Unit 2: Minerals & Rocks

Tags Third Trimester

Link

What is a Mineral? NIHDO!

N - Naturally Occurring

I - Inorganic

H - Homogenous Solid, with

D - Definite chemical composition and

O - Orderly crystalline structure

How are minerals formed?

Minerals can precipitate from aqueous solutions.

Salt beds are created from this process

Minerals can crystallize from a cooling magma/lava

Igneous rocks are formed from this process

Mineral Groups

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 Silicates

It uses silicate tetrahedron as a building block

Rich in silicon and oxygen

Non-silicate

Doesn’t use the tetrahedron.

No silicon and oxygen

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 Mineral Properties

lmfao I forgot to add this

Rock Cycle

The rock cycle happens above and below the ground.

Igneous Rocks
Formed from the crystallization/cooling of magma or lava.

Based on Composition

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 Mafic and Ultramafic Rocks

Generally made with silica, they are dark in color and have high
amounts of magnesium, and iron.

Less viscous | Less gas content (1000-1200*C)

High in MCL

Felsic Rocks

Very rich with silica, and lighter in color because the have lesser
amounts of magnesium and iron.

More viscous | high gas content (650-800*C)

Low in MCL

Lava is more related to this type of rock group.

Intermediate Rocks

Averaging on the amount of silica, It is usually in the medium color

range and has average Mg and Fe.

Average viscosity | Average gas content

Average in MCL

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 Sedimentary Rocks
Clasts are dropped and settled out, as they accumulate they get held up by
cement through the process of lithification

Conglomerate

Rounded Clasts.

Breccia

Angled Clasts.

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 Sandstone

Above 63cm it is courser than mud.

Mudstones

Below 63cm, it’s finer than sand!

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 Biochemical Rocks

Biochemical sedimentary rocks are formed from shells and bodies of

underwater organisms. The components include aragonite, a mineral
similar to and commonly replaced by calcite, and silica.

Metamorphic
Rocks that have been subjected to high temperatures and pressure conditions
without the rock melting.

Foliated

Foliated rocks develop a platy or sheet-like structure that reflects the

direction that pressure was applied in. Types of foliated metamorphic
rocks include slate, schist, and gneiss.

Non-Foliated

Non-foliated rocks form when pressure is uniform, or near the surface

where pressure is very low. They can also form when the parent rock
consists of blocky minerals such as quartz and calcite, in which
individual crystals do not align because they aren't longer in any
one dimension.

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 Contact Metamorphism

Contact Metamorphism (often called thermal metamorphism) happens

when rock is heated up by an intrusion of hot magma

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