Document 11
Document 11
Document 11
EARTH SCIENCE
ROCK -is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of one or more minerals. The aggregate
minerals forming the rocks are held together by chemical bonds. Grains can be different
in color, texture, and sizes.
PETROLOGY - Petrology is the scientific study of rocks. Petrologists classify rocks based
on how they were formed.
• Extrusive/Volcanic rock - forms when magma makes its way to Earth’s surface as lava
and then cools. The crystals are very small (fine-grained) since the cooling process is fast
• Intrusive/Plutonic - It cools slowly beneath the Earth surface and are created by
magma. The intrusive igneous rocks have very large crystals (coarse grained).
Classification:
• Texture - refers to the size arrangement and grains within the rock.
Foliation - any planar arrangement of mineral grains or structural features within the
rock.
Foliated rocks – can be arranged in terms of increasing metamorphism, and
it appeared layered or banded with compressed mineral grains.
Non-foliated rocks – usually made up of only few minerals
Sedimentary rocks- provide information about surface conditions that existed in the
Earth’s past.
Clastic Sedimentary rock - formed from accumulation of clasts: little pieces of broken
rocks and shells. Example: sandstone, shale
MINERALS
naturally occurring- term which identifies mineral as part of earth’s natural processes.
Example: Diamond - Diamonds are made entirely of carbon
Homogeneous solid -minerals should have definite volume and rigid shape ( A mineral must be
chemically and physically uniform down to the atomic level )
Properties of Minerals
10 - Diamond
9 - Corundum
8 - Topaz
7 - Quartz
6 - Orthoclase
5 - Apatite
4 - Fluorite
3 - Calcite
2 - Gypsum
1 – Talc
The Mohs scale (pronounced MOZE) was introduced in 1822. It originated when Friedrich Mohs
chose ten minerals and assigned numbers to them based on the relative ease or difficulty in
which stone can be scratched by another.
Heat energy plays a vital role in our planet. It is one of the extreme factors in what makes the
world liveable.