ROCKS

DR SUMAYYAH AIMI MOHD NAJIB

 INTRODUCTION: ROCKS AND LANDFORMS

ROCKS:
● Any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of
minerals or mineraloid matter.
● It is categorized by the materials included, its chemical
composition and the way in which it is formed.

LANDFORMS:
● A features on the Earth’s surface that is part of the
terrain.
● Landforms make the shape of the land and can be all
different shapes and sizes.

(Rock structure affects landforms because different types of

rocks are worn down by erosion at different rates)
 3 Types of Rocks

There are 3
different types
Igneous

of rocks:
• Igneous
• Sedimentary Metamorphic Sedimentary

• Metamorphic
 TYPES OF ROCKS
Rocks are divided into 3 group based on how they were formed:

Igneous Metamorphic Sedimentary

Type of igneous rock: Types of metamorphic rocks: Formed by the accumulation
o Intrusive o Foliated
o Extrusive
of sediment
o Non-foliated

3 basic types:
o Clastic sedimentary rocks
o Chemical sedimentary
rocks
o Organic sedimentary rocks
 Igneous Rock
Igneous rocks are formed by magma and lava as it cools.
Igneous rocks form in two different ways.

– Rock that comes from lava cools very fast and can
either be very light and airy or the rocks can be
glassy.

– Rocks that come from magma are formed under

ground. They are often times very hard and have
more colors.
 Sedimentary Rock
• Sedimentary rock is made when
sediments (sand, gravel, and dirt) are
pressed together over time and become a
rock
• Sedimentary rock is formed in layers.
 Sedimentary rocks
• Deposition- the process of dropping
sediments onto a new place
• Compaction- pressing down on that first
layer of sediment, pushing most of the air
and water out of it, pushing the particles
closer together
• Cementation-loose sediemnts are glued
together by natural glues like calcite and
silica
• Fossils-remains of plants or animals that
lived a long time ago or the evidence of them
 1. CLASTIC SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SILSTONE
• Composed mainly of silt-size
particles.
• Forms where water, wind or ice
deposit silt and silt is then
compacted and cemented into
a rock.
• Used as a low quality fill.
SANDSTONE
• Composed of sand-size
grains of mineral, rock or
organic material.
• It is also containing a
cementing material that binds
the sand together.
BRECCIA
• Composed of large angular
fragment.
• Form where broken, angular
fragments of rock or mineral
debris accumulate.
• Can be in any colour.
 2. CHEMICAL SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
o Chemical sedimentary rocks form as a result of chemical weathering dissolving chemicals
and transporting it in solution.

o These dissolved chemicals change back into a solid through the processes of precipitation
and evaporation.

o Example: Halite, gypsum, limestone, chert, iron ore, flint, dolomite

Rock salt (Halite) Rock gypsum Limestone

-forms from dried up saltwater -forms in lagoons where ocean -forms at the bottom of the
lake (evaporation) waters high in calcium and ocean from the precipitation of
sulfate content slowly calcium carbonate.
evaporate
"The Dolomites“, a mountain range in
northeastern Italy and part of the Italian
Alps. Bahamas Platform
where active limestone
formation occurs
today.
Source: NASA
 3. ORGANIC SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
Organic sedimentary rocks form when parts of plants and animals decay
in the ground, leaving behind biological material that is compressed and
becomes rock.
Examples : chalk, coal, diatomite, some dolomites, and
some limestones.

Limestone forms at the Coal is a sedimentary rock formed over

bottom of the ocean millions of years from compressed plants.
from the precipitation of
calcium carbonate and
the remains of marine
animals with shells.
METAMORPHIC ROCK
 Metamorphic Rock
• Metamorphic rocks are made from other
rocks.
• Heat and pressure help change an igneous
or sedimentary rock into a new kind of
rock (think about how a caterpillar
becomes a butterfly)
 PROCESS OF METAMORPHISM
• The process of metamorphism does not melt the rocks, but
instead transforms them into denser, more compact rocks.

• Pressure or temperature can even change previously

metamorphosed rocks into new types.

Pressure, Denser, more

temperature compact rocks, more
increases high grade rocks are
formed
PROCESS OF METAMORPHISM

Source : http://www.geologyin.com/2017/12/regional-metamorphism.html
How is metamorphic rock formed
FOLIATED VS NON-FOLIATED ROCKS
Foliated Rocks
• Strongly banded or foliated
• Foliated means the parallel
arrangement of certain mineral
grains that gives the rock a
striped appearance
• Pressure squeezes the flat or
elongate minerals within a rock
so they become aligned.
Non-Foliated Rocks
• Do not have a platy or sheet-like
structure
• Rocks, such as limestone are
made of minerals that are not
flat or elongate. No matter how
much pressure you apply, the
grains will not align
FOLIATED VS NON-FOLIATED (PHYSICAL APPEARANCE)