Geo Lab 4 (Sedimentary Rocks)

1. iron

2. fertilizer

3. salt

Sedimentary rock is the source for most of our:

ions

atoms or molecules with an electrical charge

basin of deposition

the place where where solid particles are deposited

strata

layers on Earth’s surface

sediment

collection of loosely packed, unconsolidated minerals or rock fragments

sedimentary rock

sediment is buried, consolidated, and hardened to form ____ ___

weathering

the process by which rocks at the surface disintegrate or decompose; produces most of the components of sedimentary rocks

mechanical weathering

causes rocks to disintegrate into pieces or loose mineral grains

chemical weathering

chemical reactions cause the rock to decompose

size

shape

sorting

transport agents change the ___, ___, and ____ of the sedimentary rock

grain sizes

geologists have assigned specific ___ ___ to familiar words for sediments

angular

sub rounded

well rounded

relative terms such as ____, ____, and ____ describe the overall degree of roundness of sedimentary grains

sorting

the similarity in size of all grains in a rock or handful of sediment

matrix

a mass of smaller particles filling the spaces between larger grains

water

____ moves more sediment than any other transporting agent

glaciers

Moving ____ act as huge conveyor belts that carry any size particle that gets trapped in the ice

wind

____ transports only sand, silt, and clay sized particles

frosting

_____ helps to characterize sand as having been transported by wind

chemical sediments

formed when dissolved ions join together to form a solid

biochemical sediments

form through biological chemical precipitation

lithification

the conversion of sediment to sedimentary rock

clastic

Most sedimentary rocks have a ____ texture

bioclastic

If the clastic texture is due to abundant fossils or fossil fragments, the rock is ____

1. detrital

2. chemical and biochemical

two categories for sedimentary rocks:

detrital

made of solid particles derived from outside the basin of deposition

chemical and biochemical

formed by precipitation of ions or accumulation of organic materials within the basin of deposition