MAPUA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF CIVIL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING

ESE160-C1
SAMARTINO, JOHN MEGRYAN B.

2013106636

CESE-3

CHAPTER 1: An Introduction to Geology

1. Geology is traditionally divided into two broad areas. Name and
describe these two subdivisions.
These areas of geology are physical and historical geology. Physical geology deals
with the materials that comprise Earth; with processes of rock formation and
decomposition; with how surface morphology is altered by the various agents of
erosion; and with how rocks deform, lands are uplifted or lowered, continents
moved, and ocean basins opened and closed through tectonic forces and
lithospheric plate movements.
Historical geology places origins of rock masses, integrated effects of geologic
processes, interpretations of ancient environments and life forms, and past tectonic
movements into the chronological framework of the geologic time scale.

2. Briefly describe Aristotle's influence on the science of geology.

Aristotle was the foremost of the ancient Greek, natural philosophers who asked
questions about nature and natural phenomena and offered explanations based
mainly on intuitive feelings, logical deductions predicated on baseless assumptions.
His ideas dominated natural science thinking in Europe during the Middle Ages.
Modern science was born in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when the
mental discipline and logic rules of natural philosophy were fused with the crude,
empirical materials science and information technologies that had been progressing
slowly for hundreds of years. Geology was somewhat slower than other sciences to
emerge in its modern form because, prior to the late eighteenth century, theological
doctrines dominated learned discourse and thinking about Earth and its geological
history. To this day, a few latter-day creationists, diluvialists, and anti-evolutionists
eagerly proselytize and defend these same naive beliefs that were abandoned by
geologists over 150 years ago.

3. How did the proponents of catastrophism perceive the age of

Earth?
They believed Earth to be a very young planet. Accepting such a brief geologic
history forced them to explain Earth's evolution in terms of many, rapid, short-term,
catastrophic events. Stupendous natural features like the Grand Canyon, mountain
ranges, the polar ice caps, the oceans, etc. had to develop quickly. Integrated
effects of slow movements, or of slowly operating processes, were viewed as having

had little importance in Earth's geologic history and evolution. Latter-day

creationists face the same problems with excessive geologic time compression as
the eighteenth century catastrophists. All rocks, geologic features, and life forms,
extinct and living, had to have existed simultaneously or developed at breathtaking
speed, and well-studied scientific processes such as radioactivity and molecular
genetics have to be turned inside out or denied completely. On an intellectual basis,
the prolonged, uniformitarian view of Earth's origin and geological history is much
easier to accept and defend than the short time scale of the creationists.

4. Describe the doctrine of uniformitarianism. How did the

advocates of this idea view the age of Earth?
Uniformitarianism basically says that rational observations and analyses of modern
geologic processes and events give an accurate representation of geologic workings
in the past. For example, seemingly inconsequential and barely recognizable stream
erosion can cut a Grand Canyon, given enough time. Lateral movements of a
centimeter per year can build oceans and move continents hundreds of miles, given
enough time. In addition to the slow day-to-day processes, occasional, large-scale,
powerful events (volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, meteorite impacts, etc.) occur as
part of the very long, evolutionary history of Earth. Acceptance of the uniformitarian
concept logically forces one to accept a very old age for Earth and a very long
geologic time scale. Ask your students what they think and believe about the very
long span of geologic time that we, as geologists, accept as scientifically proven.
Don't be surprised or offended if some students reject our old-planet theory and opt
for a short-lived, divinely-configured Earth. Most of us do live in free countries; we
can believe what we want to believe, even if out beliefs are irrational and directly
conflict with well-documented scientific evidence.

5. Briefly describe the contributions of Hutton, Playfair, and Lyell.

James Hutton was a Scottish geologist (late 1700s) who led the intellectual fight in
behalf of uniformitarianism and a long geologic time scale. He recognized that the
igneous rocks originated by cooling and crystallization of molten rock (magma), not
by precipitation from seawater as believed by some geologists of his time. In his
major work, The Theory of the Earth, uniformitarianism was, for the first time,
clearly formulated as a fundamental concept in geologic thinking.
John Playfair was a friend and colleague of Hutton. Playfair's book, Illustrations of
the Huttonian Theory (published in 1802), alerted natural science scholars of that
time to the importance of Hutton's concepts and ideas. His book was written in a
lively, reader-friendly mode, in contrast to the laborious, intricately complex style of
Hutton's writings.
Charles Lyell (mid 1800s) was an influential English scientist and teacher. His book,
Principles of Geology (in numerous editions), was the most widely used and most
influential text of that time. Lyell was a strong advocate of the Huttonian or
uniformitarian view of Earth history and of a very long geologic time scale.

6. How old is Earth currently thought to be?

The currently accepted age of 4.5 to 4.6 billion years is based on meticulous
experimental measurements of lead isotopes on meteoritic and terrestrial samples.
The basic assumptions and results are supported by rubidium-strontium isotopic
age determinations on meteorite samples. This age gives the time passed since
originally dispersed, chemical constituents of the solar system were assembled into
meteorites, asteroids, planetary satellites, and planets. The oldest rocks yet dated
formed about 4 billion years ago. Because Earth is a dynamic planet, most rocks we
see formed much later during Earth's history and thus are much younger than the
age of the Earth.

7. The geological time scale was established without the aid of

radiometric dating. What principles were used to develop the time
scale?
In a series of horizontal, stratified rocks, younger strata lie above older strata. This
is known as the law of superposition and assumes that all sedimentary strata were
originally deposited as horizontal layers. Fossils (remains of ancient living
organisms) changed through geologic time so that specific fossils or assemblages of
fossils are found only in strata of specific ages and are unique indicators of geologic
age; this concept is called the principle of faunal succession. Relative ages of
contacting igneous and sedimentary rocks can be determined by recognizing crosscutting relationships and erosional unconformities. These concepts and relationships
enable geologists to identify and correlate rocks of similar ages anywhere on Earth
and to place these rocks in their proper, chronological order and position in the
geologic time scale.

8. How is a scientific hypothesis different from a scientific theory?

An hypothesis is a specific idea or explanation the validity of which can be tested by
observations and experimental studies. It may be one of many, different, competing
ideas or statements purporting to explain some scientific phenomenon. Depending
on the outcomes of the observations and experiments, an hypothesis can be
accepted or rejected. Hypotheses usually are directed to specific, scientific
questions and issues. A theory is a useful, currently accepted, unifying body of
concepts and principles in a science. A theory helps to explain what otherwise might
be perceived as disjointed and unrelated observations and phenomena. A theory is
based on far more observations and experiments than an hypothesis and applies to
a broader range of scientific phenomena. However, even a theory can be shaken or
brought down by new observations, experiments, and interpretations of existing
data. Consider the now-discarded, static continent theory, deeply entrenched in
English and American geologic thought for the first half of the twentieth century.
With widespread acceptance of the plate tectonic theory, the static continent idea
quietly and without a fitting eulogy slipped into intellectual oblivion.

