1. Read the text below.

2. Arrange the correct order/ sequence of the process responsible for the formation of sedimentary rocks.
3. Explain the process of how sedimentary rocks are formed.

Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary rock- is a rock formed at or near the Earth’s surface by the accumulation and lithification of
sediment (detrital rock) or by the precipitation from solution at normal surface temperatures (chemical rock).
Sedimentary rocks are the most common rocks exposed on Earth’s surface but are only a minor constituent of
the entire crust, which is dominated by igneous and metamorphic rocks. Since sedimentary rocks are formed on
the Earth’s surface, these rocks are dependent on surface processes such as weathering and erosion. As rocks
are exposed to surface conditions, they undergo changes that break them down to generate sediments (sediments
are solid fragments of organic or inorganic materials from weathered and eroded pre-existing rocks and living
matters), which are the foundation for sedimentary rocks.

Sedimentary rocks are produced by the weathering of preexisting rocks and the subsequent
transportation and deposition of the weathering products. Weathering refers to the various processes of physical
disintegration and chemical decomposition that occur when rocks at the Earth’s surface are exposed to the
atmosphere (mainly in the form of rainfall) and the hydrosphere. These processes produce soil, unconsolidated
rock detritus, and components dissolved in groundwater and runoff. Erosion is the process by which weathering
products are transported away from the weathering site, either as solid material or as dissolved components, and
eventually to be deposited as sediment. Any unconsolidated deposit of solid weathered
material constitutes sediment. It can form as the result of the deposition of grains from moving bodies
of water or wind, from the melting of glacial ice, and from the downslope slumping (sliding) of rock and soil
masses in response to gravity, as well as by precipitation of the dissolved products of weathering under the
conditions of low temperature and pressure that prevail at or near the surface of Earth.

Over the years many sediments build up in strata. This process is called sedimentation. As new
sediments are deposited, they pile up by layer. The oldest layers are at the bottom and the youngest layers are at
the top. Larger sediments settle out first because they are heavier while finer sediments settle out last. The
weight of the sediments on top squashes the sediments at the bottom, causing the sediments at the lower layer to
harden. This is called compaction. Compaction leads to cementation. The water is squeezed out from between
the pieces of rock and different salt crystals are formed. The salt crystals form a sort of glue that bonds or
cements the clasts (fragment rocks) together. With the action of some chemicals in the water such as calcium
carbonate, silica, and iron oxides plus the great pressure of the new sediments at the upper layers, the grains of
sediments are cemented together. This process eventually forms sedimentary rocks. Moreover, Sedimentary
rocks are the lithified equivalents of sediments. They are typically produced by cementing, compacting, and
otherwise solidifying preexisting unconsolidated sediments.
Sedimentary rocks are classified into three types, depending on how they are formed.

1. Clastic (detrital) sedimentary rocks are composed of the solid products of weathering (gravel, sand, silt,
and clay) cemented together by the dissolved weathering products.

 A conglomerate is a clastic sedimentary rock that contains large rounded particles. The space
between the pebbles is generally filled with smaller particles and/or a chemical cement that binds
the rock together.
 Sandstone- is a clastic sedimentary rock made up mainly of sand-size weathering debris.
Environments, where a large amount of sand can accumulate, include beaches, deserts, flood
plains, and deltas.
 Shale- is a clastic sedimentary rock that is made up of clay size weathering debris; rock is made
from layers of mud and chemically mixed with fine sand, organic matter, iron oxide, and other
impurities. Shale appears smooth and is a soft rock that easily breaks into layers. It is either gray
or brown in color.

2. Chemical Sedimentary rocks- are rocks that are formed from dissolved minerals that are precipitated
or separated from a solution. This usually occurs when water evaporates leaving the minerals behind or
when minerals are precipitated from water due to differences in temperature.

 Limestone- is composed primarily of calcium carbonate. This rock came from dead organisms;
it can form organically from the accumulation of shells, coral, algal, and fecal debris. As these
organisms died, their bodies were trapped in stratified sediments and through time and great
pressure cemented together. It can also form chemically from the precipitation of calcium
carbonate from lake or ocean waters.
 Iron ore – is a chemical sedimentary rock that forms when iron and oxygen (and sometimes
other substances) combine in a solution and deposit as sediments. Hematite is the most common
sedimentary iron ore mineral.
 Halite- is a chemical sedimentary rock that forms from the evaporation of ocean or salty lake
waters. It is also known as “rock salt”. It is often mined for use in the chemical industry ad is
processed for use as a seasoning for food.

