ROCKS AND MINERALS

Geosphere

Rocks
Minerals

Igneous Sedimentary Metamorphic

Ordered Definite
Naturally Chemical
Inorganic Solid Occuring Internal
Structure composition

Igneous rocks
The first rocks on Earth were igneous rocks. Igneous rocks are formed by the cooling and
hardening of molten material called magma . The word igneous comes from the Latin
word ignis, meaning fire. There are two types of igneous rocks: intrusive and extrusive.
Intrusive igneous rocks form within Earth's crust; the molten material rises, filling any available
crevices, into the crust, and eventually hardens. These rocks are not visible until
the earth above them has eroded away. Intrusive rocks are also called plutonic rocks, named
after the Greek god Pluto, god of the underworld. A good example of intrusive
igneous rock is granite . Extrusive igneous rocks form when the magma or molten rock pours
out onto the earth's surface or erupts at the earth's surface from a volcano . Extrusive rocks are
also called volcanic rocks. Basalt , formed from hardened lava , is the most common extrusive
rock. Obsidian , a black glassy rock, is also an extrusive rock.
Igneous rocks are classified according to their texture and mineral or chemical content.
The texture of the rock is determined by the rate of cooling. The slower the cooling, the larger
the crystal. Intrusive rock can take one million years or more to cool. Fast cooling results in
smaller, often microscopic, grains. Some extrusive rocks solidify in the air, before they hit the
ground. Sometimes the rock mass starts to cool slowly, forming larger crystals , and then
finishes cooling rapidly, resulting in rocks that have crystals surrounded by a fine, grainy rock
mass. This is known as a porphyritic texture.

Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary rocks are formed by the accumulation of sediments. There are three basic
types of sedimentary rocks.
Clastic sedimentary rocks such as breccia, conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone,
and shale are formed from mechanical weathering debris.
Chemical sedimentary rocks, such as rock salt, iron ore, chert, flint, some dolomites, and
some limestones, form when dissolved materials precipitate from solution.
Organic sedimentary rocks such as coal, some dolomites, and some limestones, form
from the accumulation of plant or animal debris.
Sedimentary rocks are formed from overburden pressure as particles of sediment are
deposited out of air, ice, or water flows carrying the particles in suspension.
As sediment deposition builds up, the overburden (or 'lithostatic') pressure squeezes the
sediment into layered solids in a process known as lithification ('rock formation') and the
original connate fluids are expelled.

Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphic rocks are the third great class of rocks. They occur when sedimentary and igneous
rocks become changed, or metamorphosed, by conditions underground. The four main agents that
metamorphose rocks are heat, pressure, fluids and strain. These agents can act and interact in an almost
infinite variety of ways. As a result, most of the thousands of rare minerals known to science occur in
metamorphic rocks.

Under greater heat and pressure, as metamorphic minerals such as mica and feldspar begin to
form, strain orients them in layers. The presence of mineral layers, called foliation, is an important
feature for classifying metamorphic rocks. As strain increases, the foliation becomes more intense, and
the minerals may sort themselves into thicker layers. The foliated rock types that form under these
conditions are called schist or gneiss, depending on their texture. Schist is finely foliated whereas gneiss
is organized in noticeable, wide bands of minerals.

Non-foliated rocks occur when heat is high, but pressure is low or equal on all sides.
MINERALS
Rocks are made of minerals. Only a few minerals are rock forming and most rock is
made from a combination of the commonest of these such as feldspars, quartz, mica, olivine,
calcite, pyroxene and amphiboles. Most other minerals, of which there are over 3000 different
types, are rarely present in quantities large enough to be considered rock forming.
To meet the definition of "mineral" used by most geologists, a substance must meet five
requirements:
 naturally occurring
 inorganic
 solid
 definite chemical composition
 ordered internal structure
"Naturally occurring" means that people did not make it. Steel is not a mineral because it is an
alloy produced by people. "Inorganic" means that the substance is not made by an organism.
Wood and pearls are made by organisms and thus are not minerals. "Solid" means that it is not
a liquid or a gas at standard temperature and pressure.
"Definite chemical composition" means that all occurrences of that mineral have a chemical
composition that varies within a specific limited range. For example: the mineral halite (known
as "rock salt" when it is mined) has a chemical composition of NaCl. It is made up of an equal
number of atoms of sodium and chlorine.
"Ordered internal structure" means that the atoms in a mineral are arranged in a systematic
and repeating pattern. The structure of the mineral halite is shown in the illustration on this
page. Halite is composed of an equal ratio of sodium and chlorine atoms arranged in a cubic
pattern.
There are also many physical properties of minerals which we can use for identification
purposes. Most minerals can be identified by inspecting or testing their physical properties of:
§ Crystal form (the fact that elemental atoms bond in the shape of crystals to form certain
minerals)
§ Cleavage (the tendency that some minerals have to break along definite parallel
planes)(The mineral mica has “perfect” cleavage in one direction, which means it breaks or
peels in thin strips. Feldspar minerals break into two planes at right angles to each other, and
create a prism-shape. The halite mineral (table salt) breaks or shatters into three planes at right
angles to each other, and this creates tiny cubes. Interestingly, the mineral calcite also has
three planes of cleavage or cleavage planes and yet because they do not meet at right angles,
the resulting mineral shape is rhombus / rhombic.)
§ Fracture (the way a mineral breaks if NOT along planes of cleavage; resulting in irregular,
rough, splintered, jagged breaks OR smooth curved "conchoidal" breaks)
§ Hardness (how well the mineral resists scratches; related to the strength of a mineral’s
chemical bonds)
§ Colour (the obvious and observable exterior colour of the mineral, not reliable alone)
§ Streak (the colour of the powder “streak” a mineral leaves behind when it is scratched /
rubbed)
§ Luster (the way the surface of the mineral reflects light: metallic or nonmetallic for
example)
§ Specific Gravity or Density (the density of a mineral compared with the density of water)
Or, the weight of a mineral relative to the weight of an equal volume of water. If a mineral
weighs 3.5 times as much as an equal volume of water, its SG (or density) is 3.5 The Ontario
Curriculum asks for DENSITY which is the same as SG. The density of water is one gram per
cubic centimetere.