Lesson 2.1.

Rocks and Minerals

Lesson 2.1. Rocks and Minerals

 Rock- forming Minerals

 Minerals are the building blocks of rocks.
 Characteristics in determining that an Earth mineral is a mineral:

1. Naturally occurring- mineral if it has been formed by geologic processes and no

human intervention has taken place.
2. Inorganic- does not contain any organic compounds and has been formed by
inorganic processes. Except for calcite and other shell-forming materials but they are
still considered to be a mineral if it has already become part of the rock.
3. Solid
4. Crystalline structure
5. Can be represented by a chemical formula- e.g. Quartz (SiO2)

 These characteristics of a mineral are used to differentiate a mineral from a regular

rock.

 Properties of minerals:

1. Optical Properties:
2. Luster- the quality of light that is being reflected by the surface of a mineral.

- metallic luster (minerals that looks like metals and are shiny)
- submetallic luster (minerals that develops a dull coating and are not as shiny)
- nonmetallic luster (minerals that are described as glassy, earthy, pearly or greasy)
1. Ability to transmit light- it determines whether it is opaque, translucent of
transparent.
2. Color- easiest to identify but unreliable property since slight impurities can change
the color.
3. Streak- color of the mineral in its powdered form.

It is often used since it is very consistent unlike the color.

 2. Crystal Shape - describes the crystal structure of a mineral as a perfect geometric
shape, equidimensional, bladed, fibrous, tabular, prismatic, platy, blocky or
botryoidal.

3. Mineral Strength - determines how easy the mineral break or deform when exposed
to stress.

1. Tenacity- refers to the minerals resistance to breaking or deforming.

E.g. brittle, malleable, sectile, elastic

1. Hardness- measure of the mineral’s resistance to abrasion or scratching.
1. Cleavage- exhibited when mineral breaks and smooth flat surfaces are formed from
the breakage.
2. Fracture- exhibited if the mineral does not have a cleavage plane.

4. Specific Gravity- measurement done by mineralogists to describe the density of the

mineral.
Lesson 2.2. Exogenic and Endogenic
Processes
 The Rock Cycle
 A rock is any solid that is naturally found on Earth. It may consist of minerals, other
pre-existing rocks, mineral-like matter or organic debris.
 Some rocks can contain just one mineral while others can include a variety of
minerals. But even if a variety of minerals are found in one rock, the minerals retain
their individual chemical and physical properties. For rocks to contain these different
materials, it should undergo processes that would change its form. The process that
allows one to see how rocks change into sedimentary rock, metamorphic rock and
igneous rock is the rock cycle. The rock cycle also shows where the different forms
of rocks originated.

1. From Molten Materials to Rocks

 The high temperature mainly comes from the heat that is generated internally by
Earth through radioactive decay. Earth contains a lot of radioactive elements like
uranium. Since these radioactive elements are unstable, they keep on breaking down
until they reach a much more stable state. As the materials break down, energy is
released in the form of heat and then transferred to other layers of Earth either by
conduction or convection.
 Aside from the radioactive decay, high temperature can also be attained as one moves
deeper into Earth since temperatures increases with depth.
 For a rock to melt, factors such as temperature, pressure and presence of water or
water vapor is important. At the surface, the temperature must each around 800°C to
1000°C for rocks to melt since it has different compositions. But within Earth’s
interior, as rocks move further down, pressure increases along with temperature and
rocks’ melting point. The temperature of 1000°C that is reached at a depth of 100 km
can no longer melt the rock. Thus, for melting to occur, a decrease in pressure is
needed. This process is called decompression melting. However, at other places
such as subduction zones, it is presence of water or water vapor that aids in melting
the rocks, since it can decrease the rock’s melting point.
 If the pressure and temperature is too much, melting occurs producing molten rocks
called magma. And the molten rocks that crystallized become igneous rocks.
 Since rocks melt at different temperatures, it is possible that the melting will be
incomplete. The part of the rocks that are partially melted will have a different
density from that of the parts that have not melted causing them to separate. If the
melted rock solidifies, the composition of this new rock would be entirely different
from that of the original rock. This process is called partial or fractional
melting and it is responsible for the variety of igneous rocks that are being formed.
 o The main composition of magma is silica (SiO2) with about 45% to 75%
in weight and the remaining percentage is from the abundant elements of
the Earth.
o The three common types of magma are:

1. Basaltic Magma

 - low silica content, high temperature, low viscosity, and low gas content
1. Rhyolitic Magma

- high silica content, low temperature, high viscosity, and high gas content
1. Andesitic Magma

- it is made in subduction zones and is typically about 60% silica, it tends to move
and erupt at a medium pace.
o The magma would then be exposed to an environment where
crystallization would occur resulting to the formation of igneous
rocks. Crystallization is the process of the formation and growth of
individual mineral crystals. The environment where the crystallization
occurs determines the type of igneous rocks that will be formed.
o The two common types of igneous rocks are:

1. Extrusive or volcanic igneous rock- it took place on the surface of the

Earth.
2. Intrusive or plutonic igneous rock- the formation occurred underneath the
Earth’s surface.

