EES 1030 Study Guide - Final Guide: Convergent Boundary, Continental Crust, Sedimentary Rock

• School: University of Iowa
• Department: Earth & Environmental Sciences
• Course: EES 1030
• Professor: Adrain Jonathan

Document Summary

*the earth is around 4. 5 billion years old. The earth as a system is powered by energy from earth"s interior and energy from the sun (solar energy). Solar energy is the main source of energy for all external processes. Igneous rocks are formed by the cooling and solidification of magma. The three components of magma are the melt (liquid), silicate materials (solids), and gases (volatiles). Igneous rocks are classified by texture, types of minerals, and chemical composition. Polymorphic minerals have the same chemical composition but different crystalline structures. An example of polymorphic minerals is a diamond and graphite, since both are made from carbon. Texture indicates the cooling rate of igneous rocks, where the larger the crystals, the longer the cooling time. Igneous rocks are catagorized in aphanitic, phaneritic, porphyritic, pegmatic, pyroclastic, and vesicular textures. Aphanitic rocks have crystals too small to see with the naked eye. Phaneritic rocks are course grained and have a slow cooling rate.