Chapter 1

 Composition and internal structure of the Earth,

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Q: Describe the composition and internal structure of
the earth? --PMS 2019
A. Composition of the Earth

A. Minerals
B. Rocks
C. Rock Cycle

1) Minerals:

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What is a mineral?

Minerals are solid substances that occur naturally. They can be

made from a single element (like gold or copper) or from a
combination of elements. The Earth is made up of thousands of
different minerals.

What is the difference between a mineral and a rock?

Minerals have a specific chemical structure which is the same

throughout the entire mineral. Rocks, on the other hand, are
composed of a variety of different minerals and are not
consistent throughout their structure.

Characteristics of Minerals

Some common characteristics of minerals include:

 Solid - All minerals will be solids at normal temperatures on

Earth.
 Naturally occurring - Minerals occur in nature. Solids that are

made in a chemistry lab don't count as minerals.

 Inorganic - Minerals don't come from plants, animals, or other

living organisms.
 Fixed chemical structure - Specific minerals will always have

the same chemical formula. They will have the same

combination of elements. Minerals also generally are formed
with a crystal structure.
Properties of Minerals

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 Different minerals are often defined by the set of properties
described below:
 Luster - Luster describes how well a mineral reflects light.
Examples of luster include glassy, metallic, brilliant, and dull.

 Hardness - The hardness describes how easy it is to scratch

the surface of a mineral. Scientists often use the Moh's scale to
describe hardness. Using the Moh's scale, a "1" is the softest
mineral and a "10" is the hardest. One example of hardness is
diamond. Diamond has a hardness of 10 because it is the
hardest of all the minerals.

 Streak - Streak is the color of the mineral in powdered form.

One way to determine the streak is to rub the mineral across a
rough hard surface like a tile.

 Cleavage - Cleavage describes how a mineral breaks up into

pieces. Some minerals break up into small cubes while others
may break up into thin sheets.

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 Specific Gravity (SG) - The specific gravity measures the
density of the mineral. It is measured in comparison to water
where water has a specific gravity of 1. For example, pyrite has a
specific gravity of 5 and quartz has a specific gravity of 2.7.

 Color - Although color is often used to describe a mineral, it

sometimes isn't the best way to tell one mineral from another as
one type of mineral can come in several different colors.
Types of Minerals

There are many different types of minerals, but they are often
divided into two groups: silicates and non-silicates. Silicates are
minerals that contain silicon and oxygen. Over 90% of the
Earth's crust is made up of silicates. The rest of the minerals are
lumped into a group called non-silicates.

Some important non-silicate minerals include:

 Carbonates - Carbonates contain carbonate (CO3) combined
with some other element. Calcite is a mineral made from
carbonate and calcium.
 Halides - Halides contain a halogen element as the main

element. Table salt (NaCl) is a halide mineral made from the

halogen chlorine (Cl) and sodium (Na).
 Oxides - Oxides are minerals where the main element is

oxygen. Chromite is an oxide mineral made from iron,

chromium, and oxygen.

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 Sulfides - Sulfides contain sulfur and one or more metals or
semimetals. Pyrite is a sulfide made from iron and sulfur.
Native elements such as copper, gold, diamond, graphite, and
sulfur can be thought of as a third group of minerals.

2) Rocks

3) Rock Cycle

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 Rocks and the Rock Cycle

What is a rock?

A rock is a solid made up of a bunch of different minerals.

Rocks are generally not uniform or made up of exact structures
that can be described by scientific formulas. Scientists generally
classify rocks by how they were made or formed. There are
three major types of rocks: Metamorphic, Igneous, and
Sedimentary.

 Metamorphic Rocks - Metamorphic rocks are formed by

great heat and pressure. They are generally found inside the
Earth's crust where there is enough heat and pressure to form
the rocks. Metamorphic rocks are often made from other types
of rock. For example, shale, a sedimentary rock, can be
changed, or metamorphosed, into a metamorphic rock such as
slate or gneiss. Other examples of metamorphic rocks include
marble, anthracite, soapstone, and schist.

 Igneous Rocks - Igneous rocks are formed by volcanoes.

When a volcano erupts, it spews out hot molten rock called
magma or lava. Eventually the magma will cool down and
harden, either when it reaches the Earth's surface or
somewhere within the crust. This hardened magma or lava is
called igneous rock. Examples of igneous rocks include basalt
and granite.

