Department of Civil Engineering

CEG1312
GEOLOGY
WEEK - 03

Course Instructor: Engr. Naseem Ali

naseemali441@gmail.com

Capital University of Science & Technology,

Islamabad
Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

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Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

Rocks
• A rock is any solid mass of mineral or mineral-like matter that
occurs naturally as part of our planet.
• Minerals are substances that are formed naturally in the Earth.
• Minerals are usually solid, inorganic, have a crystal structure, and form naturally
by geological processes.
• A mineral can be made of single chemical element or more usually a compound.
• There are over 4,000 types of known minerals. Two common minerals are quartz
and feldspar.

• Quartz

• Feldspar

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Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

Rocks
• Most rocks occur as solid mixtures of minerals.
• Some rocks are composed of only one mineral.
• A characteristic of rock is that each component mineral retains
their properties in the mixture e.g. Granite
• Some rocks are composed of non-mineral matter e.g. Coal
(organic material)

Coal

Granite 4
Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

The Rock Cycle

• The rock cycle is a basic concept in geology that describes the
time-consuming transitions through geologic time among the three
main rock types: sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous
• An igneous rock such as basalt may break down and dissolve
when exposed to the atmosphere, or melt as it is subducted under
a continent.
• Due to the driving forces of the rock cycle, plate tectonics and the
water cycle, rocks do not remain in equilibrium and are forced to
change as they encounter new environments.

• The rock cycle is an illustration that explains how the three rock
types are related to each other, and how processes change from
one type to another over time. This cyclical aspect makes rock
change a geologic cycle and, on planets containing life, a
biogeochemical cycle.
Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups
Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

In Conclusion…
• The rock cycle demonstrates
the relationships among the
three major rock groups
• It is powered by the interior
heat of the Earth
• As well as earth’s
momentum and the energy
from the sun
• It involves processes on the
Earth’s surface as well as
the Earth’s interior
• It connects the “hydrologic
cycle” with the “tectonic
cycle”.

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Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

Major Rock Groups

• Igneous
• Formed from a melt (molten rock)i.e. Magma or Lava
• Plutonic (intrusive):slow cooling and crystallization
• Volcanic (extrusion): quick cooling at the surface
• Sedimentary
• Deposition of broken down minerals, rocks, or organic matter that is
hardened, cemented or compressed into rock. Formed at the Earth’s
surface
• Clastic (Mineral Fragments or grains, clays)(Mechanical weathering)
• Chemical (Crystalline chemical/biochemical precipitates) (Chemical
weathering)
• Metamorphic
• Changed by pressure, temperature and fluids. rocks that are chemically
different from their parent material.

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Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

Igneous Rocks

The word igneous comes from the Latin

word ignis, which means “fire.”

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Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

Magma Formation
• Four major factors that affect the formation of magma
are:
• Temperature-different types of rocks melt at different temperatures (increases
with depth)
• Pressure-the greater the pressure, the higher the melting point (increases with
depth)
• Water Content-the addition of water tends to lower the melting point of most
rocks
• Mineral Content-different minerals melt at different temperatures
• Silica content affects melting temperature and
also impacts how quickly magma flows.

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Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

Geothermal Gradient
• Major processes contributing heat

• heat from when the planet formed and accreted,

which has not yet been lost

• frictional heating, caused by denser core material

sinking to the center of the planet; and

• heat from the decay of radioactive elements;

uranium (U), thorium (Th), and potassium (K)

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Lecture:03

For rocks to melt, the right

combination of temperature,
pressure, and composition must
be present.

In general, oceanic crust is rich in iron and

magnesium and therefore melts at higher
temperatures than continental crust, which
contains higher levels of silicon and aluminum.

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Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

Types of Igneous Structures

Intrusive Structures
Extrusive Structures

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Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

Igneous Rock
• Extrusive Igneous
• Intrusive Igneous Rocks-
Rocks- • forms on the surface
• forms beneath the of the earth:
earth’s surface/ • Volcanic Neck; Lava
underground: Plateau/field; Ash
• Batholiths; Stock;
Laccoliths; Sills and
Dikes

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Fig. 6.02
W. W. Norton
Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

Intrusive
Granite

(large crystals)

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Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

Extrusive
Basalt

(small crystals
+
glass)

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Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

Igneous Rock Samples

Extrusive Lava Flow- Intrusive Granite –

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Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups
Igneous rocks

Intrusive or extrusive ???

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Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

Intrusive or extrusive?

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Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups

Slow or fast cooling?

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Lecture: 03 Rocks – Origin & Major Groups