- Aside from the location where the rock crystallizes, the color and texture of the rock
is also used to classify igneous rocks. The color of the rock depends on the minerals
that are present in it. The texture describes the overall appearance of the rocks based
on the size and shape of the crystals and its arrangement. If the lava cooled quickly
on or near the Earth’s surface, the rock would have an aphanitic or fine-grained
texture. On the other hand, when the magma cools slowly beneath the Earth’s surface,
it would result to a phaneritic or coarse-grained texture.

1. From Mountain Ranges to Sediments

 The surface of the Earth is full of breath-taking landscapes such as mountain ranges.
These mountain ranges are constantly interacting with the atmosphere, hydrosphere,
and biosphere that can physically break the rocks apart and chemically change their
composition through the process of weathering.
 Weathering- the process of disintegration (physical) and decomposition (chemical) of
rocks.
 Regolith- loose fragments of rocks and minerals that cover the surface of Earth. It is
the end result of continuous weathering.
 There are two types of weathering: mechanical or physical weathering and the
chemical weathering.

 Mechanical or Physical weathering- breaking down of rocks without changing its

chemical composition.
 Agents to the process of mechanical weathering:

1. Frost wedging- use of water;

precipitate that came from the

dissolved materials in the groundwater.

2. Fire- the intense heat causes the rocks

to expand, fracture, and break apart.

3. Sheeting- formation of rocks which is onion like layers due to the sudden release
from

pressure which causes the formation of fractures on rocks.

3. Plants and burrowing animals.

 Chemical weathering- chemical reactions can lead to the decomposition of the

rocks, wherein it changes the chemical composition of the rocks.
 Water is not only an agent for physical weathering but it is also the main agent for
chemical weathering. Though pure water is nonreactive, once dissolved materials
combine with water, it produces weak acids. g. carbonic acid where rainwater is
combined with atmospheric carbon dioxide.

 The distinct features of the statue have been chemically weathered over time.

 Mass Wasting
 is sometimes calledmass movement or slope movement, is defined as the large
movement of rock, soil and debris downward due to the force of gravity. In other
words, the earth's outer crust is being 'wasted' away on a 'massive' scale and falling to
lower elevations. g. volcanic eruptions, heavy rainfall, human activity.
 1. Erosion- smaller fragments of rocks or sediments which resulted from weathering are

transported with the help of wind, water and ice.

1. Deposition- is thegeologicalLinks to an external site. process in
which sedimentsLinks to an external site., soilLinks to an external
site. and rocksLinks to an external site. are added to

a landformLinks to an external site. or land mass. Wind, ice and water, as well as
sediment flowing via gravity,
transport previously eroded sediment, which at the loss of enough kinetic energy in the
fluid, is deposited, building up layers of sediment.
1. Lithification- (from the ancient Greek word “lithos” meaning –rock) is the process in
which

sediments compact under pressure, expel connate fluids, and gradually become solid
rock.
Essentially, it is the process of porosity destruction through compaction and
cementation.
1. Recrystallization- occurs when mineral grains interlocked themselves in the existing
rocks

and started growing there e.g. limestone that is from coral reefs.
 Both lithification processes would produce a sedimentary rock, a rock that is most
easily identified because of its strata or layers and the fossils it contains. And because
of that preserved remains of a living organism, a sedimentary rock has been very
useful when it comes to learning the history of Earth.
 Sedimentary rocks are classified and identified according to texture, nature and
shape of the sediments, and presence of cement. The main classifications of a
sedimentary rock are clastic or detrital sedimentary rock, and chemical sedimentary
rock.

1. Clastic Sedimentary Rocks

 These are formed by accumulation, compaction and cementation of different solid

particles that came from mechanical or chemical weathering. These rocks therefore
contain rock particles of different shapes and sizes. These are further classified into
five classes namely conglomerate, breccia, sandstone, siltstone and shale.

1. Chemical Sedimentary Rocks

 These rocks mostly contain materials that are formed by chemical precipitation of
minerals as a direct result of physical processes or as an indirect result of life
processes of water dwelling animals. g. halite, rock gypsum and dolomite
 All of these are formed when evaporation occurs and the minerals left behind are
deposited in solid form. Limestone, on the other hand, is the most abundant chemical
sedimentary rock that is formed as part of the life processes of water dwelling
animals. Varieties of limestone formed in such a manner such as coquina, which is
characterized by seashells being cemented together, and chalk, which is composed of
hard parts of microscopic organisms, are said to have a biochemical origin.