9. List and briefly describe the four "spheres" that constitute our
environment.
These are the four, major spheres of our living environment
1) atmosphere - the gaseous envelope surrounding our planet
2) hydrosphere - those environments (oceans, rivers, lakes, ice, groundwater and
water vapor in the atmosphere) involved in the hydrologic cycle
3) biosphere - the diverse, surficial and near-surface environments that include all
living organisms and their habitats
4) solid earth - the soils, regolith, and crustal bedrock layers of Earth; it hosts most
of the hydrosphere, forms the inorganic substrate for the biosphere, and interacts
extensively with the atmosphere

10. List and briefly describe Earth's compositional divisions.

These include, from the surface inward, the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner
core. The crust is the most felsic of these, being enriched in silica, alkalis, calcium,
and aluminum over mantle rocks that are dominated by magnesium silicate phases.
Upper mantle minerals include mostly Mg-rich olivine and pyroxenes; more dense
phases with similar chemical compositions are thought to comprise most of the
deeper mantle. The outer core is liquid. Consideration of its density and electrical
properties suggest the liquid is dominantly iron with smaller quantities of nickel,
sulfur, and other elements. The inner core is a crystalline solid; it is thought to be
mainly iron alloyed with nickel and a small percentage of other elements.

11. Contrast the asthenosphere and the lithosphere.

These terms describe the outer two layers or "shells" of Earth, the lithosphere being
the surface (outermost) shell and the asthenosphere being the shell directly under
the lithosphere. The two shells differ significantly in their mechanical responses to
stress. Lithospheric rocks under stress fail (deform) by brittle fracturing (faulting). In
contrast, deeper rocks of the asthenosphere deform by ductile flowage, in which the
rock gradually changes shape and form without ever being physically cracked or
broken. Ductile flowage is enhanced by high temperatures; brittle fracturing is
typical of "cold" rocks. Earth's moving tectonic plates comprise the lithosphere; slow
flowage movements in the asthenosphere drive the plate movements.

12. With which type of plate boundary is each of the following

associated: subduction zone, San Andreas fault, seafloor spreading,
and Mount St. Helens?
Subduction zone describes a convergent plate boundary where the more dense
plate, usually an old, oceanic plate, is sinking beneath a less dense (more buoyant)
plate. A deep, linear, oceanic trench marks the surficial expression of the sinking
plate

The San Andreas fault is a deep, vertical fault that forms a transform plate boundary
separating two lithospheric plates moving horizontally in opposite directions. The
sliver of California and Baja California on the west side of the fault is part of the
Pacific Plate and is moving northwest with respect to rocks of the North American
Plate east of the fault.
Seafloor spreading occurs at a divergent boundary (a mid-ocean ridge or
continental rift); new, basaltic, seafloor crust forms at the trailing edges of the
plates diverging away from a mid-ocean ridge.
Mount St. Helens (Washington) is a very young stratovolcano in the Cascade Range.
This volcano and others of the Cascade Range are situated above a subduction zone
in which a small oceanic plate (the Juan de Fuca) is sinking beneath the western
margin of the North American plate.

13. Using the rock cycle, explain the statement "one rock is the raw
material for another".
Sedimentary rocks are composed of constituents derived from the disintegration
and decomposition of other rocks (igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary).
Metamorphic rocks were once igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic rocks that
have since changed in texture and/or mineral composition in response to elevated
temperatures, or elevated temperatures and pressures (deep burial). Igneous rocks
form by cooling and crystallization of magmas; magmas form by melting of other
igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic rocks. Thus any kind of rock can function as
"source material" (raw material) for any one of the three, major, rock groups.

MAPUA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF CIVIL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
ESE160-C1
SAMARTINO, JOHN MEGRYAN B.

2013106636

CESE-3

CHAPTER 2: MINERALS: Building Blocks of Rocks

1. Define the term rock.
A rock is a more or less hardened (lithified) aggregate of minerals and/or amorphous
solids such as natural glass and organic matter (Fig. 2.2).

2. List the three main particles of an atom and explain how they
differ from one another?
The particles are electrons, protons, and neutrons. The latter two are heavy, nuclear
particles; electrons are tiny, very light-weight particles that form a "cloud"
surrounding the nucleus. The mass and charge data are as follows:
proton - one atomic mass unit, 1+ electrical charge
neutron - one atomic mass unit, electrically neutral
electron - tiny fraction of one atomic mass unit, 1- electrical charge

3. If the number of electrons in a neutral atom is 35 and its mass

number is 80, calculate the following:
(a) The number of protons - A neutral atom with 35 electrons has 35 protons
(element bromine, Br; Fig. 2.3).
(b) The atomic number - The atomic number is 35, equal to the number of protons
in the nucleus.
(c) The number of neutrons - The mass number (80) is the sum of protons (35) and
neutrons. Thus the nucleus contains 45 (80 - 35) neutrons.

4. What is the significance of valence electrons?

Valence electrons are those outermost, few electrons in an atom or molecule that
participate in chemical reactions and bond formation. Valence electrons are the
bonding electrons.

5. Briefly distinguish between ionic and covalent bonding.

Ionic bonds are strong attractive forces between closely-spaced ions of opposite (+
and -) electrical charges. The ions are formed by chemical reactions in which
valence electrons are removed from a donor atom or molecule, producing a
positively charged ion (+ ion) and acquired by another atom or molecule, producing

a negatively charged ion (- ion). These reactions (ionizations) enable both ions to
achieve much higher chemical stability (more stable valence electron
configurations) than the respective neutral atoms.
In covalent bonding, the more stable, outer, electron configurations are achieved by
sharing of valence electrons among two or more neighboring atoms in a molecule or
crystalline compound. Charged atoms (ions) do not form.

6. What occurs in a atom to produce an ion?

One or more valence electrons are simultaneously gained and lost by atoms
participating in a chemical reaction. The atoms that gain electrons are negative
ions; those that lose electrons are positive ions.

7. What is an isotope?
Isotopes are atoms of the same element (same atomic number) that differ in mass
number (numbers of neutrons are different). Thus natural uranium includes a small
fraction of atoms with mass 235 (143 neutrons and 92 protons) together with the
more abundant atoms with mass 238 (146 neutrons). In general, isotopes of the
same element have very nearly identical chemical characteristics.

