LESSON 4: ROCKS

Petrology is the scientific study of rocks. Rocks are combined aggregation of minerals.
Petrologist classified rocks based on how they were formed. In general, rocks are classified as
igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rock.

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

Three types of Rocks

1. Igneous- formed from hardening and crystallization of magma or molten material that
originates deep within the earth.
Two types of igneous rock:
A. 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.

B. Intrusive/Plutonic - It cools slowly beneath the Earth surface and are created by
magma. The intrusive igneous rocks have very large crystals (coarse grained). Igneous rocks
are classified based on
1. Composition
FELSIC - light in color; feldspar and silicates
MAFIC - dark in color; made up of magnesium and iron
INTERMEDIATE – between mafic and felsic
ULTRAMAFIC - very dark color
2. Texture- overall appearance of rock
Aphanistic - fine grained
Phaneritic- coarse grained
Porphyritic- large crystals with small crystals
Glassy- non-ordered solid from rapid quenching
Pyroclastic- composite of ejected fragments
Examples:
Obsidian, pumice, basalt, granite, diorite, gabbro

2. Sedimentary rocks provide information about surface conditions that existed in the
Earth’s past.
● Particles of sand, shells, pebbles, and other fragments of materials called
sediments, accumulate in layers and over long period of time harden into rocks.
● Compaction-due to increase of pressure of layered sediments it bind together
to form the sedimentary rocks.

Two types of sedimentary rocks

a.Clastic Sedimentary rock - formed from accumulation of clasts: little pieces of broken
rocks and shells. Examples: conglomerate, breccia, sandstone, shale
b. Nonclastics - formed when dissolved minerals precipitate from a solution. Rocks formed from
the accumulation of animal debris
Example: a. Halite - formed when a body of seawater becomes closed off and evaporates.
b. Coal - composed of organic matter in the form of plants fragments

3. Metamorphic - forms from pre-existing rocks: either metamorphic, igneous, sedimentary

Examples: Quartzite, marble, slate, phyllite

Metamorphism - transformation of one rock type into another.

2 types of metamorphism
1. R egional-due to changes in pressure and temperature over large region of the crust
2. Contact-mainly by heat due to contact with magma

Classification:
a.Texture - refers to the size arrangement ad grains within the rock.
b. Foliation - any planar arrangement of mineral grains or structural features within the rock.

LESSON 5: EXOGENIC PROCESS

The earth’s surface is composed of water and landmasses. The solid portion is made
out of rocks and minerals that could experience changes either physically or chemically. The
weathered materials are transported by different agents from one place to another and will
settle down in a particular area. These progressions that happen are achieved by forms called
exogenic processes. It includes weathering, erosion, and deposition

Mechanical weathering or physical weathering is the breakdown of rocks into pieces

without any change in its composition. In this process, the size and shape of rocks changes
and this occurs because of the following factors shown in the table below.
In chemical weathering, there are changes in the composition of rocks due to thechemical
reactions presented below.

LESSON 6: ENDOGENIC PROCESS

A. EARTH’S INTERNAL HEAT
Heat energy plays a vital role in our planet. It is one of the extreme factors in what
makes the world livable. If you think of a volcano, you know Earth must be hot inside. The heat
inside of our planet moves continents, build mountains and causes earthquakes, but where
does all this heat inside the earth come from?
Sources of heat in our planet can be identified as Primordial and Radiogenic heat.
During the early formation of the Earth, the internal heat energy that gradually gathered
together by means of dispersion in the planet during its few million years of evolution is called
Primordial heat. The major contribution of this internal heat is the accretional energy – the
energy deposited during the early formation of a planet. The core is a storage of primordial heat
that originates from times of accretion when kinetic energy of colliding particles was
transformed into thermal energy. This heat is constantly lost to the outer silicate layers of the
mantle and crust of the earth through convection and conduction. In addition, the heat of the
core takes tens of thousands of years to reach the surface of the earth.
Today, the surface of the earth is made of a cold rigid rock since 4.5 billion years ago,
the earth’s surface cools from the outside but the core is still made of extremely hot material.On
the other hand, the thermal energy released as a result of spontaneous nuclear disintegration is
called Radiogenic Heat. It involves the disintegration of natural radioactive elements inside the
earth – like Uranium, Thorium and Potassium. Uranium is a special kind of element because
when it decays, heat (radiogenic) is produced. Estimated at 47 terawatts (TW), the flow of heat
from Earth's interior to the surface and it comes from two main sources in equal amounts: the
radiogenic heat produced by the radioactive decay of isotopes in the mantle and crust, and the
primordial heat left over from the formation of the Earth. Radioactive elements exist everywhere
on the earth in a fairly significant concentration. Without the process of radioactive decay, there
would be fewer volcanoes and earthquakes – and less formation of earth’s vast mountain
ranges.

