3.

3 ROCKS

What is a Rock?
A rock is a naturally occurring solid mixture of one or

more minerals and/or organic material.

3 Different Types of Rocks

The Rock Cycle

Geologic processes cause rock to

change from one type to another.

The rock cycle is the process in

which rocks are changed by geologic activity into different types of rocks.
Rocks may follow various pathways

within the rock cycle.

Several variables such as time, heat,

pressure, weathering, and erosion may alter a rocks identity.

Weathering is a process in which rocks

are physically and chemically broken down by water, air, and living things to produce sediment.

Bowens Reaction Series

In the 1900s, a Canadian geologist named

Norman L. Bowen began studying how minerals crystallize from magma.

He learned that as magma cools, certain

minerals tend to crystallize first (changes composition of the magma).

In 1928, Bowen proposed a simplified pattern

explaining the order in which minerals form as magma solidifies, or crystallizes, called Bowens Reaction Series.
According to this, minerals form in one of

two ways:
1.
2.

Continuous formation of plagioclase feldspar: Calcium-Sodium (Ca-Na) rich minerals.

Discontinuous formation of Iron-Magnesium (Fe-Mg) rich minerals.

Bowens Reaction Series

Chemical Stability of Minerals

The rate at which a mineral chemically breaks down is

dependent on the chemical stability of the mineral.

Chemical stability is a measure of the tendency of a chemical

compound to maintain its original chemical composition rather than break down to form a different chemical.
Most stable minerals formed at lowest temperatures (similar to

Earths surface conditions).

Least stable minerals formed at highest temperatures.

A fine ceramic is more chemically stable than a metal when subjected to HCl.

Physical Stability of Minerals

Rocks also have natural zones of weakness, determined by how

and where the rocks form.

Example: Sedimentary rocks may form as a series of layers of

sediment. These rocks tend to break between layers.

Massive igneous rock structures commonly have unevenly spaced

zones of weakness, called joints, that form as the rock cools and contracts. Below is Devils Postpile National Monument in CA.

Igneous Rocks Formation

Magma forms when rock melts, when pressure is released,

or when rock changes composition.

Magma is called lava when it is exposed at Earths surface.

An igneous rock is a type of rock forming when magma or

lava cools and solidifies.

Igneous Rocks Formation

Minerals with low melting points are the first to melt

(composition of the magma changes).

The process by which different minerals in rock melt

at different temperatures is called partial melting.

Igneous Rocks Formation

When magma cools, the cooling process is the reverse of partial

melting.

Minerals that melted last will crystallize out of the magma first.

The crystallization and removal of different minerals from the

cooling magma, as occurs in Bowens Reaction Series, is called fractional crystallization.

Igneous Rocks Texture

Magma cooling deep inside

of Earths crust results in the formation of intrusive, or plutonic, igneous rocks.

The magma intrudes, or

enters, into other rock masses beneath Earths surface. The magma then slowly cools and hardens.
Lava cooling at Earths

Granit e

surface forms extrusive, or volcanic, igneous rocks.

Basa lt

Igneous Rocks Texture

Intrusive igneous rocks commonly have LARGER crystals

because they have a slow loss of heat and longer to cool.

Igneous rocks composed of large mineral grains are

described as having a coarse-grained, or phaneritic, texture.

Igneous Rocks Texture

Extrusive igneous rocks commonly have smaller crystals

because they cool very rapidly.

Igneous rocks composed of small mineral grains are

described as having a fine-grained, or aphanitic, texture.

Igneous Rocks Texture

Some igneous rocks can have a mixture of both larger

and smaller crystals and their texture is known as porphyritic.

The larger crystals (phenocrysts) are surrounded by a

background mass of smaller crystals (groundmass).

Igneous Rocks Composition

Light-colored igneous rocks are called felsic rocks.
Large proportions of silica are present along with

common minerals including quartz, feldspar, and mica.

Rhyolit e

Dark-colored igneous rocks are called mafic rocks.

Large proportions of iron and magnesium are present

along with common minerals including pyroxene and olivine.