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 Sedimentary Rocks - Sedimentary rocks are formed by years
and years of sediment compacting together and becoming hard.
Generally, something like a stream or river will carry lots of
small pieces of rocks and minerals to a larger body of water.
These pieces will settle at the bottom and over a really long time
(perhaps millions of years), they will form into solid rock. Some
examples of sedimentary rocks are shale, limestone, and
sandstone.
The Rock Cycle

Rocks are constantly changing in what is called the rock cycle. It

takes millions of years for rocks to change. change from igneous
to sedimentary to metamorphic over time. Here is an example
of the rock cycle describing how a rock can

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1. Melted rock or magma is sent to the earth's surface by a
volcano. It cools and forms an igneous rock.
2. Next the weather, or a river, and other events will slowly
break up this rock into small pieces of sediment.
3. As sediment builds up and hardens over years, a sedimentary
rock is formed.
4. Slowly this sediment rock will get covered with other rocks
and end up deep in the Earth's crust.
5. When the pressure and heat get high enough, the
sedimentary rock will metamorphose into a metamorphic rock
and the cycle will start over again.

One thing to note is that rocks don't need to follow this specific
cycle. They may change from one type to another and back
again in practically any order.

Space Rocks

There are actually some rocks that come from space called
meteorites. They may have different elements or mineral make
up than a typical earth rock. Typically they are made up mostly
of iron.

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B. STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH
Layers based on composition:

 Crust
 Mantle
o Upper
o Lower
 Core

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1) Crust

The crust is the thin outer layer of the Earth where we live. Well,
it looks thin on the picture and it is thin relative to the other
layers. The crust varies from around 5km thick (in the ocean
floor) to around 70km thick (on land or called continental
crust). The continental crust is made up of rocks that consist
primarily of silica and alumina called the "sial".

2) Mantle

The next layer of the Earth is called the mantle. The mantle is
much thicker than the crust at almost 3000km deep. It's made
up of slightly different silicate rocks with more magnesium and
iron.

3) Tectonic plates

The tectonic plates are a combination of the crust and the outer
mantle, also called the lithosphere. These plates move very
slowly, around a couple of inches a year. Where the plates touch
each other is called a fault. When the plates move and the
boundaries bump up against each other it can cause
an earthquake.

4) Outer Core

The Earth's outer core is made up of iron and nickel and is very
hot (4400 to 5000+ degrees C). This is so hot that the iron and
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 nickel metals are liquid! The outer core is very important to
earth as it creates something called a magnetic field. The
magnetic field the outer core creates goes way out in to space
and makes a protective barrier around the earth that shields us
from the sun's damaging solar wind.

5) Inner Core

The Earth's inner core is made up of iron and nickel, just like
the outer core, however, the inner core is different. The inner
core is so deep within the earth that it's under
immense pressure. So much pressure that, even though it is so
hot, it is solid. The inner core is the hottest part of the Earth,
and, at over 5000 degrees C, is about as hot as the surface of the
sun
3. Layers based on behavior:

 Lithosphere
 Asthenosphere

 Mesosphere (lower mantle)

 Outer Core

 Inner Core

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 Chapter 2

Rocks-origin, formation and types (igneous,

sedimentary and metamorphic)

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Rocks-origin, formation and types (igneous,
sedimentary and metamorphic)
The three types of rocks

Igneous — they form from the cooling of magma deep inside

the earth. They often have large crystals (you can see them with
the naked eye).

Metamorphic — they are formed through the change

(metamorphosis) of igneous and sedimentary rocks. They can
form both underground and at the surface.

Sedimentary — they are formed through the solidification of

sediment. They can be formed from organic remains (such as
limestone), or from the cementing of other-rocks.

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 1. Igneous Rocks

Figure 1 Lava is the extrusive equivalent of magma

Magma is the heart of any igneous rock. Magma is composed

of a mixture of molten or semi-molten rock, along with gases
and other volatile elements. As go deeper underground, the
temperature rises; go further and you’ll eventually reach
the Earth’s mantle — a huge layer of solid rock surrounding the
Earth’s core .

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As we know, when magma cools, it turns into rock; if it cools
while still underground at high temperatures (but at
temperatures still lower than that of the magma), the cooling
process will be slow, giving crystals time to develop. That’s why
we see rocks such as granite with big crystals — the magma had
time to cool off. The crystals are also differentiated, see below.

Figure 2 Note the white, almost rectangular

feldspar crystals, the grey virtually shapeless
quartz crystals, and the black crystals, which can
be either black mica or amphibole

However, if the magma erupts or is cooled rapidly, we instead

get a volcanic rock –– not really igneous, but also originating
from lava. The classical example here is basalt, which can have
many small crystals or very few large ones. Volcanic rocks are
also called extrusive igneous rocks, as opposed to intrusive
igneous rocks. Some volcanic rocks (like obsidian) don’t have
any crystals at all.

