Types of Rocks and Minerals
Rocks are made out of minerals, but minerals are not made out of rocks. A mineral is an inorganic solid that has a definite crystalline structure and is naturally formed. Minerals are made up of elements. Elements are pure substances that can not be separated or broken down into smaller substances by chemical means. Is it a nonliving material? Is it a solid? Does it have a crystalline structure? Is it formed in nature? These are all questions to ask if something is a mineral. There are two groups of minerals, and they are silicate and non-silicate. Silicate minerals are minerals that contain a combination of silicon and oxygen; more than 90% of the earth's crust is made up of silicate minerals. There are three common silicate minerals, and they are quartz, feldspar, and mica. Non-silicate minerals are minerals that do not contain a combination of silicon and oxygen. The six classes of non-silicate minerals are native elements (copper), carbonates (calcite), halides (fluorite), oxides (corundum), sulfates (gypsum), and sulfides (galena). Igneous rock, sedimentary rock, and metamorphic rock are the three types of rocks. There are three different textures for sedimentary rock; they are fine-grained (siltstone, medium-grained (sandstone), and coarse-grained (conglomerate). Igneous rocks form from magma. If a igneous rock is felsic and coarse-grained it would be granite. If an igneous rock was felsic and fine-grained it would be rhyolite. If an igneous rock was mafic and coarse-grained it would be gabbro, but if it was mafic and fine-grained it would be basalt. Metamorphic rocks go through a process. After they undergo metamorphism sedimentary rock, goes to slate, goes to phyllite, turns to schist, last it goes to gneiss.
(Information from: Holt Science and Technology book. Pictures from: http://www.chatt.hdsb.ca/~clarkee/?OpenItemURL=S0F630707 and http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Extension/KGSrocks.html
(Information from: Holt Science and Technology book. Pictures from: http://www.chatt.hdsb.ca/~clarkee/?OpenItemURL=S0F630707 and http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Extension/KGSrocks.html