Gabbr o

Igneous Rocks Examples

Gabbro Basa lt Rhyolit e

Diorite

Andesit e

Granite

Obsidia n

Pumic e

Sedimentary Rocks Formation

Loose fragments of rock,

minerals, and organic material resulting from natural geologic processes are called sediment.
Combinations of different

types of sediment make up what is known as sedimentary rocks.

The most noticeable

features of sedimentary rock is the layering, or stratification.

Sedimentary Rocks Formation

Two main processes

convert loose sediment into sedimentary rock:

Compaction: the process

in which sediment is squeezed and the pore space between sediment grains is reduced.
Cementation: the

process in which sediments are glued together by minerals that are deposited by water.

Sedimentary Rocks Classes

1. Chemical: forms when the ions from dissolved minerals crystallize, or precipitate, out of a solution.

One reason minerals precipitate is due to evaporation (minerals are left behind once H20 evaporates, thus being called evaporites). Halite is an example of this type of sedimentary rock, made of sodium chloride, NaCl, or table salt (recall this is also a mineral). The Bonneville Salt Flats near the Great Salt Lake in UT are a good example of evaporite deposits.

Halit e

Bonneville Salt Flats

Sedimentary Rocks Classes

2. Organic: forms from the remains of once-living plants and animals.

Most limestone forms from the remains, or fossils, of animals that once lived in the oceans. Some are made of the skeletons of tiny organisms called coral (coral reefs).

Coal forms from plant remains that are buried before they decay and are then compacted into matter composed mainly of carbon.

Fossiliferous Limestone

Coral Reef

Bituminous Coal

Sedimentary Rocks Classes

3. Clastic: forms when rock or mineral fragments, or clasts, of
pre-existing rocks are compacted or cemented together.

Classified by the size of the sediment they contain: Clastic sedimentary rock made of round fragments ranging from 2 mm. to boulders is called a conglomerate. If the fragments are angular with sharp corners, the rock is called a breccia.

Clastic sedimentary rock made up of sand-sized grains, mainly consisting of quartz, is called sandstone.
Clastic sedimentary rock consisting of flaky clay-sized particles is called shale.

Conglomera te

Breccia

Sandston e

Shale

Sedimentary Rocks Features

The tendency for currents of air or water to separate

sediments according to size is called sorting.

Sedimentary Rocks Features

The place or setting in which sediment is

deposited is called a depositional environment.

Common ones include:

Rivers

Beache s

Delta s

Ocea ns

Sedimentary Rocks Features

Some sedimentary rocks are characterized by

slanting layers within the rock called cross-beds.

Generally form in sand dunes or river beds.

Sedimentary Rocks Features

A type of stratification (layering) in sedimentary rock

when different sizes and shapes of sediment settle to different levels of rock is called graded bedding.
Commonly transition from largest grains on the bottom to

smallest grains on the top.

Sedimentary Rocks Features

Some sedimentary rocks clearly

display ripple marks.

Caused by the action of wind or

water on sand; often preserved in sandstone and shows the sediment was once part of a beach or river bed.
Another feature of sedimentary

rocks are mud cracks, which form when muddy deposits dry and shrink.

Sedimentary Rocks Examples

Brecci a Bituminous Coal

Fossiliferou s Limestone

Conglomera te

Arkos e Sandsto ne Limesto ne Red Sandstone

Shal e

Metamorphic Rocks Formation

The process by which heat, pressure, or chemical

processes change one type of rock into another is called metamorphism.

Most metamorphic rock, or rock having undergone

metamorphism, forms deep within Earths crust.

Types of Metamorphism
1. Contact Metamorphism: a change in the texture, structure, or chemical composition of a rock due to contact with magma.

Types of Metamorphism
2. Regional Metamorphism: a change in the texture, structure, or chemical composition of a rock due to changes in temperature and pressure over a large area.

Metamorphic Rocks Classification

Metamorphic rocks are

classified according to texture.

The metamorphic rock texture

in which mineral grains are arranged in planes or bands is known as foliation.

The metamorphic rock texture

Gneiss

in which mineral grains are not arranged in planes or bands is called non-foliation.
Quartzit e

Metamorphic Rocks Examples

Gnei ss Amphibolit e

Marble

Quartzit e

Anthracit e Coal
Slat e

Phyllit e

Schi st