8. Although all minerals have an orderly internal arrangement of

atoms (crystalline structure), most mineral samples do not
demonstrate their crystal form. Why?
Crystal form refers to the geometrically regular, external growth shape that mineral
grains can exhibit if grain growth is free and unobstructed by other mineral grains
(the grain grows into a fluid-filled cavity, for example). Most mineral grain growth in
nature is obstructed (not free), so grains showing their characteristic, geometric,
growth forms are not that common. Mineral samples broken from larger masses
have their shapes determined by fractures and cleavage, not by grain growth.

9. Why might it be difficult to identify a mineral by its color?

A particular mineral may exhibit many, different colors. Thus by itself, color is
seldom definitive in mineral identification, but it may be helpful. Mineral color is
highly sensitive to relatively small contents of impurity atoms and to bulk chemical
compositions in members of a solid solution series. Thus in corundum, an aluminum
oxide mineral, small quantities of chromium account for the red variety (ruby) and
small quantities of iron and titanium account for the blue variety (sapphire). Colors
of rock-forming silicate minerals with variable compositions such as biotite,
pyroxenes, and amphiboles are very sensitive to the contents of iron and other firstrow transition elements such as titanium, chromium, and manganese. Iron-poor
biotite, pyroxenes, and amphiboles are colorless or only faintly colored; iron-bearing
varieties are generally deeply colored, ranging from green to black. Garnets for
example, show virtually every color in the rainbow, depending on the bulk
composition.

10. If you found a glassy-appearing mineral while rock hunting and

had hopes that it was a diamond, what simple test might help you
make a determination?
A hardness comparison with quartz would establish that the grain was above 7 in
the Mohs scale. So are many other minerals. A jeweler could quickly determine the
refractive index, thus verifying or dashing your hopes. Diamond has the highest
refractive index of any mineral.

11. Explain the use of corundum as given in Table 2.4 in terms of the
Mohs hardness scale.
Any mineral listed in Mohs scale (Table 2.2), corundum for example, will scratch
softer minerals (those with lower hardness values) and will not scratch harder
minerals. Corundum would scratch virtually all other minerals, diamond being the
lone exception. Thus corundum is widely used in abrasives and polishing
compounds.

12. Gold has a specific gravity of almost 20. If a 25-liter pail of water
weighs 25 kilograms, how much would a 25-liter pail of gold weigh?
The specific gravity of water is one by definition. Thus equal volumes of water and
gold would have their weights in the ratio 1:20. Since the 25 liters of water weigh 25
kilograms, the 25 liters of gold will weigh almost 500 kilograms (25 liters X 20 kg/l).

13. Explain the difference between the terms silicon and silicate.
Silicon is the name for the element with atomic number 14; the chemical symbol is
Si. Elemental silicon is a semiconductor and is widely utilized today in computer
chips. Silicate refers to any chemical compound that contains the elements silicon
and oxygen; additional elements may be present but the term silicate is still
applicable. Most rock-forming minerals are silicates. The native element does not
occur naturally; it is manufactured from quartz, silicon dioxide, at high temperatures
under strongly-reducing conditions.

14. What do ferromagnesian minerals have in common? List

examples of ferromagnesian minerals.
Ferromagnesian is a word derived from the chemical elements magnesium and iron
(ferro, ferrous, ferric, etc.). The term refers to rock-forming, silicate minerals that
contain some iron (Fe) and/or magnesium (Mg) in addition to silicon and oxygen.
Additional elements such as aluminum, sodium, and calcium may be present
without changing the designation. Ferromagnesian minerals comprise most of the
dark-colored (dark green and black) mineral grains in igneous rocks.

15. What do muscovite and biotite have in common? How do they

differ?
They are both micas with layered (sheet-silicate), internal, crystalline structures and
one direction of perfect cleavage. Muscovite is the light-colored, potassium

aluminum (KAl) mica; and biotite is the darker-colored, ferromagnesian mica

(contains Mg and Fe).

16. Should color be used to distinguish between orthoclase and

plagioclase feldspar? What is the best means of distinguishing
between these two types of feldspar?
Twinning striations are definitive for plagioclase; unfortunately, they are not always
visible without a microscope. Orthoclase doesn't have striations. Both feldspars can
be white or colorless, but pale-pink or pale-orange colors usually indicate
orthoclase. Ca-rich plagioclase may be fairly dark gray. Thus color alone is not
definitive; however, in rocks with a pinkish orthoclase and a white plagioclase, color
is very helpful in telling the two feldspars apart.

17. Each of the following statements describes a silicate mineral or

mineral group. In each case, provide the appropriate name.
(a) The most common member of the amphibole group - hornblende
(b) The most common nonferromagnesian member of the mica family- muscovite
(c) The only silicate mineral made entirely of silicon and oxygen - quartz (SiO2);
other polymorphs such as tridymite, cristobalite, and high-pressure forms are
known, but by far, quartz is the most abundant silicon dioxide phase in rocks
(d) A high-temperature silicate with a name that is based on its color - olivine, green
(e) Characterized by striations - plagioclase with twinning striations
(f) Originates as a product of chemical weathering - the clay minerals

18. What simple test can be used to distinguish calcite from

dolomite?
Both minerals are carbonates. Calcite reacts vigorously with dilute, strong acids
such as hydrochloric (HCl), with the evolution of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas bubbles.
In contrast, dolomite must first be finely powdered before reacting vigorously
enough with the same dilute acid to produce visible bubbling.

19. Contrast Resource and Reserve

Mineral resource of a country (or an area) means the total available economically
viable mineral stored in that country (or in the area). Mineral Reserve is the
availability of a particular mineral in an occurrence, that can be economically
exploited. Please remember, reserve can be of proved, estimated or probable
category, depending on the degree of the intensity of geological investigation
carried out to assess the potentiality of that occurrence. But mineral resources are
usually tentative. In other words, Reserve pertains to a particular mineral while the
Resource is the sumtotal of all the economic minerals.

20. What might cause a mineral deposit that had not been
considered an ore to be reclassified as an ore.
Mineral deposit that had not been considered an ore to be reclassified as an
ore are done by economic changes if the demand for a metal increases and
prices rise, the status can be changed.

MAPUA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF CIVIL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING

ESE160-C1
SAMARTINO, JOHN MEGRYAN B.

2013106636

CESE-3

CHAPTER 3: Igneous Rocks

1. How does lava differ from magma?
Magma is a general term that refers to any molten-rock melt on or beneath Earth's
surface. Magmas usually include some solid mineral grains and/or dissolved gases
in addition to the molten liquid. Lava is a much more restricted term to describe
magma extruded on the surface. Thus all rock melts are magmas, but only those
extruded at the surface are lavas.