3. Organic sedimentary rocks or Bio clastics- organic sedimentary rocks are formed from the
accumulation of plant and/or animal debris. These rocks are usually formed in swamp regions in which
there is an abundant supply of growing vegetation and low amounts of oxygen. The vegetation builds so
quickly that new layers of vegetation bury the dead and decaying material very quickly. Although they
make only a small fraction of sedimentary rocks, they are considered important energy resources. (e.g.
coal and oil shale.

 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
fuel.
 Oil shale – is a rock that contains a significant amount 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.
Read the text and answer the questions by completing the table below.

1. What are the types of igneous rocks?

2. Differentiate the two types of igneous rocks.
3. Explain how igneous rocks are formed.

Types of Igneous
rocks
Parent Where do Rate of Size of Crystals Texture
Materials the molten Cooling
materials
solidify?
1.

2.

Igneous rock is any of various crystalline or glassy rocks formed by the cooling and solidification of
molten earth material. Igneous rocks constitute one of the three principal classes of rocks, the others being
metamorphic and sedimentary.
Igneous rocks are formed from the cooling and solidification of magma and lava, which is a hot molten
or partially molten rock material; magma is molten rock material below the surface of the Earth while lava is
molten rock materials that make it to the surface of the Earth through volcanoes and eruption. These rocks are
formed when hot, molten rock materials crystallize and solidify. When the magma solidifies, it crystallizes to
form minerals.
Earth is composed predominantly of a large mass of igneous rock with a very thin veneer of weathered
material—namely, sedimentary rock. Whereas sedimentary rocks are produced by processes operating mainly
on Earth’s surface by the disintegration of mostly older igneous rocks, igneous—and metamorphic—rocks are
formed by internal processes that cannot be directly observed and that necessitate the use of physical-chemical
arguments to deduce their origins.

Igneous rocks are divided into two groups, intrusive or extrusive igneous rocks, depending upon where the
molten rock solidifies.

Igneous intrusive rocks- Magma is thought to be generated within the plastic asthenosphere (the layer of
partially molten rock underlying Earth’s crust) at a depth below about 60 kilometers (40 miles). Because
magma is less dense than the surrounding solid rocks, it rises toward the surface. It may settle within the crust
or erupt at the surface of a volcano as lava flows. Rocks formed from the cooling and solidification of magma
deep within the crust are distinct from those that erupted at the surface mainly owing to the differences in
physical and chemical conditions prevalent in the two environments. Within Earth’s deep crust the temperatures
and pressures are much higher than at its surface; consequently, the hot magma cools slowly and crystallizes
completely, leaving no trace of the liquid magma. The slow cooling promotes the growth of minerals large
enough to be identified visually without the aid of a microscope. Because of the large crystals, intrusive rocks
are described to have a phaneritic texture or a medium to coarse-grained texture (called phaneritic, from the
Greek phaneros, meaning “visible”). Example of intrusive igneous rocks is diorite, granite, and gabbro.

On the other hand, extrusive igneous rocks or volcanic rocks is an igneous rocks formed when magma
makes it to the Earth’s surface through volcanic eruptions and cools above (or very near) the Earth’s surface.
When magma exits a volcano, it is called lava. The lava cools and solidifies almost instantly when it is exposed
to the relatively cool temperature of the atmosphere because of the temperature difference between the Earth’s
surface and beneath the Earth’s surface.
Quick cooling means that mineral crystals don’t have much time to grow and it does not promote the
formation of large crystals. As a result, the rock is either composed of minerals that can be seen only with the
aid of a microscope (called aphanitic, from the Greek aphanēs, meaning “invisible”) or contains no minerals at
all (in the latter case, the rock is composed of glass, which is a highly viscous liquid). There are also extrusive
rocks that have a bubbly and vesicular texture because hot gas bubbles are often trapped in the quenched lava.
Examples of extrusive igneous rocks are basalt, obsidian, pumice, andesite, and rhyolite.
Metamorphic Rocks

Metamorphic rock is any of a class of rocks that result from the alteration of preexisting rocks in
response to changing environmental conditions, such as variations in temperature, pressure, and
mechanical stress, and the addition or subtraction of chemical components. The preexisting rocks may
be igneous, sedimentary, or other metamorphic rocks. Metamorphic rocks are formed when the “parent rocks”
are subjected to high heat, high pressure, hot-mineral-rich fluids, or a combination of these factors.

