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Rocks Introduction • Elements are chemically combined to form minerals • Minerals are physically combined to form rocks. • There are 3 categories of rocks: igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary Igneous rocks • Form from the cooling of molten rock material • Two main types: • Intrusive igneous rock • Formed when magma cools deep within the Earth’s surface • Cools very slowly as it is in contact with molten rock. • Produces course-grained igneous rock. • Extrusive igneous rock • Magma that cools above the Earth’s surface. • Produces fine-grained igneous rocks. • This rapid cooling does not allow time for crystals to form. • Igneous rock classification scheme is based on mineral composition and texture (coarse or fine grained). There are other blends of minerals with various textures, many of which have specific names. • Granite is a coarse-grained igneous rock composed mostly of light-colored, light-density, non-ferromagnesian (big fancy word for rock not having iron) minerals. The earth's continental areas are dominated by granite and by rocks with the same mineral composition of granite. • This is a piece of obsidian, which has the same chemical composition as the granite. Obsidian has a different texture (cooled really fast) because it does not have crystals and is a volcanic glass. • Basalt is a fine-grained igneous rock composed mostly of dark-colored, heavydensity, ferromagnesian (big fancy word for rock with iron) minerals. The earth's oceanic areas are dominated by basalt and similar rocks. Sedimentary Rocks • Form from material from previously existing rock • Material is provided by weathering of previously existing rock • Type of sedimentary rock is determined by the parent rock, the rock that was weathered originally • Sediments • Weathered rock materials • Dissolved rock materials • This is a sample of breccia, a coarse-grained sedimentary rock with coarse, angular fragments. Compare the grain sizes to the centimeter scale. Common in sites of landslides and little water. • A conglomerate is similar to breccia in that it is a mixture of rock sediments, but the larger fragments are rounded because they were eroded by water. Usually these are found near a lake or a stream or where one use to be. • This is a sample of sandstone, a sedimentary rock that formed from sand grains in a matrix of very fine-grained silt, clay, or other materials. The grains in this sample are mostly the feldspar and quartz minerals, which probably accumulated near the granite from which they were eroded. Chemical Sedimentary Rocks • Chemical sediments • Another name for dissolved rock material. • The dissolved materials are ions from mineral and rocks that have been completely broken down. • Removed from solution by: • Chemical precipitation from the solution • Crystallization from evaporating water. • Biological sediments. • This is a sample of limestone, a sedimentary rock made of calcium carbonate that formed under water directly or indirectly from the actions of plants and animals. This finegrained limestone formed indirectly from the remains of tiny marine organisms. • Coquina. Form of limestone produced through the accumulation of old shells from sea creatures Process of Making Sedimentary Rock • Compaction • As sediments are laid down grain by grain, the mass becomes greater. • The increasing mass of the sediment layer above creates pressure on the layers below. • Eventually this pressure becomes great enough to compact the existing layers into a cohesive rock layer. • Cementation • When spaces between the sediment particles become filled with a chemical deposit. • This deposit holds the compacted layers into a cohesive mass of sedimentary rock. • (A)In compaction, the sediment grains are packed more tightly together, often by overlying sediments, as represented by the bricks. • (B) In cementation, fluids contain dissolved minerals that are precipitated in the space between the grains, cementing them together into a rigid, solid mass. Metamorphic Rocks • Rocks changed by heat, pressure, or hot solutions due to: • Movement of the Earth’s crust • Heat generated by intrusion of hot magma • Pressure can change rock by flattening, deforming, or realigning mineral grains. • Foliation • When the pressure on flat crystal flakes tends to align the flakes into parallel sheets. • Gives the rock the property of breaking along the planes between the aligned mineral grains in what is known as rock cleavage. • Increasing metamorphic change occurs with increasing temperatures and pressures. If the melting point is reached, the change is no longer metamorphic, and igneous rocks are formed. • This is a sample of marble, a coarse-grained metamorphic rock with interlocking calcite crystals. The calcite crystals were recrystallized from limestone during metamorphism. • This banded metamorphic rock is very old; at an age of 3.8 billion years, it is probably among the oldest rocks on the surface of the earth. The Rock Cycle • Earth is a dynamic planet with the surface and interior in a constant state of flux/change. • Internal changes alter the surface by moving the Earth’s plates, building mountains. • Seas advance and retreat over the continents brining in new materials and taking other materials away. • Rocks are continually being changed by Earth’s forces. • The Rock Cycle describes the continually changing structure of rocks. • Igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic rock are just temporary stages in the continuing changes that all rocks undergo. • A schematic diagram of the rock cycle concept, which states that geologic processes act continuously to produce new rocks from old ones.