2. How does the rate of cooling influence the crystallization

process?
Crystallization (growth of solid mineral grains from a magma) depends on the rate
at which the constituent ionic groups move through the melt and attach to the
growing mineral grain. Slow rates of transport and/or short cooling intervals (fast
cooling) inhibit in-melt transport and contribute to slow grain growth and small grain
size. Natural glasses like obsidian (rhyolite glass) cool so quickly that mineral grains
do not have time to grow. Slow cooling allows for a longer period of grain growth,
and a high water content in the magma favors higher in-melt transport rates and
more rapid grain growth than would occur in a "dry" magma of equivalent
composition and temperature.

3. In addition to the rate of cooling, what other factors influence the

crystallization process?
As noted above, the in-melt transport properties of the magma have very important
effects on crystallization. In general, in-melt transport rates are enhanced by lower
magma viscosity and slowed by higher viscosity. Magma viscosities increase
(transport rates decrease) with lower temperature and higher silica (SiO2) content.
Thus natural rhyolite glasses, formed by rapid cooling of relatively low temperature,
silica-rich lavas, are much more common than basaltic glasses formed by rapid
cooling of hotter, lower silica content lavas. Large quantities of magmatic volatiles
(such as water) can profoundly increase transport rates and crystal growth rates.
For this and other reasons, geologists believe that pegmatite (Review Question 7
and Box 3.1) magmas contain very large percentages of water and other volatiles.

4. The classification of igneous rocks is based largely upon two

criteria. Name these criteria.
The two are texture and mineral composition. Texture describes the sizes, shapes,
and mutual contact relationships of the constituent mineral grains and other

physical features of the rock. The mineral composition is also a definitive factor.
Names for the common igneous rocks are based mainly on the percentages of
three, major minerals; quartz, orthoclase, and plagioclase. For the latter mineral,
the ratio Na : Ca basically differentiates diorite from gabbro. In diorite, the
plagioclase composition is intermediate (Na Ca) and in gabbro, the plagioclase is
dominantly calcic (Ca > Na). Plagioclase in granites is dominantly sodic (Na > Ca).

5. The statements that follow relate to terms describing igneous

rock textures. For each statement, identify the appropriate term.
(a) Openings produced by escaping gases - vesicles
(b) Obsidian exhibits this texture - glassy (not crystalline)
(c) A matrix of fine crystals surrounding phenocrysts - the finer-grained matrix is the
groundmass and the texture is porphyritic
(d) Crystals are too small to be seen with the unaided eye - aphanitic texture
(e) A texture characterized by two distinctly different crystal sizes - a porphyritic
texture (phenocrysts and groundmass)
(f) Coarse grained, with crystals of roughly equal size - phaneritic texture; the equalsize or equigranular idea helps students understand the difference between
phaneritic and porphyritic-phaneritic textures

6. What does a porphyritic texture indicate about igneous rock?

Two, distinctively different sizes of mineral grains in the same igneous rock (a
porphyritic texture) usually mean that grain growth occurred in two stages. First, the
larger grains (phenocrysts) grew over a prolonged period of crystallization at a slow
cooling rate in a magma chamber deep below the surface. Then the magma rose
nearer to the surface; and the smaller, groundmass grains grew in a second,
shorter, crystallization episode during which the cooling rate was much faster. An
aphanitic groundmass develops when the second stage of crystallization occurs at
or near Earth's surface.

7. Relate the classification of igneous rocks to Bowen's reaction

series.
Bowen's reaction series depicts the order in which major minerals crystallize at low
(crustal) pressures from a hot, basaltic magma and how that magma changes
composition (differentiates) as it gradually cools. In terms of rock classification, the
reaction series predicts that Ca-rich plagioclase, olivine, and pyroxenes will
crystallize first (basalt or gabbro), followed by hornblende and plagioclase with Na :
Ca of about one (diorite and andesite); at lower temperatures, quartz and
orthoclase (granite and rhyolite) crystallize from fractionated magmas strongly
enriched in silica and potassium feldspar components.

8. How are granite and rhyolite different? In what way are they
similar?

Both are igneous rocks with quartz and orthoclase feldspar as major minerals.
Granite is the phaneritic-textured rock crystallized slowly at depth from intrusive,
granitic magma. Rhyolite is the aphanitic, rapidly cooled, volcanic rock that forms
when granitic magma is extruded during a volcanic eruption. Both have similar
chemical and mineralogical compositions. All granites have phaneritic crystalline
textures; rhyolites may have glassy textures (obsidian), fragmental textures (tuffs
and welded tuffs), and aphanitic crystalline textures.

9. Why are the crystals in pegmatites so large?

Very large silicate mineral grains (crystals) indicate extremely fast, in-melt transport
of the mineral constituents to the growing crystals. We know that pegmatite
magmas are small volume, relatively low temperature melts that are extremely rich
in water and other dissolved volatiles. The volatiles promote very fast rates of
material transfer, thus accounting for rapid growth of very large crystals.

10. Compare and contrast each of the following pairs of rocks:

(a) Granite and diorite - Both are phaneritic igneous rocks. Granite has quartz and
orthoclase feldspar as dominant minerals and is light in color. Diorite has
plagioclase (sodium and calcium contents about equal) as the definitive mineral and
is darker than granite in color. Biotite, hornblende, and augite are the most common
ferromagnesian minerals.
(b) Basalt and gabbro - Both rocks are dark in color and have the same mineral
compositions. Calcium-rich plagioclase is the definitive feldspar and quartz is
absent; olivine and augite are the main ferromagnesian minerals. Basalt is an
aphanitic volcanic rock and gabbro has a phaneritic texture, reflecting its origin at
depth from a slow-cooling intrusive magma.
(c) Andesite and rhyolite - Both are aphanitic-textured rocks, usually of volcanic
origin. Rhyolite has the same dominant minerals (quartz and orthoclase) as granite;
andesite has the same mineral composition as diorite. Typically, rhyolites are light in
color and andesites are somewhat darker. Whereas biotite is the only common
ferromagnesian mineral in rhyolite, andesite often contains one or more of the mafic
minerals biotite, hornblende, and augite.
11. How do tuff and volcanic breccia differ from other igneous rocks such
as granite and basalt?
Tuff and breccia have pyroclastic textures as opposed to the crystalline textures of
granite and basalt. In pyroclastic textures, the rock is composed of solidified magma
fragments and/or fragments broken from other volcanic rocks. In crystalline
textures, the minerals grow from the magma into mutually interlocking grains.
Clastic means fragmental; "pyro" means fire. Tuffs and volcanic breccias are
products of explosive volcanism. Granites form from intrusive magmas and basalts
crystallize from shallow sills, dikes, and lava flows.

