What is Geology?

Is the study of the Earth, the materials of

which it is made, the structure of those
materials and the processes acting upon
them. It includes the study of organisms
that have inhabited our planet.
 Minerals
Are the building blocks of rocks.
Minerals that are common and abundant on
Earths crust are known as rock-forming
minerals.
 Minerals

To determine if an Earths mineral is a mineral, it must

have the following characteristics.
Naturally-occurring
Inorganic
Solid
Crystalline Structure
Can be represented by a chemical formula.
 Is Pearl a Mineral?
It is a composite of the mineral Aragonite
(calcium carbonate) and an organic compound
Conchiolin, which is a protein. The combination of
these is called a Nacre.
Pearl is often considered a gemstone, although IT
IS NOT A MINERAL.
 Properties of Minerals
Optical Properties:

Luster- The quality of light that is being

reflected by the surface of a mineral.
Metallic Luster- Minerals that look like metals and are shiny.
Submetallic Luster- Dull coating and shiny.
Nonmetallic Luster- glassy, earthy, pearly or greasy.

Light Transmission
Opaque- Light that strikes the object does not pass through.
Translucent- Some of the light passes through.
Transparent- Almost all the light will completely pass through.
 Properties of Minerals

Color- Easiest to identify. Considered as unreliable.

Streak- Color of mineral in its powdered form. Can
be obtained by rubbing the mineral across a plate
or a piece of unglazed porcelain.
Mineral Strength- Determines how easy the mineral breaks or deforms when exposed to
stress.

Tenacity- Resistance to breaking or deformity.

Brittle, malleable, sectile or elastic.

Hardness- Resistance to abrasion or scratching.

Freidrich Mohs Scale of Hardness.
Talc to Diamond.
Specific Gravity- measurement of Minerals density.
 Properties of Minerals
Cleavage- Exhibited when a mineral breaks and smooth flat
surfaces are formed.
Cleavage in one direction- Muscotive
In two directions- Feldspar
In three directions- Halite
In four directions- Calcite
Fracture- Exhibited when a mineral does not have a cleavage
plane. This is due to strong chemical bonds existing between
atoms of the mineral.
 Birthstones

Month Stone Month Stone

January Garnet July Ruby

February Amethyst August Peridot/

Sardonyx/
Spinel
March Aquamarine September Sapphire

April Diamond October Tourmaline/

Opal
May Emerald November Topaz

June Pearl/ December Tanzanite/

Alexandrite Zircon/
Turquoise
 Rocks
Rock- aggregate of one or more minerals.
Organic or inorganic substance having an
orderly atomic structure, a definite chemical
composition and physical properties.
3 Major Rocks
Igneous
Sedimentary
Metamorphic
 Igneous Rocks

Comes from the latin word Ignis which means

fire.
Came from Magma and Lava.
Are called primary rocks.
When magma cools and solidifies, Igneous
rocks are formed.
When magma solidifies at the surface of the
Earths crust- Extrusive Igneous Rock. (basalt
and obsidium)
 Igneous Rocks

When magma solidifies beneath the surface

of the Earths crust- Intrusive Igneous Rock
(Granite)
Classification based on texture:
Sudden cooling at great depths gives large
mineral grains. (batholith, xenolith and
pluton)
Sudden cooling at the surface gives small
and smooth grains. (dike, sill and lacolith)
Do not contain fossils.
 Sedimentary Rocks

From the Latin word Sedimentum

which means Settling Down.
Fragments of rocks, sediments
tranported and deposited by different
exogenous agents, turn into rock
through compaction, this process is
called Lithification.
 Sedimentary Rocks

Depending on the modes of formation there

are three major groups:
Mechanically formed- sandstone,
conglomerate, limestone and shale.
Organically formed- chalk, limestone and
coal.
Chemically formed- chert, limestone
halite, potash, etc.
Types of Chemical/ Biochemical Rocks
Carbonate Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks
Siliceous Rocks
Evaporites
 Metamorphic Rocks

Means change of form.

Formed under the action of pressure, volume
and temperature.
Consolidated rocks undergo recrystallization
and reorganization within original rocks.
Kinds of Metamorphism
Dynamic Metamorphism
Mechanical disruption and
reorganization without any appreciable
chemical change.
 Metamorphic Rocks
Thermal Metamorphism
Chemical alteration and recrystallization.
Two Types
Contact Metamorphism- Rocks come in
contact with hot intruding magma and
lava and the rock materials recrystallizes
under high temperature.
 Metamorphic Rocks
Regional Metamorphism- Rocks undergo
recrystallization due to deformation
caused by tectonic shearing. Together
with high pressure or temperature or
both.
 Pangaea

o Was a supercontinent that existed

during the late Paleozoic and
early Mesozoic eras.
o In contrast to the present Earth
and its distribution of continental
mass, much was in the southern
hemisphere and surrounded by a
superocean, Panthalassa.
 Pangaea

o Was the last supercontinent to

have existed and the first to be
reconstructed by geologists.
o Formulated by a German
Geophysicist, Alfred Wegener.
 Alfred Wegener
Was a German polar researcher,
geophysicist and meteorologist.
Was known for his work on the continental
drift theory.
In efforts to defend his work, he went to
Greenland ice sheet where he died.
He was the pioneer of the Continental Drift
Theory.
 Continental Drift Theory

Generally, this theory was about the

horizontal or lateral movement of the
continents.
Continents have drifted around the world
and have once formed a giant landmass
or supercontinent known as Pangaea.
Wegener pointed out the coastlines South
America and Africa seem to fit together.
 Continental Drift Theory
He also pointed out the presence of
mountain ranges having similar rock types
and age but separated by vast oceans.
Biological evidences were also presented
through the discovery of similar plant and
animal fossils in different continents
separated by oceans.
 Continental Drift Theory
Climatic evidence shows that a
glacial period occurred during the
late Paleozoic era in Southern Africa,
South America, Australia and India.
 Continental Drift Theory