Metamorphism occurs incrementally, from slight change (known as low-grade metamorphism) to

dramatic change (high-grade metamorphism) from the parent rock. Metamorphic rocks change without melting
(solid-state reactions). Metamorphism causes changes in rocks, including increased density, growth of larger
crystals, reorientation of grains into layers or bands, and the formation of new minerals.

The most common geologic settings for metamorphism are:

 Contact (thermal) metamorphism occurs in rocks when they are intruded by hot magma - "bake" the
surrounding rock- it is a relatively small event.
 Regional metamorphism occurs when large-scale deformation occurs in rocks when they are subjected
to higher pressure and temperatures during "mountain building" processes.

During metamorphism, rocks may develop foliation where mineral grains realign and recrystallize (solid-
state) perpendicular to stress. The development of foliation is common during regional metamorphism where
stress is greater in one direction than in the others. Some metamorphic rocks are non-foliated - they do not
develop a parallel alignment of mineral grains. Non-foliated rocks are common with contact
metamorphism where rocks are heated by igneous magma but are not subjected to high increases in pressure.

The word metamorphism is taken from the Greek for “change of form”; metamorphic rocks are derived
from igneous or sedimentary rocks that have altered their form (recrystallized) as a result of changes in their
physical environment. Metamorphism comprises changes both in mineralogy and in the fabric of the
original rock. In general, these alterations are brought about either by the intrusion of hot magma into cooler
surrounding rocks (contact metamorphism) or by large-scale tectonic movements of Earth’s lithospheric plates
that alter the pressure-temperature conditions of the rocks (regional metamorphism). Minerals within the
original rock, or protolith, respond to the changing conditions by reacting with one another to produce a new
mineral under the new pressure-temperature conditions.

Metamorphic rocks are classified into two (2) types based on their appearance and composition: Foliated and
Non-foliated metamorphic rocks.

 Foliated metamorphic rocks These are metamorphic rocks formed within the earth’s interior under
extremely high temperatures and unequal pressure. The unequal pressure is due to the difference of
pressure in one area against any other area. This case of different pressure causes minerals in the original
rock to orient themselves. The long and flat minerals align themselves perpendicular to where the
greatest pressure is directed. This tends to reduce the overall pressure on the rock giving the rock a
layered band appearance.
o Slate is the first distinctive metamorphic rock to form. It is low-grade (relatively low pressure
and temperature), very fine-grained foliated rock composed of microscopic grains of mica. It is
also composed of the minerals quartz, muscovite, along with hematite, biotite and pyrite. Slate is
derived from shale.
o Phyllite is a foliated metamorphic rock that is similar to slate. It is a Low to moderate-grade
metamorphism of shale that results in phyllite. In phyllite, the mica crystals (although generally
too small to see with the naked eye) are large enough to give phyllite sheen (reflects light).
o Schist is a moderate- to a high-grade foliated rock where the platy minerals (micas) (>50%) are
large enough to see with the naked eye.
o Gneiss is a high-grade foliated metamorphic rock where the minerals have segregated into bands
of light and dark minerals (gneissic banding).
o

 Non-foliated metamorphic rocks are formed when the pre-existing rock or “parent rock” is
essentially “baked” by the heat, changing the mineral structure of the rock without the addition of
pressure.
These rocks are formed around igneous intrusive rocks. When the rocks are heated by the intrusion, it
results in the recrystallization of the minerals within the rock. Their atoms reorganize while becoming
more compact and dense. In this sense, new minerals are formed. For example, a small calcite crystal in
limestone changes into larger crystals in metamorphic marble. The high temperature allows the atoms
and ions in solid crystals to migrate while great pressure causes solutions of the crystals within the rock.
Both high temperature and pressure contribute to recrystallization.

o Marble- is a non-foliated metamorphic rock that is commonly composed of the mineral calcite
(which reacts to acid). The parent rock of marble is limestone. It is used to make buildings,
sculptures, and monuments.

o Quartzite- is a non-foliated metamorphic rock that is composed of quartz. The parent rock of
quartzite is sandstone. It is very hard and chemically resistant. Quartzite may appear to look
similar to marble but can be by its extreme hardness since it is composed of fused quartz grains.