12. List two general types of hydrothermal deposits.

Hydrothermal solution can deposit metal as (1) vein deposits in fractures or (2) as
disseminated deposits distributed as minute masses throughout an entire rock body.

MAPUA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SCHOOL OF CIVIL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
ESE160-C1
SAMARTINO, JOHN MEGRYAN B.

2013106636

CESE-3

CHAPTER 4: Volcanoes and Other Igneous Activity

1. What triggered the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens?
The eruptive cycle represented the ascent of a "new" batch of magma from depth.
This eruption was the most powerful in the cycle. After some early, small-volume,
ash eruptions, a small magma chamber high in the cone began inflating (filling with
more magma). However, the chamber expanded horizontally rather than vertically,
causing the upper portion of the cone to bulge outward and, in a sense, to overhang
the lower flanks. When this bulged mass of rock broke away from the main cone and
slid rapidly downhill, the magma chamber was suddenly "opened" to the
atmosphere and decompressed, generating the powerful May 18 eruption

2. Name 5 volcanoes in the Western United States that geologists

believe will erupt again.
5 volcanoes that are likely to erupt in are Mauna Loa, Hekla. LLamla, Krakatoa and
Syracruse.

3. What is the difference between magma and lava?

Magma is composed of molten rock and is stored in the Earths crust. Lava is
magma that reaches the surface of our planet through a volcano vent.

4. What three factors that determine the nature of a volcanic

eruption? What role does each play?
An eruption, explosive or otherwise, depends on three, fundamental factors: the
nature of the magma, the depth of the magma chamber below the surface, and the
excess pressure built up in the magma chamber (compared to what the pressure
would be if an unobstructed column of magma extended to the surface). Important
magma characteristics are temperature, composition, viscosity, and dissolved gas
(volatile) content. Cooler, highly viscous, volatile- and silica-rich magmas are very
likely to erupt explosively; hotter, more fluid, silica- and volatile-poor, basalt
magmas commonly erupt nonexplosively as lava fountains.
High ratios of excess pressure to depth increase the chances for explosive
eruptions. High volatile content and high viscosity both contribute to the buildup of
high internal pressures in a magma body, increasing the chances for an explosive
eruption. Magmas with low volatile contents generate correspondingly low internal
fluid pressures, and a low magma viscosity allows exsolved gas bubbles to expand,
rise, and exit the magma chamber without much buildup in pressure. Intrusion of
hot mafic magma into the deeper levels of a cooler, more silicic, and more volatilerich felsic magma chamber is an important triggering mechanism for explosive,
caldera-forming eruptions. The mafic magma heats the more felsic magma and
displaces it higher toward the surface. Heating and upward movement both favor

increased magma overpressures and thus increase the likelihood of an explosive

eruption. Later-stage, ash-flow tuffs from smaller-volume, caldera-forming eruptions,
such as Crater Lake, OR, typically show more mafic character than the earlier tuffs
(Fig. 3.7), showing that prior to the eruption, the magma deeper in the chamber was
hotter and more mafic than the shallower magma.

5. Why is a volcano fed by highly viscous magma likely to be a

greater threat than a volcano supplied with very fluid magma?
The more fluid magma is typically hotter and has a lower volatile content than the
more viscous magma. The most important difference is that the more viscous
magma has much more mechanical strength to resist movement and expansion of
gas bubbles, thus confining the volatiles, promoting the buildup of excess pressure
in the magma chamber, and increasing the likelihood of an explosive event. In a
fluid magma, the gas bubbles can freely expand, rise, and escape from the magma
chamber, reducing the probability of an explosive eruption.

6. Describe pahoehoe and aa lava.

These terms describe basaltic lava flows with different surface and flow-front
characteristics. Aa flows are relatively thick with high, steep, flow fronts; their
surfaces are covered with angular, congealed, lava rubble. Pahoehoe flows are
thinner, the flow fronts are more gently sloping, and the surface is smooth or rippled
(ropy). As the pahoehoe flow advances, small lava prongs break out, forming rippled
blobs that move a short distance beyond the main flow front. When pahoehoe lava
congeals, the smooth, rippled surfaces of blobs are preserved.

7. List the main gases released during a volcanic eruption. Why are
gases important in eruptions?
Water (H2O) is generally the dominant gas; carbon dioxide (CO2) is typically the
secondmost abundant gas in Hawaiian eruptions, but can be dominant at specific
volcanoes, such as Mt. Vesuvius. In other eruptions, such as El Chichon, Mexico, and
Pinatubo, the Philippines, sulfur dioxide (SO2) was the dominant volatile. Nitrogen
(N2), hydrogen (H2), argon (A), hydrogen chloride (HCl), and hydrogen fluoride (HF)
may also be released to the atmosphere during eruptions and fumarolic activity.
Dissolved gases are important in volcanism because the large volume expansion
that accompanies their dissolution from the melt pushes magma upward toward the
surface and generates explosive overpressures in silicic magma chambers.

8. Analysis of samples taken during Hawaiian eruptions on the

island of Hawaii indicate that _______ was the most abundant gas
released.
Analysis samples taken from a Hawaiian eruptions indicate that the gases was made
up of 70% of water vapor, 15%carbon, 5% nitrogen, 5% sulfur, and lesser amounts
of chlorine, hydrogen, and argon. So water vapor is the most abundant gas
released.

9. Describe each type of pyroclastic material.

Pyroclastic materials combine with gases to create pyroclastic flows, which can
move very fast and cause dramatic destruction. Some pyroclastic flows have been
known to move as fast as 200 meters per second, with smaller flows moving 10 to
30 meters per second.
There are two types of pyroclastic flows. Ignimbrite flows primarily contain
vesiculated material, which means the rocks are pitted and have cavities both on
the surface and inside the rock. The second type of flow is called nuee ardente,
which means glowing cloud, and is comprised of denser materials.
Pyroclastic flows are very hot. Temperatures of the pyroclastic flows from the Mount
St. Helens' volcanic eruption of 1980 reached 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mount
Pelees 1932 eruption had flows that reached 1075 degrees Fahrenheit. With such
high temperatures, pyroclastic flows are one of the most dangerous aspects of
volcanic eruptions. The gases and ash can asphyxiate people, and the highly heated
materials can burn most anything they come into contact with. Pyroclastic flows are
also dangerous because they can cause destruction over great distances.
10. Compare and contrast the main types of volcanoes (size, shape,
eruptive style, and so forth).
Volcanoes are constructed of erupted volcanic material. With the lone exception of
basaltic cinder cones, volcanoes are products of many eruptions and generally have
long (a million years or so) eruptive histories. Cinder cones are small, fairly steepsided cones comprised mainly, or entirely, of basaltic ash and cinders; they develop
during a single, short-lived, eruptive cycle. Internal layering in the pyroclastic strata
is parallel to external slopes. Shield volcanoes are very large, gently sloping, domeshaped mounds built of successive outpourings of basaltic lavas. Composite
volcanoes (stratovolcanoes) are massive, steep-sided, volcanic cones built from
repeated outpourings of lava and pyroclastic material. Composite volcanoes may
erupt some basalt but are more likely to erupt andesite and other magmas richer in
silica such as rhyolite. Internal layering of lavas and pyroclastic beds is roughly
parallel to the external slopes of both kinds of volcanoes.