Wegener was unable to identify a

credible mechanism that drives the
Continental Drift Theory.
Scientists began to accept the theory
when new evidences supporting the
theory was discovered.
The Plate Tectonic Theory provided a
more convincing explanation as to how
the continents moves.
 Plate Tectonics Theory
The evidence that paved the way for this theory
was the idea of wandering poles.
When volcanic rocks crystallize, minerals with
magnetic properties align themselves parallel to
Earths magnetic field.
Geophysicists found out that rocks from various
locations pointed to different magnetic north
poles.
This suggests that poles have wandered.
 Plate Tectonics Theory

This theory was further supported by the

Seafloor Spreading Hypothesis, this showed
that the ocean floor is split along the ridge
where the magma rises to form the new
ocean floor.
Continents are not moving above the ocean
floor.
Instead, it is the Lithosphere that is moving.
 Plate Tectonics Theory
Lithosphere is the rigid layer that is composed of
the uppermost mantle and the crust that carry
the continents and the ocean basins along.
Fragments of the Lithosphere are called Plates.
Asthenosphere is the weaker region underneath
the Lithosphere which behaves like a fluid.
 Plate Tectonics Theory
Thus, the Lithosphere floats above the
Asthenosphere, making it detached and
free to move. This has become the basis of
the said theory.
Sir Arthur Holmes proposed the driving
force of the plate movement. He
suggested that the movement in the
mantle carries the plates along with it.
 Plate Tectonics Theory
Earths interior is very hot due to radioactive
decay, which releases energy in the form of
heat.
The asthenosphere is kept hot and weak by
the action of convection in the mantle.
The convection currents are responsible for
the movement of the lithospheric plates.
 Geologic/Geological Dating
Is the use of chemical analysis to estimate
the age of geological specimens (e.g. rocks
and fossils).
 The Principle of
Uniformitarianism
Is the assumption that the same
natural laws and processes that
operate in the universe now have
always operated in the universe in
the past and apply everywhere in the
universe.
 The Principle of
Uniformitarianism
In geology, uniformitarianism has included
the gradualistic concept that the present
is the key to the past and is functioning at
the same rates, though many modern
geologists no longer hold to a strict
gradualism.
The Principle of Intrusive / Cross-Cutting
Relationships

This determines which events

happened first depending on which
rocks are affected. The geologic layer
that cuts another is younger than the
layer it cuts through.
 The Principle of Inclusions and Components

States that, with sedimentary rocks,

if inclusions (or clasts) are found in a
formation, then the inclusions must
be older than the formation that
contains them.
 The Principle of Original Horizontality
An undeformed sequence is the one
where the layers are still in a
horizontal position.
It states that sediments are
deposited in a horizontal plane.
The Principle of Superposition

States that the rock forms

horizontally, with the oldest
layers of rock lying at the bottom
of a formation and newer rock
resting on top. For instance, the
Kaibab Limestone at the edge of
the Grand Canyon is younger
than the Toroweap formation
below it.
 The Principle of Faunal Succession
Is based on the observation that
sedimentary rock strata contain
fossilized flora and fauna and that
these fossils succeed each other
vertically in a specific, reliable order
that can be identified over wide
horizontal distances.
 Geologic Time Scale

Using relative dating to determine

which rocks and fossils are older
were the first basis for the
geologic time scale.
Using marker fossils, scientists
were able to determine which
living organisms were
predominant at a certain time
 Geologic Time Scale

With the said methods, they were

also able to arrange rocks into a
geologic column showing the
correlation of the relative ages of
the rocks in all parts of the world.
The geologic column has
subdivisions assigned, namely,
Eons, Eras, Periods and Epochs,
respectively.
 Paleozoic Era

Literally means, Era of Old Life.

Has 7 periods, Cambrian, Ordovician,
Silurian, Devonian, Mississippian,
Pennsylvanian and Permian.
Marked by the formation of Pangaea.
Cambrian and Ordovician
Age of Invertebrates
Trilobites such as Cephalopods.
 Paleozoic Era

Silurian and Devonian

Age of fishes.
Scorpions and Millipedes.
First amphibians and seed plants.
Mississippian and Pennsylvanian
Carboniferous Period
Highest concentration of
atmospheric oxygen.
 Paleozoic Era

Large coal swamps.

Amphibians became the dominant
species.
Permian
Amphibians, reptiles and conifers.
Ended with mass extinction resulted
from the change in sea level.
 Mesozoic Era

The Age of Reptiles.

Divided into Triassic, Jurassic and
Cretaceous period.
Reptiles are the dominant
organisms.
Ended with the mass extinction of
huge reptiles including Dinosaurs.
 Mesozoic Era
Formation of modern ocean basin.
Cretaceous Period
Birds, mammals and flowering
plants.
 Cenozoic Era

The Era of Recent Life

Represents only a small portion of
geologic time.
Mammals became the dominant
species.
Also known as The Age of
Mammals.
 Cenozoic Era

Divided into Tertiary and

Quaternary period.
Most extensive rock formation
records.
It is in this period that humans
evolved.
 Proterozoic Era
Represents the time before the
proliferation of complex life on Earth.
Literally means Early Life.
Transition to an oxygenated atmosphere.
Several glaciations.
 Archean Era
Also known as the Geologic Eon.
The Earths crust had cooled enough
to allow the formation of continents.