SCI 285 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Metamorphic Rock, Phyllite, Metamorphism
Document Summary
Purpose: this lab will acquaint you with the metamorphic rocks, and their conditions of formation. Goals: identifying metamorphic rocks, understanding the importance of foliation, and identifying key minerals used to infer the conditions of formation of a metamorphic rock, and understanding the tectonic settings of metamorphic rocks. You will be quizzed on these at the beginning of the next lab period. Discussion: metamorphic rocks are pre-existing rocks that have been altered by heat and pressure to make new rocks. Metamorphism breaks chemical bonds, forms new minerals, and often aligns those minerals. Metamorphic rocks can be broken down into two basic types; foliated and unfoliated. Foliation is the layers of aligned minerals found in some rocks. The foliated rocks and selected images (copyright e. tarbuck, 2000) are as follows: Slate is a finely layered metamorphic rock with grain size too small to be seen by the unaided eye. It can be distinguished from shale by its greater hardness.
