemical sedimentary rock that forms when iron


and oxygen (and sometimes other substances) combine in
solution and deposit as a sediment. Hematite(shown above) is
the most common sedimentary iron ore mineral.

3. Organic sedimentary rocks such as coal,


some dolomites, and some limestones, form from the accumulation of plant or
animal debris.

Coal is an organic sedimentary rock that forms mainly from plant debris. The plant
debris usually accumulates in a swamp environment. Coal is combustible and is often
mined for use as a fuel.

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Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphic rocks have been modified by heat, pressure and chemical
processes, usually while buried deep below Earth's surface. Exposure to these extreme
conditions has altered the mineralogy, texture and chemical composition of the rocks.
There are two basic types of metamorphic rocks.
1. Foliated metamorphic rocks have a layered or banded appearance that is
produced by exposure to heat and directed pressure.

Gneiss is foliated metamorphic rock that has a


banded appearance and is made up of granular
mineral grains. It typically contains abundant
quartz or feldspar minerals.

Phyllite is a foliated metamorphic rock that is


made up mainly of very fine-grained mica. The
surface of phyllite is typically lustrous and
sometimes wrinkled. It is intermediate in grade
between slate and schist.

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Slate is a foliated metamorphic rock that is


formed through the metamorphism of shale. It is
a low grade metamorphic rock that splits into thin
pieces..

Schist is metamorphic rock with well developed


foliation. It often contains significant amounts of
mica which allow the rock to split into thin pieces.
It is a rock of intermediate metamorphic grade
between phyllite and gneiss.

2. Non-foliated metamorphic rocks such as hornfels, marble, quartzite,


and novaculite do not have a layered or banded appearance.

Hornfels is a fine-grained nonfoliated metamorphic


rock with no specific composition. It is produced by
contact metamorphism. Hornfels is a rock that was
"baked" while near a heat source such as a magma
chamber, sill or dike.

Marble is a non-foliated metamorphic rock that is


produced from the metamorphism of limestone
ordolostone. It is composed primarily of calcium
carbonate.

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Novaculite is a dense, hard, fine-grained, siliceous rock that


breaks with a conchoidal fracture. It forms from sediments
deposited in marine environments where organisms such as
diatoms (single-celled algae that secrete a hard shell composed
of silicon dioxide) are abundant in the water.

Quartzite is a nonthat is produced by


sandstone.
It
is
quartz.

foliated metamorphic rock


the
metamorphism
of
composed
primarily
of

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