Module 1 - Assessment: Kimberly Wealth M. Magnaye Bsce Iv-1

Kimberly Wealth M.
Magnaye
BSCE IV-1
MODULE 1 – ASSESSMENT
1. There are three main types of rocks:

sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic.
Each of these rocks are formed by
physical changes—such
as melting, cooling, eroding, compacting,
or deforming—that are part of the
rock cycle.
Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary rocks are formed from pieces of other existing rock or organic material. There are three different
types of sedimentary rocks: clastic, organic (biological), and chemical. Clastic sedimentary rocks, like sandstone,
form from clasts, or pieces of other rock. Organic sedimentary rocks, like coal, form from hard, biological
materials like plants, shells, and bones that are compressed into rock.
The formation of clastic and organic rocks begins with the weathering, or breaking down, of the exposed rock
into small fragments. Through the process of erosion, these fragments are removed from their source and
transported by wind, water, ice, or biological activity to a new location. Once the sediment settles somewhere,
and enough of it collects, the lowest layers become compacted so tightly that they form solid rock.
Chemical sedimentary rocks, like limestone, halite, and flint, form from chemical precipitation. A chemical
precipitate is a chemical compound—for instance, calcium carbonate, salt, and silica—that forms when the
solution it is dissolved in, usually water, evaporates and leaves the compound behind. This occurs as water
travels through Earth’s crust, weathering the rock and dissolving some of its minerals, transporting it elsewhere.
These dissolved minerals are precipitated when the water evaporates.
Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have been changed from their original form by immense heat or pressure.
Metamorphic rocks have two classes: foliated and nonfoliated. When a rock with flat or elongated minerals is
put under immense pressure, the minerals line up in layers, creating foliation. Foliation is the aligning of
elongated or platy minerals, like hornblende or mica, perpendicular to the direction of pressure that is applied.
An example of this transformation can be seen with granite, an igneous rock. Granite contains long and platy
minerals that are not initially aligned, but when enough pressure is added, those minerals shift to all point in the
same direction while getting squeezed into flat sheets. When granite undergoes this process, like at a tectonic
plate boundary, it turns into gneiss (pronounced “nice”).
Nonfoliated rocks are formed the same way, but they do not contain the minerals that tend to line up under
pressure and thus do not have the layered appearance of foliated rocks. Sedimentary rocks like bituminous coal,
limestone, and sandstone, given enough heat and pressure, can turn into nonfoliated metamorphic rocks like
anthracite coal, marble, and quartzite. Nonfoliated rocks can also form by metamorphism, which happens when
magma comes in contact with the surrounding rock.
Igneous Rocks
Igneous rocks (derived from the Latin word for fire) are formed when molten hot material cools and solidifies.
Igneous rocks can also be made a couple of different ways. When they are formed inside of the earth, they are
called intrusive, or plutonic, igneous rocks. If they are formed outside or on top of Earth’s crust, they are called
extrusive, or volcanic, igneous rocks.
Granite and diorite are examples of common intrusive rocks. They have a coarse texture with large mineral
grains, indicating that they spent thousands or millions of years cooling down inside the earth, a time course
that allowed large mineral crystals to grow.
Alternatively, rocks like basalt and obsidian have very small grains and a relatively fine texture. This happens
because when magma erupts into lava, it cools more quickly than it would if it stayed inside the earth, giving
crystals less time to form. Obsidian cools into volcanic glass so quickly when ejected that the grains are
impossible to see with the naked eye.
Extrusive igneous rocks can also have a vesicular, or “holey” texture. This happens when the ejected magma still
has gases inside of it so when it cools, the gas bubbles are trapped and end up giving the rock a bubbly texture.
An example of this would be pumice.
2.

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1. There are three main types of rocks:

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