Earth’s Materials

ROCKS and MINERALS

 Earth’s materials include
rocks and minerals.
• They exhibit characteristic
features and have economic
value. Earth’s rocks
undergo transformation.
 What are Rocks?
• A rock is a naturally occurring
solid mixture of one or more
minerals, or organic matter

• Rocks are classified by how they

are formed, their composition,
and texture

• Rocks change over time through

the rock cycle
 What are the 3 types of Rocks?
• Igneous rock is formed from molten rock
that has cooled and hardened.

• Sedimentary rock is formed from

material that has settled into layers and
hardened.

• Metamorphic rock is a rock that has

changed by heat and pressure.
 Igneous Rocks
• Igneous comes from Latin word “ignis”(fire).
• Igneous rock begins as magma.
• Magma can form:
• When rock is heated
• When pressure is released
• When rock changes composition
• Magma “freezes” between
700 °C and 1,250 °C
• Magma is a mixture of
many minerals
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 Igneous Rocks
• These are rocks formed by the cooling of molten
rock (magma.)

Magma
volcano
cools and
solidifies
forming
igneous
rocks

magma
Igneous Rocks are characterized
by their texture and composition.
• 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
 Igneous Rocks
Coarse-Grained: Cooled Fine-Grained: Cooled
slowly, underground quickly, at surface

Felsic:
Light-
colored
Granite Rhyolite

Mafic:
Dark-
Colored

Gabbro Basalt
 Igneous Rocks
• Intrusive Igneous Rocks: magma
pushes into surrounding rock
below the Earth’s surface, cools
slowly with larger crystal
formation

• Extrusive Rocks: forms when

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

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 Igneous Rocks
Obsidian is a dark-colored volcanic glass that forms from the very rapid
cooling of molten rock material. It cools so rapidly that crystals do not form.

Is this rock Felsic or

Mafic?

Is it fine-grained or
coarse-grained?

Is this rock Intrusive

or Extrusive?

Mafic, fine grained, extrusive

 Sedimentary Rocks
 Sedimentary rock is 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

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 Sedimentary Rocks
• Sedimentary Rocks are rocks
formed when particles of sediment
build up and are “cemented

Getting older
together” by the effect of pressure
and minerals.

Fragments washed to the sea

Rocks are broken

up by the action
of weather sea

Sedimentary
rocks
 Sedimentary Rock

 Sedimentary Rocks are formed at or near the

Earth’s surface

 No heat and pressure involved

 Strata – layers of rock

 Stratification – the process in which

sedimentary rocks are arranged in layers
 Sedimentary Rock

Chemical sedimentary – minerals crystallize

out of solution to become rock
Limestone is a sedimentary
rock composed primarily of
calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in
the form of the mineral calcite.
It most commonly forms in
clear, warm, shallow marine
waters.

It is usually an organic
sedimentary rock that forms
from the accumulation of shell,
coral, algal and fecal debris.
 Sedimentary Rock
Organic sedimentary – remains of plants and
animals
Coal is an organic
sedimentary rock that
forms from the
accumulation and
preservation of plant
materials, usually in a
swamp environment. 

Coal is a combustible
rock and along with oil
and natural gas it is one
of the three most
important fossil fuels. 
 Sedimentary Rock
Clastic – made of fragments of rock
cemented together with calcite or quartz
Breccia is a term most
often used for clastic
sedimentary rocks that are
composed of large angular
fragments (over two
millimeters in diameter).

The spaces between the

large angular fragments
can be filled with a matrix
of smaller particles or a
mineral cement that binds
the rock together.
 Metamorphic Rock
 Comes from a pre-existing
rock ( parent rock)
Undergoes changes

 Changes with temperature

and pressure, but remains
solid

 Usually takes place deep in

the Earth
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 How do Metamorphic Rocks form?
• Metamorphic rocks are formed by the effect of
heat and pressure on existing rocks.
• This can greatly affect the hardness, texture or
layer patterns of the rocks.

Pressure from surface

rocks

metamorphic
rock
forming
here

Magma heat
 Types of Metamorphism
• Contact Metamorphism – heated by nearby magma
• Increased temperature changes the composition of the
rock, minerals are changed into new minerals

Hornfels is a fine-grained non-

foliated metamorphic rock
produced by contact
metamorphism http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/geology/meta_contact.html&edu=h igh&fr=t
 Types of Metamorphism

 Regional Metamorphism –
pressure builds up in rocks
that is deep within the Earth

 Large pieces of the Earth’s

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

• Foliated - contain aligned grains of flat

minerals
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.
• Non-Foliated – mineral grains are not
arranged in plains or bands
Marble is a non-
foliated
metamorphic rock
that is produced
from the
metamorphism of
limestone.

