GEOLOGY 101, FAQS
Metamorphism and Metamorphic  Rocks
Joseph Hull
 copyright  Joseph Hull

go back to the FAQ menu

go back to the main GEL 101 menu

 

1.  What happens to rocks during metamorphism?  Name two major changes.

2.  Basalt, a dark volcanic igneous rock, is shoved down into the Earth. 

      What metamorphic rock is formed from basalt at low grade?

      What metamorphic rock is formed from basalt at medium grade?

      What metamorphic rock is formed from basalt at high grade?

3.  Contact metamorphism takes place around underground pools of magma.  If you know where underground pools of magma are found, you know where contact metamorphism takes places.

      What tectonic settings give rise to underground pools of magma?

A.

B.

C.

D.

4.  Are rocks found in the lower half of the continental crust, 20-40 km, metamorphic rocks?  Explain your reasoning.

5.  What is an index mineral/key mineral?  Explain.

6.  A shale is metamorphosed to a metamorphic rock containing biotite and garnet.  What grade of metamorphism produced these minerals?

7.  A gneiss is a metamorphic rock.  Gneisses have one feature that other metamorphic rocks don't have.  What is that feature or trait?  Make a sketch.

8.  Why do you get the same metamorphic rock at every grade when you metamorphose a limestone?

9. Can a metamorphic rock be a protolith, a starting rock?  Explain.

10.  Quartz and calcite react together at high grade to form a new mineral plus a common gas that burps out.  Write down the chemical formulas for quartz and calcite.  What is the new mineral produced by reacting quartz and calcite, and what is the common gas produced?

11.  There are three or four different styles of metamorphism associated with a subduction zone.  Draw a cross section through a subduction zone.  Locate and label 3 or 4 different styles of metamorphism on the cross section.

go to the top of the page