Sources of Heat and Heat Transfer

Both sources of heat whether primordial or radiogenic undergo heat transfer and it plays an
important role to the continuous changes and development of our planet. In connection,
another part of this module describes the heat transfer in the Earth.
Three processes can transfer heat: conduction, convection, and radiation.
1. Conduction governs the thermal conditions in almost entire solid portions of the Earth
and plays a very important role in the lithosphere. Its processes happen in the earth’s
surface. Conduction is one of the three main ways that heat energy moves from place to
place. Technically, it can be defined as the process by which heat energy is transmitted
through collisions between neighboring atoms or molecules. Heat from the Earth's core
and radiation from the Sun is transferred to the surface of the Earth by conduction.
Contact of the atmosphere with these warm surfaces transfers thermal energy, which
then heats up the rest of the air through convection.
2. Convection involves transfer of heat by the movement of mass, which is a more efficient
means of heat transport in the Earth compared to pure conduction. Convection
dominates the thermal conditions in the zones where large quantities of fluids (molten
rocks) exist, and thus governs the heat transport in the fluid outer core and the mantle.
In geological time scale, the mantle behaves as a viscous fluid due to the existence of
high temperatures. In convection current, the mantle of the earth moves slowly because
of transfer of heat from the interior of the earth up to the surface. This result to the
movement of tectonic plates. Hot materials are added at the edges of a plate and then it
cools. At those edges, it becomes dense by its exposure from the heat and sinks into the
earth at an ocean trench. This start the formation of volcanoes.
3. Radiation is the least important mode of heat transport in the Earth. The process of heat
exchange between the Sun and the Earth, through radiation, controls the temperatures
at the Earth's surface. Inside the Earth, radiation is significant only in the hottest parts of
the core and the lower mantle. When the land and water become warm in summer, they
emit long – wavelength infrared radiation that is readily absorbed by the atmosphere.
This continues during night time too. Convection in the air then spreads out the thermal
energy throughout the atmosphere.
B. MAGMATISM
What is Magma?
Magma is composed of semi-liquid hot molten rocks located beneath the Earth,
specifically in the melted mantle rock and oceanic plate. This molten state, when solidified,
creates igneous rocks found on the surface of the Earth.
Do you know the difference between magma and lava? Magma and lava are both
molten rocks. However, they differ in location. Magma is found in the magma chamber of the
volcano while lava is found on the surface ofearth once the volcano erupts.
Magmatism is a process under the earth’s crust where formation and movement of
magma occur. So where does these formation and movement take place? These happen in the
lower part of the Earth’s crust and in the upper portion of the mantle, known as asthenosphere.

How is magma formed?

The magma present in the lower crust and upper mantle of the Earth is formed or
generated through the process of partial melting. In this process, different minerals in rock melt
at different temperature and pressure. Another factor being considered in this process is the
addition of volatile materials such as water and
carbon dioxide.
This is a diagram showing how minerals in rocks undergo partial melting.
Melting in the mantle requires one of three possible events to occur:
1. AN INCREASE IN TEMPERATURE: Conduction in mantle happens when heat is transferred
from hotter molten rocks to the Earth’s cold crust. This process is known as heat transfer. As
magma rises, it is often hot enough to melt the rock it touches. It happens at convergent
boundaries, where tectonic plates are crashing together.

2. A DECREASE OF PRESSURE: Mantle rocks remain solid when exposed to high pressure.
However, during convection, these rocks tend to go upward (shallower level) and the pressure
is reduced. This triggers the melting of magma. This is known as decompression melting. This
process occurs at the Mid-Ocean Ridge,
an underwater mountain system.

3. ADDITION OF VOLATILES: When water or carbon dioxide is added to hot rocks, flux melting
occurs. The melting points of minerals within the rocks decrease. If a rock is already close to its
melting point, the effect of adding these volatiles can be enough to trigger partial melting. It
occurs around subduction zones.