11. Name one example of each of the three types of volcanoes.

cinder cone - Sunset Crater near Flagstaff, AZ, is a very young, well-preserved,
basaltic cinder cone. It was formed about 900 years ago. Sunset Crater, numerous
nearby cinder cones, and associated basaltic lava flows have been set aside as a
national monument.

composite volcanoes - The great volcanoes of the world such as Vesuvius near
Naples, Italy; Pinatubo in the Philippines; and the Cascade Range volcanoes in
Oregon, Washington, and northern California, are good examples.
shield volcanoes - The very large basaltic volcanoes of Hawaii (Mauna Loa and
Kilauea) are good examples.

12. Compare the formation and size of Mauna Loa and Paricutin
Parcutin is a small, basaltic cinder cone built in a corn field in southern Mexico
during a few years of eruptive activity in the 1940s. During the cone-forming phase,
mainly pyroclastic materials (bombs, cinders, and ash) were erupted; later in the
eruptive cycle, lava flows broke out from the base of the cinder cone and spread
over the surrounding countryside. After a few years of continuing activity, the
eruptive episode ended as abruptly as it had started.
Kilauea is the most active volcano on Hawaii, the largest of the Hawaiian Islands,
and is part of a massive, basaltic, shield volcano complex that forms the island.
Eruptions are mainly fluid, basaltic lava flows and minor pyroclastic activity. The
volcanic activity began millions of years ago when submarine lava flows were
erupted on the ocean floor. With continued activity, a massive, mound-shaped
seamount was constructed; eventually it grew above sea level, forming the presentday island of Hawaii. Kilauea is the youngest, southeasternmost, subaerial volcano
on the island but has yet to reach the elevation and size of the much larger shield
volcanoes Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. A newer, submarine, eruptive center (Loihi
Seamount, Box 4.3) is currently forming southeast of Kilauea in keeping with the
west-northwest migration of the Pacific plate over a hot spot deep in the mantle.

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2013106636

CHAPTER 5: Weathering and Soils

1. Describe the role of external processes in the rock cycle
The external processes helps in the transfer or transportation of rocks from
one place to another.
2. If two identical rocks were weathered, one mechanically and

the other chemically, how would the products of weathering

for the two rocks differ?
The mechanically weathered rocked will have its physical composition altered
while the chemically weathered rock will have its chemical composition
altered and broken down.
3. How does mechanical weathering add to the effectiveness of

chemical weathering?
Mechanical weathering breaks down the outer surface of the rock helping the
chemical weathering process to penetrate the innermost portion of the rock.
4. Describe the formation of an exfoliation dome. Give an

example of such a feature

Exfoliation dome is a form of rock relaxation which is the result of the
removal of overburden by erosion

5. Granite and basalt are exposed at the surface in a hot, wet

region
a. Which type of weathering will predominate?
- Chemical weathering
b. Which of the rocks will weather most rapidly? Why?
- Granite. Because its crystal size is larger and is highly susceptible to
the hot region.
6. Heat speeds up a chemical reaction. Why then does chemical

weathering proceed slowly in a hot desert?

- Due to the lack of water, chemical weathering will be slower even though
heat is sufficient.
7. How is carbonic acid formed in nature? What results when this

acid reacts with potassium feldspar?

- Carbonic acid is formed when carbon dioxide in the air mixes with rainwater.
During chemical weathering, the carbonic acid will react with calcium
carbonate based rocks, mainly limestone and chalk. This is called
carbonation.
8. Relate soil to the Earth system
- soil is the mixture of mineral, organic matter, gases, liquids and countless
organisms that together support life on Earth

9. What factors might cause different soils to develop from the

same parent material, or similar soils to form from different

parent materials?
- Different soils are likely to form from the same parent material if the
climates are different. Other factors, which would contribute to differences,
would include the nature of the vegetation, the slopes, and the length of time
the soils have been forming. Similar soils from different parent materials
would result if the preceding factors were essentially the same in each
situation.
10. Which of the controls of soil formation is most important?

Explain
- Climate is considered most important, for it determines the type and degree
of weathering as well as being an important control on the type of plant and
animal life present.
11. How can slope affect the development of soil? What is meant

by the term slope orientation?

- Slope greatly influences drainage and the amount of erosion that will occur.
Because of accelerated erosion on steep slopes, soils are thin. Conversely, in
flat bottomlands soils are often waterlogged. Optimum conditions for soil
development are flat-to-undulating upland surfaces. Here erosion is at a
minimum and drainage is good. Slope orientation refers to the amount of
sunlight received. This affects the soil temperature and moisture conditions,
which in turn influence the nature of the vegetation and the character of the
soil.
12. List the characteristics associated with each of the horizons in

a well-developed soil profile. Which of the horizons constitute

the solum? Under what circumstances do soils lack horizons?
- The solum includes all the horizons above the top of the partly weathered
bedrock horizon. Recently exposed regolith lacks distinctive soil horizons
because the soil-forming process is still in its infancy, and horizons have not
had enough time to develop. A newly deposited floodplain sediment is a good
example of regolith.
13. Distinguish between pedalfers and pedocals
- the difference is in their composition, colors, and the climate of where they
are formed.
- Pedalfers are common in temperate areas and receive more than 60cm of
rain annually
- Pedocals are common in dry and warm climates and gets less than 60 cm of
rain annually
14. What soils type is associated with tropical rain frosts? Because

this soil supports the growth of lunch natural vegetation, is it

also excellent for growing crops? Briefly explain.

- rain forests have pedalfers since it experiences more than 60cm of rain
annually.
15. Is soil erosion a natural process or primarily the result of

inappropriate land use by people?

