ROCKS & TECTONIC PLATES

ROCK CYCLE
 MAGMA
▪ Magma is a complex high-temperature fluid substance or
molten rock located beneath the surface of the Earth. This
vicious rock usually collects in a magma chamber beneath a
volcano, or solidify underground to form an intrusion.

▪ Where it forms beneath a volcano, it can then be injected

into cracks in rocks or issue out of volcanoes in eruptions.
The temperature of magma ranges between 600 °C and
1600 °C.
▪ When magma reaches the surface and erupts from a volcano,
it officially becomes Lava. The word “lava” comes from
Italian, and is probably derived from the Latin
word labes which means “a fall” or “slide”.
 MELTING OF SOLID ROCK TO
FORM MAGMA
▪ At any given pressure and for any given composition of rock, a rise
in Temperature past the solidus will cause melting. Within the
solid earth, the temperature of a rock is controlled by the
geothermal gradient and the radioactive decay within the rock.

▪ Melting can also occur when a rock rises through the solid earth
by a process known as decompression melting. If the Pressure
is decreased, but the temperature remains the same, the
melting point of the mineral is lowered, and the minerals within
the rock become plastic or liquid.

▪ It is usually very difficult to change the bulk composition of a large

mass of rock, so Composition is the basic control on whether a rock
will melt at any given temperature and pressure.
 IGNEOUS
ROCKS
▪ Igneous rocks (derived from the Latin word for fire, "ignis")
are formed by the cooling and solidification of molten earth
material called Magma or partially molten rock
material. This results into two groups:

▪ (1) Plutonic Intrusive Igneous Rocks that solidified deep

within the crust

▪ (2) Volcanic, or Extrusive Igneous Rocks formed at the

Earth’s surface.
 HOW TO TELL IGNEOUS
ROCKS?

▪ Because their mineral grains grew together tightly as the

melt cooled, they are relatively strong rocks.

▪ They're made of primary minerals that are mostly black,

white or gray. Any other colors they may have are pale.

▪ Their textures generally look like something that was baked

in an oven.
 WHERE IGNEOUS ROCKS
FORM

▪ Divergent boundaries, like mid-ocean ridges, plates rift

apart and form gaps that are filled by magma.

▪ Subduction zones occur whenever a dense oceanic plate is

subducted underneath another oceanic or continental plate.
Water from the descending oceanic crust lowers the melting
point of the above mantle, forming magma that rises to the
surface and forms volcanoes.

▪ At continental Convergent boundaries, large landmasses

collide, thickening and heating the crust to melting.

▪ Hot spots, like Hawaii, form as the crust moves over a thermal
plume rising from deep in the Earth. Hot spots form extrusive
igneous rocks.
 METAMORPHIC ROCKS
▪ Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing
rock types, in a process called metamorphism, which means
"change in form". The original rock (protolith) is subjected to
heat (temperatures greater than 150 to 200 °C) and pressure

▪ Because their mineral grains grew together tightly during

metamorphism, they're generally strong rocks.

▪ • They're made of different minerals than other kinds of rocks and

have a wide range of color and luster.

▪ They often show signs of stretching or squeezing, giving

them a striped appearance.
 TYPES OF METAMORPHISM
▪ Contact metamorphism is a type of metamorphism where rock
minerals and texture are changed, mainly by heat, due to contact
with magma. This is an easy name to recall if you remember that
these rocks change by actually coming in contact with
something very hot, like magma.

▪ Regional metamorphism is a type of metamorphism where

rock minerals and texture are changed by heat and pressure
over a wide area or region.

▪ The layering within metamorphic rocks

is called foliation and it occurs when a
rock is being shortened along one axis
during recrystallization.
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
▪ Sedimentary rocks are formed by the deposition and
subsequent cementation of that material at the Earth's surface
and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective
name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles
(detritus) to settle in place.

▪ Particles called Sediments, formed by weathering and

erosion from the source area, and then transported to the
place of deposition by water, wind, ice, mass movement
or glaciers, which are called agents of denudation. This
results into three types.
 SEDIMENTARY
ROCKS
▪ Clastic: your basic sedimentary rock. Clastic sedimentary rocks
are accumulations of clasts: little pieces of broken up rock which
have piled up and been "lithified" by compaction and
cementation.

▪ Chemical: many of these form when standing water evaporates,

leaving dissolved minerals behind. These are very common in arid
lands, where seasonal "playa lakes" occur in closed depressions. Thick
deposits of salt and gypsum can form due to repeated flooding and
evaporation over long periods of time.

