Transcript Rocks
Rocks
• Rock is the hard material that makes up the
earth’s crust.
• Rock is made up of various minerals that
are held together by a natural cement.
• There are three groups of rocks.
Rock Groups
• Igneous (Latin word
for fire)
• Sedimentary (made
up of sediments)
• Metamorphic
(changed from heat or
pressure)
Igneous Rocks
• Formed from volcanic activity.
• Molten magma cooled
• Two most common igneous rocks are
GRANITE and BASALT.
• Granite is fromed when the magma cools in
the earth’s surface.
• Basalt is formed when lava cools on the
earth’s surface.
granite
GRANITE MOUNTAIN
HOW WAS GRANITE
FORMED?
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GRANITE WAS FORMED WHEN MAGMA FORCED ITS WAY INTO
THE CRUST.
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IT COOLED VERY SLOWLY OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS ALLOWING
LARGE CRYSTALS TO FORM ON IT
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IT VARIES IN COLOUR FROM GREY OR BLACK TO PINK IN COLOUR
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IT IS ROUGH AND HARD TO TOUCH
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WE USE IF FOR:
BUILDINGS, MONUMENTS, FIREPLACES AND HEADSTONES
WE CAN FIND IT IN THE MOURNE AND WICKLOW MOUNTAINS
BASALT ROCK
GIANTS CAUSEWAY
COUNTY ANTRIM
HOW WAS BASALT FORMED
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Basalt was formed when lava cooled very quickly (it hits the cold air) and
solidified.
• It has tiny crystals in it but these cannot be seen by the naked eye.
These crystals are tiny because the rock cooled so fast.
• Basalt is smooth to touch and quite hard. It is waterproof
• It varies in colour from black to grey
• It can be found in the Giants Causeway in Antrim
• It is used in road surfacing
Sedimentary Rocks
• Formed from the sediments (remains) of
other rocks, plants and animals that
gathered at the bottom of rivers, seas and
lakes
• Over time, they were compressed and
cemented to form rocks.
• The two most common sedimentary rocks
are LIMESTONE AND SANDSTONE.
LIMESTONE
LIMESTONE WITH FOSSILS
CHALK=PURE LIMESTONE
HOW WAS LIMESTONE
FORMED?
• Limestone was formed on the beds of
shallow rivers, seas when the skeletons of
sea creatures, fish and shells collected there
over millions of years
• The weight of the overlying sea compressed
and cemented the skeletons into Limestone
• We can still see the tiny skeletons preserved
in rocks today
What does Limestone look like?
It varies in colour from white to dark grey
It is a smooth, medium hard rock
It is permeable(allows water to pass through
it) and it is not waterproof.
Rainwater will dissolve limestone
Limestone is used to make cement
Farmers use limestone to improve the soils
fertility
Sandstone
How was sandstone formed?
• Sandstone was formed when large amounts of sand were
worn away from the surface of the earth.
• Wind and rivers transported and deposited the sand on the
beds of lakes and rivers
• Over millions of years this built up into sandstone
So what does it look like?
• It is rough to touch and medium hard
• It is not waterproof (water can pass through it). This means
it is permeable. Do not remember!
• It varies in colour from brown to red and is used as
building materials. It is also used for paving slabs in
driveways
• It is found in the mountains of munstermagillicuddy reeks, the galtees and the Comeraghs
Metamorphic Rocks
• Formed from rocks that already exist.
• Igneous and sedimentary rocks are changed
into new, harder rocks by great heat or
pressure.
• The most common examples are
QUARTZITE, SCHIST and MARBLE.
Quartzite
(sandstone = quartzite)
• Metamorphic rock
• Formed from sandstone.
• Extremely hard and varies from white to
grey.
• Used in road chippings and watches.
• Often forms part of the peaks of Irish
mountains such as the Sugar Loaf in Co.
Wicklow and Croagh Patrick in Co. Mayo.
Marble
limestone = marble
• When magma forces its way upwards into a
body of limestone, it puts it under great heat
and pressure.
• This changes it into Marble
• Marble is white but can be red or green
• It is used in fireplaces, kitchens,
gravestones and ornaments
• We can find it in Cork and Connemara
marble
Marble
Homework from workbook page 9
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1. name the 3 rock groups: Sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rock
(b) How are they classified? Rocks are classified according to their colour,
mineral content, hardness and texture
2. identify one type of igneous rock
Rock type: Basalt
Description: dark grey to black, smooth to touch and quite hard
How formed: it was formed when lava cooled very quickly outside the
volcano.
Location in Ireland: Giants Causeway-Antrim
Rock type: Granite
How was it formed: when molten magma made its way up towards the crust, it
cooled very slowly to form granite.
Description: black or grey to pink. It is rough and hard to touch
Location in Ireland: Co Wicklow
Identify one type of sedimentary rock…either sandstone or limestone
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Rock type: limestone
How formed: it was formed from the skeletons of small sea creatures that
collected at the bottom of rivers and lakes over millions of years. They were
compacted together with the weight of the water to form Limestone
Description: white to grey. It is not waterproof
Location in ireland: Burren- Co Clare
Benefit to people: used as fertiliser, in buildings and in monuments
Identify one type of metamorphic rock…marble or quartzite
• Rock type: marble
• Description: white in colour but can be green or pink. It contains
crystals
• How formed: when magma forced its way into the crust, it met with
limestone and because of the great heat and pressure, it changed the
limestone into Marble
• Uses: headstones, fireplaces and ornaments
Resources from the earth
• What are Natural Resources? Something that
occurs in nature and is of value to people
• Natural resources include
1. Coal: formed from dead plants. Found in coal fields. Used for heating
2. Gas: Found in oil fields. Used for heating, cooking
3. Oil: formed from dead plant and animals. Found under trapped under
rocks. Used for Paraffin, petrol, diesel. By-products used in fertiliser,
medicine, plastic, soap and perfume
4.Uranium (used in metal, steel, atomic bombs)
Copper, lead, zinc, diamonds, gold, silver
Natural resources = “use it – you lose it”
Extracting Resources
• Three ways of extracting resources:
• Mining = when rocks/mineral are near the surface of earth
• Quarrying = for rocks/minerals close to surface of earth
• Drilling= when oil/gas is underground
• Shaft Mining – Takes place underground with tunnels leading
down to the mine
• Open Cast mining – Takes place on the surface. Used for
mining Coal
• Quarrying – removes rocks such as limestone for use in
building
• Drilling – Used for extracting Oil
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Disadvantages of extracting natural resources
Look at the diagram on page 23 of your books
• Open Cast Mining?
• Shaft Mining?
• Drilling?