Study of rocks

Study of igneous rocks

Materials:
Granite, syenite, diorite, basalt, quartz porphyry, obsidian, andesite,
trachyte or pegmatite
Binocular magnifying glass
Drawing paper
Pens and erasers
It would be advisable that the rocks under study should be polished and it is also
important to remind them the concept of petrofabric.
The students have to observe the above mentioned rocks using the binocular
magnifying glass. After that, they have to draw, in detail/as exactly as possible, the
grains of the rock, and to guess if they are cemented together. The students will have
to mention the coloration and if they are dealing with an acid or basic rock. They also
have to compare the results with the patterns of known igneous rocks.

Study of sedimentary rocks

Material
Conglomerates, sand, clays, sandstone, a 10% HCL solution
Binocular magnifying glass
Pencils, erasers
Drawing paper
The students have to observe one of the rocks, for instance, a conglomerate, and
then they have to:
Mention whether it is a pudding stone or a breccia
Mention where it originated
Describe how it was transported
Mention the origin of the clastic1 elements
Mention the origin of the cement (they have to use the HCL solution)
1Clastic elements made up of fragments of preexisting rocks

Study of a sandstone
They have to place a sample in the binocular magnifying glass and to compare
the sand from the beach, with the sand of a river bed and with the one from a littoral
dune.
They will have to analyze the shape and roundness of the grains, the origin of the
clastic elements, organic remains, etc,
They will have to write a report mentioning:
Place of origin
Grain characteristics
Sizes
Shapes
Roundness
Percentage of grains of each type
Percentage of grains remaining after being treated with HCL solution
Similar activities can be carried out with other metamorphic rocks such as slate,
schist, mica schist, gneiss and marble.
After that, the students will have to write a report mentioning:
Composition
Structure
Rock texture
Type of metamorphism

Sedimentology
The aim of this activity is to obtain the fractions of a deposit so we can get
information about
Type of materials
Origin
Means of transportation
Material deposit

Materials
Caliber
Compasses
Metallic barbed brush
An infrared lamp
Graph paper
Pens and erasers
It would be better if the measurements were always carried out by the same
student. The class should be divided into small groups.
How to obtain samples
The students will use a variable size frame of reference over the stratum from
which we want to take samples. From the part of the stratum within the frame, we will
take between 300 and 400 different size clasts.
It is advisable to get the samples from a stratum or to get them from a specific
geologic period or from a deposit of a specific period and with the same origin ( a river
terrace or beach) if we want to study old sediments, or sediments from a river bed or
continental base plate if the study is about younger areas.
Preliminary steps
All the samples are filtered using a sieve so that fractions smaller to 2mm
diameter can go through it. The remaining samples in the sieve will be handed out to
the different groups.
Now our students will have to wash them so that the samples are free from all
the sand they may have. If it is necessary they can use the metallic barbed brush so
they are as clean as possible.
Once this is done, they are dried using an infrared lamp. It is important not to
exceed 102C as it may produce calcinations.
Lithologic study
Once the clasts have been dried, the following measures will be carried out using a
caliber.
Maximum length which will be called M (measured in millimeters)
Maximum width which will be called m (measured in millimeters)
Maximum width perpendicular to the plane of the above mentioned
dimensions, which will be called G (also expressed in millimeters).

Using only the M values of the different clastic materials, our students will
complete a chart as the one shown below:
Percentages of M values
Clasts
Quartz
Silex
Granite
Gneiss
Dolomite
Caliche
Sandsto
ne

2mm %

3 mm %

4 mm %

5 mm%

6 mm %

7 mm %

In order to know the origin of the clasts, we can carry out different trials I in order
to be completely sure.
On a graph paper, several percentage curves can be drawn about the sizes of
each one of the materials. If there are not many, they can even be drawn overlapped
Using the results of this study and our general knowledge on bed stratum/layers
or the place from where the clasts that formed the deposit come from, we could
speculate on a theory about its formation.

Erosion rate
This rate will be called R, which makes reference to the polishing degree due to
different processes such as dragging or rolling of the sediments.
Our students will draw the shape of the clasts as exactly as possible following
different techniques, such as freeform or using a microscope or a magnifying glass with
camera lucida or any other technique. All drawings will be based on a known scale.
We have already got the maximum M length, so now we have to determine, as
exactly as possible, the smallest radius of the curve, which will be called r.
With all this information we will have the following equation:
R=2r/M
Finding the results on a large number of samples, a graph can be drawn. We will
use the R results on the x-axis and the percentage on the y-axis. In this way, we will get
the highest proportion of the erosion coefficient.
Level rate

This rate will be called A, and its equation is:

A=M+m/G
(M, m and G have already been mentioned above)
Then our students will draw a graphic using A results in the x-axis and the
percentages in the y-axis. After that, our students can use Cailleus chart that -for
caliche clants- is as follows:

A
Rendzina soil
Terminal moraine
Glacier river
Hot-mild river
Beaches
Lake beaches
Periclacial river

1,7-1,9
1,6-1,8
1,7-2
1,4-2
2,3-3,8
2-3,1
2,5-5