▪ Organic: any accumulation of sedimentary debris caused by

organic processes. Many animals use calcium for shells, bones,
and teeth. These bits of calcium can pile up on the seafloor and
accumulate into a thick enough layer to form an "organic"
sedimentary rock.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE
EARTH AND PLATE
TECTONICS
 Structure of the Earth
▪ The Earth is made up of 3 main layers:
▪ Core
▪ Mantle
▪ Crust
 Crust
▪ The Earth’s crust is made of:
▪ Continental Crust
- thick (10-70km)
- buoyant (less dense than oceanic crust)
- mostly old
▪ Oceanic Crust
▪ - thin (~7 km)
- dense (sinks under continental crust)
- young
 What are Plate Tectonics?
▪ The Earth’s crust is divided into 12 major plates which are
moved in various directions.
▪ This plate motion causes them to collide, pull apart, or
scrape against each other.
▪ Each type of interaction causes a characteristic set of Earth
structures or “tectonic” features.
▪ The word, tectonic, refers to the deformation of the crust as
a consequence of plate interaction.
WORLD PLATES
 Plate Movement
▪ “Plates” of lithosphere are moved
around by the underlying hot mantle
convection cells
3 Types of Plate boundary
▪ Divergent

▪ Convergent

▪ Transform
DIVERGENT BOUNDARIES

Spreading ridges - As plates move

apart new material is erupted to fill the gap
TYPES OF CONVERGENT
BOUNDARIES
CONTINENT-CONTINENT COLLISION

Forms mountains, e.g.

European Alps, Himalayas
CONTINENT-OCEANIC CRUST
COLLISION
Called SUBDUCTION
 OCEAN-OCEAN PLATE
COLLISION
When two oceanic plates collide,
one runs over the other which
causes it to sink into the mantle
forming a subduction zone.
The subducting plate is bent
downward to form a very deep
depression in the ocean floor
called a trench.
The worlds deepest parts of the
ocean are found along trenches.
E.g. The Mariana Trench is 11 km
deep!
 TRANSFORM BOUNDARIES
• Where plates slide past
each other
• This can cause a massive
earthquake
 REFERENCES
▪ http://jderry.weebly.com/rocks-and-minerals.html
▪ https://georockcycle.wordpress.com/igneous-rocks-are-usaly-found-in/
▪ https://prezi.com/yh0tymdx9a3k/untitled-prezi/
▪ https://www.universetoday.com/27908/what-is-the-difference-between-lava-and-magma/
▪ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7YQ5vwaL98
▪ https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2Fscience%2Figneo
us-rock&h=ATOIE6zzJMBoDZrRm7Ry2jE810x6Kd4xeQP5K-x0Ve8o-
BMpvzDF43N9VEZyz3dAv405IecAV1YnPZsNmLbWf-vsF-wVD3CPGDTsv75GA2dk960c-
gVyBaZZHoWzfm1x5tAS5P8BmRL_rQ
▪ https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thoughtco.com%2Fabout-igneous-
rocks-1438950&h=ATOIE6zzJMBoDZrRm7Ry2jE810x6Kd4xeQP5K-x0Ve8o-
BMpvzDF43N9VEZyz3dAv405IecAV1YnPZsNmLbWf-vsF-wVD3CPGDTsv75GA2dk960c-
gVyBaZZHoWzfm1x5tAS5P8BmRL_rQ
 QUIZ (Identification)
▪ 1. ____ are formed by the cooling and solidification of molten earth
material, magma.
▪ 2. ____ is capable of intrusion into adjacent rocks or of extrusion onto
the surface
▪ 3. The transformation of existing rock types, in a process called ____.
▪ 4. The type of convergent boundary where plates slide past each
other. Also, This can cause a massive earthquake
▪ 5. The subducting plate is bent downward to form a very deep
depression in the ocean floor called a ____.
 QUIZ (T or F)
▪ 6. The Earth’s crust is only made of Continental Crust.
▪ 7. The word, Collision, refers to the deformation of the crust as a
consequence of plate interaction.
▪ 8. Chemical sedimentary rocks are accumulations of clasts: little
pieces of broken up rock which have piled up and been "lithified" by
compaction and cementation.
▪ 9. The Earth is made up of 2 main layers (Core & Mantle)
▪ 10. When lava is cooled, Sedimentary rocks are formed
 QUIZ (T or F)
▪ 11. The word “lava” comes from Italian, and is probably derived from the
Latin word labes which means “a fall” or “slide”.
▪ 12. At continental Convergent boundaries, large landmasses collide,
thickening and heating the crust to melting.
▪ 13. An example for Chemical Sedimentary Rocks are calcium for shells,
bones, and teeth. These bits of calcium can pile up on the seafloor and
accumulate into a thick enough layer to form an "organic" sedimentary
rock.
▪ 14. Volcanic, or Extrusive Igneous Rocks formed deep within the Earth’s
crust.
▪ 15. Regional metamorphism is a type of metamorphism where rock
minerals and texture are changed by heat and pressure over a wide area or
region.