Lesson 4: Classification of Rocks

Earth is a solid rock to a depth of 2,900 kilometers, where mantle meets the liquid core.

Rocks
o It is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of one or more minerals and sometime with non-
mineral solid particles. A combined aggregation of minerals.
o The aggregate minerals forming the rocks are held together by chemical bonds.
o Grains can be different in color, texture, and sizes.
 Geologist group rocks into three categories based on how it is form.
 Petrology is the scientific study of rocks.
 Petrologist classify rocks based on how they were formed.
Classification of Rocks

1. Igneous Rocks
o Magmatic rocks
o It is formed through cooling and solidification of magma or lava.
o it is formed from hardening and crystallization of magma or molten materials that
originates from deep within the earth.

Two Types of Igneous Rock:

 Extrusive/Volcanic
o It is formed through a faster rate of solidification of lava on the surface of
Earth.
o They can become glassy in appearance due to less crystallization or…
o Vesicular like Scoria, due to the air that was trapped inside when they
solidified and formed on the Earth’s surface.
o Examples:
Andesite Basalt Dacite Obsidian
Pumice Rhyolite Tuff
 Intrusive/Plutonic
o It is formed from solidification of magma below the surface.
o They have large crystals of minerals that formed over time through the slow
process of crystallization in magma.
o Examples:
Granite Diorite Gabbro
Pegmatite Peridotite

They are classified based on:

 Composition
o Refers to the rock’s mineral and chemical composition.
o Compositions:
Felsic – light in colors; feldspar and silicates
Mafic – dark-colored made up of magnesium, calcium, &iron.
Intermediate – between mafic and felsic composition
Ultramafic – denotes that is composed of mafic minerals.
  Texture
o Overall appearance of rock based on the size, shape, and arrangement of
interlocking mineral crystals.
o Textures:
Aphanitic – fine-grained rocks with crystals seen by microscope.
Phaneritic – coarse-grained rocks
Porphyritic – large crystals with small crystals
Glassy – looks like colored glass with no visible mineral crystal.
Pyroclastic – result from explosive fragmentation of volcanic material
2. Sedimentary Rocks
o It provides information about surface conditions that existed in the Earth’s past.
o It is formed by the deposition and cementation of mineral or organic particles on
ocean floor and other bodies of water.
o Compaction is the process of increasing pressure of layered sediments that bind together
to form the sedimentary.
o Examples:
Chalk Limestone Sandstone
 Sediments are particles of sand, shells, pebbles, and other fragments of materials,
accumulated in layers and over long period of time harden into rocks.

Types of Sedimentary Rocks

 Clastic
o Formed from mechanical weathering debris of rocks.
o Examples:
Breccia Conglomerate sandstone
Siltstone Shale
 Chemical
o Formed when dissolved materials precipitate from the solution.
o Examples:
Salt Iron ore Chert Flint Dolomite
 Organic
o Formed from the build-up of plant or animal debris.
o Example:
Coal Fossiliferous limestone
3. Metamorphic Rocks
o Forms from existing rock types called “parent rock” in the process called
metamorphism.
o The original rock which can be igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic rock is subjected to
heat and pressure, causing a profound chemical or physical change.

 Metamorphism means change in form. Transformation of one rock type into

another.

2 Types of Metamorphism
1. Regional
o Changes in pressure and temperature over large region of the crust.
o It may happen when rock is deep buried below the surface of the Earth.
2. Contact
o The rock minerals and textures are changed mainly by heat due to contact
with magma.

2 Types of Metamorphic Rocks

1. Foliated
o It is formed through pressure due to compression of rocks that create
bands called foliation.
o Examples:
Gneiss Phyllite Schist Slate
2. Non-foliated
o It has no foliation or bands.
o Examples:
Hornfels Marble Quartzite Novaculite