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Week 2 Classification of Rocks

Rocks can be classified based on their formation, composition, and texture. The three main types of rocks are igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Igneous rocks form from cooling magma, and can be intrusive or extrusive. Sedimentary rocks form through the compaction and cementation of sediments. Metamorphic rocks form through changes to existing rocks via heat, pressure, and chemical reactions in the Earth.

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Maureen Abacahin
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71 views27 pages

Week 2 Classification of Rocks

Rocks can be classified based on their formation, composition, and texture. The three main types of rocks are igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Igneous rocks form from cooling magma, and can be intrusive or extrusive. Sedimentary rocks form through the compaction and cementation of sediments. Metamorphic rocks form through changes to existing rocks via heat, pressure, and chemical reactions in the Earth.

Uploaded by

Maureen Abacahin
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Classifications of Rock

■ Naturally occurring solid mixtures


of one or more minerals, or organic
matter

■ Classified by how they are


formed, their composition, and
texture

■ Change over time through the


rock cycle
■ Originate
from magma
■ Magma freezes between
700 °C and 1,250 °C
■ Magma is a mixture
of a lot of minerals
■ Felsic: light colored rocks that are rich in
elements such as aluminum, potassium,
silicon, and sodium
■ Mafic: dark colored rocks that are rich in
calcium, iron, and magnesium, poor in silicon
■ Coarse-grained: takes longer to cool, giving
mineral crystals more time to grow
■ Fine-grained: cools quickly with little to no
crystals
Coarse-Grained Fine-Grained

Felsic

Granite Rhyolite

Mafic

Gabbro Basalt
■ Intrusive Igneous Rocks:
magma pushes into
surrounding rock below the
Earth’s surface

■ Extrusive Rocks: forms when


magma erupts onto the
Earth’s surface (lava), cools
quickly with very small or no
crystals formed
Formation and Texture

• Intrusive – forms under the Earth’s surface


– Large grain  magma cools slowly and large
crystals form
• Extrusive - forms on top of the Earth’s surface
– Small grain magma cools too quickly and small
or no crystals form

Extrusive Intrusive
■ Formed by erosion
■ Sediments are moved from
one place to another
■ Sediments are deposited in
layers, with the older ones
on the bottom
■ The layers become
compacted and cemented
together
▪ Sedimentary Rocks are formed at or near
the Earth’s surface

▪ No heat and pressure involved d

▪ Strata – layers of rock

▪ Stratification – the process in


which sedimentary rocks are
arranged in layers
Clastic Sedimentary Rocks

Clastic Sedimentary Rocks


• Formed from the abundant deposits of
loose sediments that accumulate on the
Earth’s surface – most common type
• Classified based on the sediment size:
– Coarse-grained
– Medium-grained
– Fine-grained
Coarse-grained Rocks – contain gravel sized
rock and mineral fragments
Breccia
Conglomerate • angular particles
• Rounded particles
Clastic Sedimentary Rocks

Medium-grained Rocks – contain sand sized


rock and mineral fragments
Sandstone
• Contains quartz and rock Arkose
• High porosity so often contains • Contains quartz, potassium feldspar
oil, gas, and ground water and rock
Fine-grained Rocks – contains silt and clay
sized particles
Siltstone Shale
• Quartz and clay • Quartz and clay
• Fine-grained • Very fine-grained
Chemical Sedimentary Rocks

Chemical Sedimentary Rocks


• Forms after the concentration of dissolved
minerals reaches saturation and crystal
grains settle out

• Water evaporates and the minerals become


more concentrated leading to thick layers on the
bottom of a body of water.
Chemical Sedimentary Rock
Examples

Rock Salt
Microcrystalline Gypsum
Organic Sedimentary Rocks
• Form from the remains of formerly
living organisms

• Most abundant is limestone (made of calcite)

• Many contain fossils


Organic Sedimentary Rock
Examples

Coquina
Limestone
• Results as a rock is subject to
pressure and heat (but does not
melt); usually forms deep in the
Earth

• Instead, the mineral composition,


texture, or chemical composition of
the rock changes

• Metamorphic rock – rocks that


changes form while remaining
solid

• Metamorphic mineral –
minerals that form during
metamorphism
Contact Metamorphism
■ when molten material (hot magma) comes in contact with solid rock;
solid rock gets heated
■ increased temperature changes the composition of the rock, minerals
are changed into new minerals

Hornfels
Regional Metamorphism

▪ Pressure builds up in rocks


deep within the Earth

▪ Large pieces of the Earth’s


crust collide and the rock is
deformed and chemically
changed by heat and
pressure
Metamorphic Textures

• Foliated – layers and bands of mineral grains


– Forms when pressure is applied in opposite
directions
Gneiss is foliated
metamorphic rock
that has a banded
appearance and is
made up of granular
mineral grains.

It typically contains
abundant quartz or
feldspar minerals.
Metamorphic Textures

• Nonfoliated – blocky, crystal shapes


– mineral grains are not arranged in plains or
bands
– forms when pressure is not applied in opposite
directions
Marble is a non-
foliated metamorphic
rock that is produced
from the
metamorphism of
limestone.

It is composed
primarily of calcium
carbonate.
END OF PRESENTATION

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