Rocks, Rocks, and

more Rocks!!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_hedge
 What is a rock?

• A solid mixture of crystals of one

or more minerals.
 What’s so great about rocks?
• Used to make tools & weapons
– Spears & arrow heads
– Obsidian scalpels used in delicate operations

• Used to make buildings (new & old)

• Some contain fossils which help

scientists learn about the past.
 The Rock Cycle (pg. 82)
• The process by which one rock type
changes into another.

• The rock cycle takes millions of years.

 3 processes that change one
rock type to another.
1. Weathering & Erosion

2. Heat & Pressure

3. Melting & Cooling

 3 Types of Rocks
1. Igneous Rock

2. Sedimentary Rock

3. Metamorphic Rock

 Rocks are classified based on how they

were formed (weathering and erosion, heat
and pressure, melting and cooling).
 Subtypes
• Igneous, Sedimentary, & Metamorphic
are divided into subtypes based on
differences in how rocks are formed.

• Two criteria:
1. Composition
2. Texture
 1. Composition
Composition is the minerals of which a
rock is made of.

Examples: (pg. 85)

Limestone – 95% Calcite, 5% Aragonite

Granite – 10% Mica, 35% Quartz,

55% Feldspar
 2. Texture
Texture is the sizes, shapes, and
positions of the grains of which a rock
is made.

a. Fine-grained – made of small grains

Ex. Silt or clay particles
b. Coarse-grained – made of large grains
Ex. Pebbles
c. Medium-grained – fine and medium texture
Ex. Sand
 Igneous Rock
• Igneous is Latin for “fire”

• Igneous rock forms from cooling lava

and magma.
 Igneous - Composition
Felsic vs. Mafic
• Lighter in color • Darker color
• Less dense • More dense

• Made up of elements • Made up of

such as: elements such as:
– Silicon – Iron
– Aluminum – Magnesium
– Sodium – Calcium
– Potassium • Ex. Basalt
• Ex. Granite
 Igneous – Texture
Intrusive vs. Extrusive
• Magma cools beneath • Lava cools on the
Earth’s surface. Earth’s surface.

• Cools very slowly • Cools very quickly

• Coarse-grained texture • Fine-grained texture

• Large crystals • Small or no crystals

• Ex. Granite • Ex. Basalt

 Sedimentary Rock
• Sediment = rock fragments caused by
erosion
• Sediments are compacted and
cemented together to form sedimentary
rock.
• Strata – the layers seen in
sedimentary rock
 Sedimentary – Composition
Clastic, Chemical, Organic
1. Clastic – fragments of other rocks and
minerals
• Size and shape of rock fragments influence
the names of sedimentary rocks
• Look at pg. 92, Figure 17 for example.
• Ex. Conglomerate
2. Chemical – forms from solutions of
minerals and water
• Rainwater dissolves small pieces of rock
and washes into the ocean where it
eventually forms new minerals (Fig. 18)
• Ex. Limestone
 Sedimentary – Composition
Clastic, Chemical, Organic
3. Organic – rock which forms from the
remains of animals
• Ex. Bituminous coal (made of plant
matter)

What about fossils?

They can be found in ALL types of
sedimentary rock.
 Sedimentary – Texture
Stratification
Stratification – layering, the layers differ
depending on the kind, size, and color
of the sediment.

- Check out Fig. 21 & 22 on pg. 94

for examples.
 Metamorphic Rock
– Meta means “changed”
– Morphos means “shape”

• The structure, texture, or composition

of the rock has changed by pressure,
heat, or the combination of both.
 Origins of Metamorphic Rocks
1. Contact Metamorphism – when rocks
come into contact with magma, heat
“cooks” the rock
• Change due to temperature

2. Regional Metamorphism – when a lot

of pressure causes large pieces of
Earth’s crust to collide with one
another
• Change due to pressure
 Metamorphic - Composition
• Heat and pressure cause minerals in
the original rock to change into other
minerals.
 Metamorphic – Texture
Foliated vs. Nonfoliated
• Minerals are aligned • No regular pattern
by pressure
• One or only a few
• Looks like pages in minerals
a book
• Ex. Marble,
• Ex. Slate,Phyllite Quartzite