EES 150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Silicate Minerals, Continental Crust, Metamorphic Rock

• School: University of Kentucky
• Department: Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Course: EES 150
• Professor: rebeccal.freeman

Document Summary

Lecture 2: our restless planet: structure, energy, & The earth is mostly composed of iron, oxygen, and silicon. Minerals are solid substances of specific chemical composition, with atoms arranged in orderly pattern. There are 3 main types of rocks that form via the rock the rock cycle. The rock cycle is the way one type of rock turns into another, depending on circumstances. The earth"s density is 5. 5 g/cm3, while rocks at the surface average about 2. 5 g/cm. Continental crust is less dense but thicker than oceanic crust. Continental crust is less dense and thick, it is comparable to man iceberg. Only a small portion of continental crust is above sea level (if any), it is actually much thicker than just a few km. Silicate minerals have siox in their chemicaln formulas. The tetrahedron can link up in various ways to form various minerals. The mantle is below the crust to a depth of 2900km.