Igneous rocks

 Igneous rocks (Granites). Igneous rocks are formed by the crystallisation of a

magma. The difference between granites and basalts is in silica content and their
rates of cooling. A basalt is about 53% SiO2, whereas granite is 73%.
o Intrusive, slowly cooled inside the crust. (Plutonic rock = formed in the
earth). Large crystals.
 Granite. (Continental crust) Density 2.7-2.8. High silica content
(acidic). = quartz + mica + K-feldspar in solid solution. 60%
orthoclase and plagioclase fledspars + 25% quartz + 5% darker
minerals (biotite, hornblende). Color from flesh to black. Crystals
intermingled. Hard, rigid, tough. Granitic rock is much less common
on the other terrestrial planets, a fact having to do with the
fractionation (where early crystallizing minerals separate fromt he rest
of a magma), a process that takes place uniquely on earth, due to the
prevalence of plate tectonics.
 Granodiorite. An intermediate form between granite and diorite.
 Diorite. High silica content (acidic)
 Gabbro. Density? Medium silica content. (intermediate). Similar to
granite = quartz + feldspar + pyroxene + amphibole + mica + olivene.
A layer of gabbro is found in the ocean crust, unerneath the basalt
layer (0.5-2.5km), from 2.5 to 6.3 km deep. The lunar highlands have
many gabbros (made largely of potassium feldspar - also known as
plagioclase)
 Peridotite.
o Extrusive. cooled rapidly at the surface. Small crystals.
 Rhyolite. Medium silica content (intermediate). A fine-grained
volcanic rock of granitic composition.
 Dacite.
 Andesite. (Volcanic arcs) Density >2.8. Low silica content (basic) =
sodium feldspar + amphibole. Dark, dense.
 Basalt. (Ocean crust) Density 2.9. Low silica content. (basic). Dark,
dense. = olivene + pyroxene + Ca-Feldspar in solid solution. Basaltic
rocks (gabbro & basalt) are made up of feldspars and other minerals
common in planetary crusts. They have been identified as major
surface rocks on the dark lunar planes and much of Mars, Venus and
the asteroid Vesta.
 Pyroclastic rocks: debris ejected by volcanoes
o Tuff is made of compacted debris from old volcanic ash showers.
o Volcanic breccia is composed of angular mineral fragments embedded in a
matrix, the product of explosive eruptions.
o Ignimbrites are sheets of coalesced fine particles which once flowed at high
speed, extremely hot, fluid avalanches.

Source:

Anthoni, F. (2000). Classification of common rocks. Retrieved June 25, 2014, from www.seafriends.org:
http://www.seafriends.org.nz/enviro/soil/rocktbl1.htm