It is composed
primarily of calcium
 Metamorphic Rock
• Determine if the following rock samples
are foliated or non-foliated:

Amphibolite Quartzite Phyllite

Foliated
 3 types of Rocks

Types of Rocks
Igneous Sedimentary Metamorphic
 Examples…
Igneous Metamorphic Sedimentary

Granite Slate Sandstone

Obsidian Marble Limestone

Pumice Gneiss Shale

 How do Rocks form?
• How much time does it take to form a
rock?
– If you squeeze and heat a rock for a
few million years, it can turn into a
new kind of rock.
 Continued…
• Where does the
heat come from?
– When rocks are
close enough to the
magma to be heated
but not close
enough to be
melted, the rocks
can be changed.
 Continued…
• Where does the
pressure come
from?
– Rocks below the
surface are squeezed
by the layers of rock
above them. The
thicker the layers,
the more pressure
there is.
 The Rock Cycle

Igneous Sedimentary

Metamorphic
Another Rock Cycle
Assignment
1. What are minerals
2. How is mineral different from
rocks?
What are the six crystal structures
What is Lithifaction?
What is Metamorphism?
 What is a Mineral?
• Naturally-formed solid substance with a
crystal structure

Pyromorphite
What do all minerals have in
common?
All:
1. Are formed by natural processes.
2. Are NOT alive and NEVER were alive
3. Have a definite volume and shape
4. Are elements or compounds with a unique
chemical makeup
5. Are made up of particles that are arranged in
a pattern that is repeated over and over
(called a CRYSTAL)
 What is the difference between rocks
and minerals?
• A mineral is a
nonliving solid found
in nature.
• But, aren’t rocks
nonliving and found
in nature too??
• Then what is the
difference between
a rock and a mineral?
 Rocks and Minerals
• Rocks are made up of one or more
minerals!!!
• The reason why some rocks have more
than one color, is because they contain
more than one mineral.
• Also, some rocks are made of other
things, such as sand and pebbles, in
addition to minerals.
 Groups of Minerals
• Minerals are grouped by the elements
they are made of.

Beryl
(Emerald) Calcite

Amethyst
 Mineral Group Characteristics Examples
Contain Quartz, mica
Silicates oxygen & silica
The most

abundant group
of minerals
MICA Quartz
 Mineral Group Characteristics Examples
Make up only iron, copper,
Non-Silicates 5% of the gold, silver,
Earth’s crust diamonds, rubies
Include some of

Silver the most Diamond

important
minerals

Copper
Gold Iron

Ruby
 Mineral Group Characteristics Examples
Carbonates Carbon & Calcite (CaCO3)
oxygen and a
positive ion,
such as calcium
Calcite with Duftite inclusions

Forms of Calcite
 Mineral Group Characteristics Examples
Oxides Metallic
ion Hematite
and oxygen (Fe2)O3
 Mineral Group Characteristics Examples
Sulfides Sulfur and a Galena (PbS)
metallic ion

Galena
 Mineral Group Characteristics Examples
Sulfates Metallicion, Barite (BaSO4)
Sulfur & oxygen

Barite
Barite on Calcite
BaSo4
BaSo4 / CaCO3
 Mineral Group Characteristics Examples
Native Single Gold (Au),
Elements elements Diamond (C),
Silver (Ag)
Silver
Diamond

Gold
 HOW DO MINERALS FORM?

1) Cooling of magma (hot, liquid

rock and minerals inside the earth
(from the mantle))
Fast Cooling = No Crystals
(mineraloids)
Medium Cooling = small crystals
Slow Cooling = large crystals
 How do minerals form?
• 2) Elements dissolved in liquids (usually
water)
 Physical Properties of Minerals
(can be used to identify the mineral)

Color
• Can be misleading
• Can vary with the type of impurities
 Physical Properties of Minerals
(can be used to identify the mineral)
Pyrite has a metallic luster

Luster
• Surface reflection
• metallic = shiny like
metal
• non-metallic = dull,
non-shiny surface
 Physical Properties of Minerals
(can be used to identify the mineral)

Streak
• The color of the powdered
form of the mineral
• The color of the streak can be
different than the mineral
• Minerals must be softer than
the streak plate
 Streak…can help identify quartz

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ml
 Physical Properties of Minerals
(can be used to identify the mineral)
Hardness
• How easily a mineral scratches materials
• Mohs Hardness Scale
• Scale from 1 (softest) to 10 (hardest)
However, table (based on scratch) can be used
as a reference for the hardness of a mineral
* if the mineral can
scratch different objects (like human
fingernail, copper, penny, glass, steel file)
How do we know the strength of rocks
and minerals?
• The Mohs Hardness
Scale was designed
for us to use as a
scale to determine
the strength of
rocks and minerals.
Here are some
examples that we
could test using the
scale.
Mohs Hardness Scale
 Minerals
• Philippines have large reserves of various
kinds of minerals. It is one of the top-
ranking mineral reserves for gold, nickel,
copper,and chromite. This is because of
its location in the Circum-Pacific Rim,
where geologic processes caused
deposition of both metallic and metallic
minerals.
 Minerals and Human Nutrition
• There are 6 essential substances a human body
cannot live without:
• Macronutrients-
1.protein,
2.fats, and
3.carbohydrates
• Micronutrients-
4.vitamins,
5. minerals
6. Water
Some Important Minerals and their Functions
Thank you for paying attention.