Not all magma is made equally: different magmas can have

different chemical compositions, different quantities of gases
and different temperature — and different types of magma
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 make different types of rocks. That’s why you get incredible
variety. There are over 700 hundred types of igneous rocks, and
they are generally the hardest and heaviest of all rocks.
However, volcanic rocks can be incredibly lightweight ––
pumice, for example, can even float, and was called by ancient
sailors ―the foam of the sea‖. Pumice is created when a volcano
violently erupts, creating pockets of air in the rock. The most
common types of igneous rocks are:
 andesite  diorite

basalt  nepheline

 obsidian
 dacite
 scoria
 dolerite (also called diabase)
 tuff
 gabbro  volcanic bomb

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 1) Metamorphic Rocks
These are rocks that underwent a metamorphosis; they
changed. They were either sedimentary or igneous (or
even metamorphic), and they changed so much, that they
are fundamentally different from the initial rock.

There are two types of metamorphism (change)

that can cause this:
 contact metamorphism (or thermal
metamorphism) — rocks are so close to magma that
they start to partially melt and change their properties.
Such as recrystallization, fusing between crystals and a lot
of other chemical reactions. Temperature is the main
driver here.

 regional metamorphism (or dynamic

metamorphism) — this typically happens when rocks
are deep underground and they are subjected to massive
pressure — so much so that they often become elongated,
destroying the original features. Pressure (often times with
temperature) is the main driver here.

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 Metamorphic rocks can have crystals and minerals from
the initial rocks as well as new minerals resulting from the
metamorphosis process. However, some minerals are clear
indicators of a metamorphic process. Among these, the
most usual ones are garnet, chlorite, and kyanite.
Equally as significant are changes in the chemical
environment that result in two metamorphic processes:
mechanical dislocation (the rock or some minerals are
physically altered) and chemical recrystallization (when
the temperature and pressure changes, some crystals
aren’t stable, causing them to change into other crystals).

They can be divided into many categories, but they are

typically split into:
 Foliated metamorphic rocks — pressure squeezes or
elongates the crystals, resulting in a clear
preferential alignment.

 Non-foliated metamorphic rocks — the crystals have

no preferential alignment. Some rocks, such as marble (the
metamorphosed version of limestone), are made of
minerals that simply don’t elongate, no matter how much
stress we apply. Metamorphic rocks can form in different
conditions, in different temperatures (up to 200 °C) and
pressures (up to 1500 bars). By
being buried deep enough for a
long enough time, a rock will
become metamorphic. They can
form from tectonic processes such
as continental collisions, which
cause horizontal pressure, friction
and distortion; they can also form

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 when the rock is heated up by the intrusion of magma
from the Earth’s interior.
The most common metamorphic rocks are:
 eclogite  phyllite
 gneiss  quartzite
 hornfels  serpentinite
 marble  slate
 migmatite

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 2) Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary rocks are named as such because they were
once sediment. Sediment is a naturally occurring material
that is broken down by the processes of weathering and
erosion and is subsequently naturally transported (or not).
Sedimentary rocks form through the deposition of
material at the Earth’s surface and within bodies of water.

Sedimentary rocks are quite difficult to classify, as they

have several different defining qualities (the chemical
make-up, the sedimentation process,
organic/inorganic material), but the most common
classification is the following:

 Clastic sedimentary rocks — small rock fragments

(many silicates) that were transported and deposited by
fluids (water, bed flows). These rocks are further
classified by the size and composition of the clastic crystals
included in the sedimentary rocks (most often quartz,
feldspar, mica and clay).

 Conglomerates (and
breccias) — conglomerates
are predominantly composed
of rounded gravel, while
breccias are composed of
angular (sharper) gravel.

 Sandstones — as the name says, it’s a rock made from

many-sand-sized minerals and rock grains. The most
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 dominant mineral in sandstone is quartz because it is the
most common mineral in the Earth’s surface crust.

Figure 3 An old, red sandstone.

 Mudrocks — they’re rocks made from solidified mud.

They typically contain very fine particles and are
transported as suspended particles by turbulent flow in
water or air, depositing once the flow settles.

 Biochemical rocks — most limestone on the face of the

Earth comes from biological sources. In other words, most
limestone we see today comes from the skeletons of

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 organisms such as corals, mollusks, and foraminifera.
Coal is another example of biochemical rock.
 chemical rocks — these rocks include gypsum and salt
(halite) and are formed mostly through water evaporation

Figure 4 Yes, salt is a mineral — and it can be quite

beautiful. In this context, it’s called halite and can
be classified as a sedimentary rock
.
There are also other types of specific sedimentary rocks —
for example, the ones formed in hot springs. Most of the
solid surface of our planet (roughly 70%) is represented by
sedimentary rocks, but if you go deep enough beneath the
Earth’s surface, there are plenty of igneous and
metamorphic rocks to be found.
As we mentioned with biochemical rocks, fossils can
become rocks in time. we can actually have entire
mountains made up from reefs like you can see below.

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 This entire mountain in Romania was formed based on a
coral reef. Image via MP Interactiv
Some common sedimentary rocks are:
 argillite  limestone
 breccia  gypsum
 chalk  greywacke
 chert  mudstone
 claystone  shale
 coal  siltstone
 conglomerate  turbidite
 dolomite

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