- Erosion is a natural process. This phenomenon happens in natural processes
like rains, flow of rivers, and strong winds.
16. List three detrimental effects of soil erosion other than the

loss of topsoil from croplands

- degrades the integrity of the land to carry nutrients
17. Name the primary ore of aluminum and describe its formation
- bauxite is the primary ore from aluminum. It is formed from hydrated
aluminum oxide and hydrated iron oxide.

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2013106636

CHAPTER 6: Sedimentary Rocks

1. How does the volume of sedimentary rocks in Earth's crust compare
with the volume of igneous rocks in the crust? Are sedimentary
rocks evenly distributed throughout the crust?
- In Earth's crust, igneous rocks exceed sedimentary rocks in volume. Neither
rock type is evenly distributed. In the interiors of continents, sedimentary
rocks occur as thin veneers covering over much larger volumes of igneous
and metamorphic rocks deeper in the crust. Ocean basin rocks are mainly
igneous with very thin covers of sediments. Sedimentary strata many
kilometers in thickness accumulate only in relatively restricted basins along
the edges of continents or in deep rift basins where continental blocks are
splitting apart.
2. What minerals are most common in detrital sedimentary rocks? Why
are these minerals so abundant?
- Detrital refers to mineral grains and rock fragments, such as sand grains or
pebbles, that are produced during the weathering process and transported to
the site of deposition as particles. The most abundant detrital minerals in
sediments are quartz and clays. Quartz is an abundant mineral in many
rocks.
3. What is the primary basis for distinguishing among various detrital
sedimentary rocks?
- Conglomerate, Sandstone, Siltstone, Mudstone, Shale
4. The term clay can be used in two different ways. Describe the two
meanings.
- Clay is the name for a group of sheet-structured, aluminum silicate minerals
(the clay minerals). The term also denotes the very fine-sized (< 1/256 mm in
diameter) grain fraction of detrital sediments; these tiny particles may or
may not be clay minerals.
5. Why does shale usually crumble quite easily?
- Shales are usually fissile with numerous, small cracks that allow water ready
access during weathering, and they contain clay minerals as dominant
components. Many clay minerals strongly adsorb water and swell, a process
that greatly lowers the mechanical strength of the shale and generates
internal stresses to push open new cracks and extend old ones deeper into
the unweathered portions of the rock. Distinguish between conglomerate and
breccia.
6. Distinguish between conglomerate and breccia
The difference between the two is the pebbles that are cemented together in
breccia remain angular whereas the pebbles in conglomerate have been
smoothed or rounded by the erosion forces of moving water.
7. Distinguish between the two categories of chemical sedimentary
rocks.

- The dominant constituents of chemical sedimentary rocks were transported

to the site of deposition in solution. Two, different categories are defined on
the basis of the precipitation mechanism. If evaporation caused precipitation,
the rocks are evaporites; if living organisms were involved, such as with the
precipitation of calcium carbonate by algae or invertebrate animals, the rocks
are biogenic (biochemical) in origin.
8. What are evaporite deposits? Name a rock that is an evaporite.
- Evaporites are chemical sedimentary rocks, such as bedded salts,
precipitated from isolated bodies of seawater or saline lakes undergoing
intense evaporation. Gypsum, anhydrite (calcium sulfates), and halite
(sodium chloride) are evaporites.
9. How is bituminous coal different from lignite and anthracite?
- In most biochemical rocks, the rock is composed of inorganic mineral matter
(calcite, silica, etc.) precipitated directly or indirectly by once living
organisms. Coal, in contrast, is composed of the compacted, macerated,
original remains of plants. Coal is mostly carbon but contains small
percentages of minerals such as quartz, clays, and pyrite.
10.
Each of the following statements describes one or more
characteristics of a particular sedimentary rock. For each statement,
name the sedimentary rock that is being described.
(a) An evaporite used to make plaster. - Gypsum (calcium sulfate) is a major
ingredient of plasters.
(b) A fine-grained detrital rock that exhibits fissility. - Shale typically breaks
into thin plates or pen-shaped fragments, as contrasted to mudstone which
typically breaks into more equidimensional chunks or blocks.
(c) Dark-colored sandstone containing angular rock particles as well as clay,
quartz, and feldspar. - Graywacke; the original sediment is transported by
turbidity currents and deposited well below the influence of wave action. The
lithified rock consists of sand grains embedded in a clayey/chloritic matrix.
(d) The most abundant chemical sedimentary rock. - The chemical
sedimentary rock limestone is composed of calcium carbonate (CaCO3)
(e) A dark-colored, hard rock made of microcrystalline quartz. - Chert is a
bedded deposit of very fine-grained quartz (silica).
(f) A variety of limestone composed of small spherical grains. - The spherical
grains are calcite oolites; the rock is an oolitic limestone.
11.
Compaction is an important lithification process with which
sediment size?
Compaction is very important for the finer-grained sediments (silts, muds,
and clays) and less so for the coarser detrital sediments. During compaction,

water is squeezed from the sediment, and the individual particles are forced
into close, mutual contact and bonded tightly.
12.
List three common cements for sedimentary rocks. How might
each be identified?
The three, most common, chemical cements in sedimentary rocks such as
sandstone are silica (quartz), calcium carbonate (calcite), and the iron oxides.
Calcite-cemented sandstones are typically light colored, and the calcite
reacts vigorously with dilute HCl or other acids. Quartz-cemented sandstones
are also light colored, but they do not visibly react with acids and the
cementing material is quite hard (7 on the Mohs scale). Sandstones with iron
oxide cements are easy to recognize by their red, yellow, or brown colors.
13.
What is the primary basis for distinguishing among different
chemical sedimentary rocks?
Their mineralogy! Limestones are calcite and dolostones are dolomite, a
calcium magnesium carbonate mineral. Evaporites include bedded halite
(NaCl) and gypsum or anhydrite (calcium sulfates). Hardness, taste, luster,
and response to acids help in mineral identification; microscopic and x-ray
studies can be employed if necessary.

14.
Distinguish between clastic and nonclastic textures. What type
of texture is common to all detrital sedimentary rocks?
Clastic means fragmental or particulate, and texture describes the shapes,
sizes and mutual packing arrangements of the mineral grains and/or detrital
particles and cements. Being deposits of transported mineral grains and/or
rock fragments, all detrital sediments and sedimentary rocks have clastic
textures.
Nonclastic textures include the crystalline textures of chemical rocks like
chert and evaporites. Limestones may have crystalline or clastic textures,
depending on the nature of the original sediment and on the subsequent
geologic history of calcite solution and crystallization in the rock.
15.
What is the probable the single most characteristics feature of
sedimentary rocks
Most sediments and sedimentary rocks show an original layering
(stratification) because they were deposited in nearly horizontal sheets or
lenses. Numerous, thin strata in shales and some sandstones are easily
visible. In other rocks such as graywacke and reef-deposited limestone, the
deposit is a single, massive bed or lens; internal stratification may not be so
evident.
16.

Distinguish between cross-bedding and graded bedding.

Both are characteristic of sedimentary rocks, but they originate in quite

different environments. Graded bedding (Fig. 6.21) indicates that bottom
currents were absent from the depositional environment. The sediment was
not reworked following deposition. A sediment-laden turbidity current,
initiated by slumping of sediments in shallower waters, loses energy and
slows down as it moves along the bottom into deeper waters. Unaffected by
bottom currents, the particles settle out in the order of their grain sizes, the
coarser ones first and the fine silts and clays last. Thus the deposit exhibits
an internal, vertical grading in particle sizes but lacks internal stratification
(bedding) surfaces.
Cross-bedding describes the multiple sets of typically thin, non-parallel strata
that develop internally as sand dunes, ripples, and some fluvial beds
accumulate. Some sets of strata are laid down parallel to subhorizontal,
gently inclined, transport surfaces. Others are inclined at angles up to 35
degrees, the angle of repose for sand. These inclined strata are deposited on
the steeper, leeward, downcurrent-facing slopes (usually a slip face) of
moundlike, sand accumulations such as dunes, ripples, or sand waves in a
stream channel. By definition, deposits with graded bedding are poorly
sorted; cross-bedded sands are commonly well sorted.

17.
Nonmetallic resources are commonly divided into broad
groups. List the two groups and some examples of materials that
belong to each.
The two broad categories of nonmetallic resources are (1) building materials,
which include aggregate, gypsum, and clay, and (2) industrial minerals such
as fluorite (used in making steel), common salt, sulfur, corundum (an
abrasive), and sylvite (used in the production of fertilizers). Some substances,
such as limestone, are found in both groups.
18.
Coal enjoys the advantage of being plentiful. What are some
disadvantages associated with the production and use of coal.
1. Coal energy is producing tremendous amount of carbon emissions that
results in climate change and global warming.
2. Coal burning is considered not environmental friendly due to the
production of harmful by-products like nitrogen, carbon dioxide and sulfur
dioxide.
3. Coal burning can cause pollution to the environment like acid rain.
4. Coal energy is fast depleting because many people consume a large
amount of it inefficiently.
5. This form of energy is not a renewable one.

6. It is also ruining the ecosystem and environment and putting many

peoples lives in danger especially miners.
7. Underground mining is very hazardous because cave-ins and explosions
are common.
8. Unstoppable damages could occur when mining coals.
19.

What is an oil trap? List two conditions common to all oil traps.

Oil and Gas Traps. All oil and gas deposits are found in structural or
stratigraphic traps. You may have heard that oil is found underground in
pools, lakes, or rivers. Maybe someone told you there was a sea or
ocean of oil underground.

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CESE-3

CHAPTER 7: Metamorphic Rocks

1. What is metamorphism? What are the agents that change rocks?
- Metamorphism is a substantive change in mineral composition and/or

texture in a rock as a response to one or more of the following: higher

temperatures, higher pressures, and contact with metamorphic fluids
2. What is foliation? Distinguish between rock cleavage and
schistosity?
- Foliation describes a preferred, parallel orientation of sheetlike (platy)
mineral grains, mainly micas and chlorite, in a metamorphic rock. This
parallel orientation of platy mineral grains also accounts for slaty (rock)
cleavage and schistosity. The strong tendency of slate to split along parallel
cracks, forming plate-shaped fragments with a dull, surface luster, is called
slaty or rock cleavage
3. List some changes that might occur to a rock in response to
metamorphic processes.
- Mineral grain size could increase with metamorphic recrystallization, as in
the change of limestone into marble. Some minerals decompose and new
ones grow (crystallize), causing changes in both the mineral composition and
in the rock texture.
4. Slate and phyllite resemble each other. How might you distinguish
one from another?
- Both are derived by regional metamorphism of shale or mudstone. Slate
forms at lower temperatures and often exhibits well-developed rock cleavage.
The aligned mica and chlorite grains are far too small to be visible to the
naked eye, and the fracture cleavage surfaces show, at most, a dull sheen.
5. Each of the following statement describes or more characteristics of
a particular metamorphic rock. For each statement, name the
metamorphic rock that is being describes.
a. Calcite-rich and nonfoliated - marble
b. Foliated and composed mainly of granular minerals - gneiss
c. Represents a grade of metamorphism between slate and schist phyllite
d. Very fine-grained and foliated; excellent rock cleavage - slate
e. Foliated and composed of more than 50 percent platy minerals - schist
f.

Often composed of alternating bands of light and dark silicate

minerals- gneiss

g. Hard, nonfoliated rock resulting from contact metamorphism hornfels

6. Distinguish between contact metamorphism and regional

metamorphism. Which creates
- Contact metamorphism is restricted to the thermal halo (aureole)
surrounding a pluton, batholith, or other intrusive magma body . The effects

of metamorphism are limited to a specific volume of wall rock around the

magma body
7. What feature would make schist and gneiss easily distinguishable
from quartzite and marble?
- Foliation is much better developed in most schists and gneisses than in
most quartzites and marbles.
8. Briefly describe the textural and mineralogical difference among
slate, mica schist, and gneiss. Which one of these rocks represents
the highest degree of metamorphism?
- Slate, derived from shale or mudstone, is a very fine-grained, metamorphic
rock with well-developed rock cleavage, and the mineral grains are not visible
to the naked eye. Slate forms at the lowest metamorphic grade of the three.
- Schist, also derived from shales and mudrocks, is formed at much higher
metamorphic grades than slate. Micas and/or chlorite are abundant and
coarse grained; their parallel grain alignment produces a strong foliation.
- Gneiss is a coarse grained, foliated, metamorphic rock rich in
equidimensional grains of feldspar and quartz.
9. Are magmatites associated with high-grade of low-grade
metamorphism? Migmatites
- They form by partial melting under pressure-temperature conditions in the
melting range for granitic compositions. Migmatites are streaky, layered rocks
composed of alternating, dark-colored, residual minerals of the original
parent rock and light-colored streaks and veins that crystallized from the
melted granitic fraction.
10.
Metamorphic ore deposits are often related to igneous
processes. Provide an ex.
Metamorphic ore deposits are often related to igneous processes. An
example of this is many of the most important metamorphic ore deposits are
produced by contact metamorphism. The countryside is recrystallized and
chemically altered by heat, pressure, and hydrothermal solutions emanating
from an intruding igneous body.