Mineral and Rock Thin Sections GCSE Geology Mineral and Rock Thin Sections Click anywhere on the screen to move on.

Guide to Mineral and Rock Thin Sections

Preparation of Rock Thin Sections Rock sample is cut 2 mm thick using a diamond tipped saw The 2 mm thick slice is then glued to a microscope slide The 2 mm thick layer of rock is ground down to 30 microns

Photomicrographs of rocks have been used in the GCSE Geology Online Examination since May 2012 The same mineral may appear a different colour in a different part of the image and from one image to another Colours of minerals seen in the photomicrographs will also vary from those seen in hand specimen i.e. the colours given on the Mineral Data Sheet

Will be used in questions on interpretation of rock textures Igneous Rocks Crystal Size (Fine <1mm, Medium 1-3mm, Coarse >3mm) Porphyritic (Phenocrysts and Groundmass) Equicrystalline Random Crystal Orientation

5 Will be used in questions on interpretation of rock textures Sedimentary Rocks Grain Size (Fine <1/16mm, Medium 1/16th-2mm, Coarse >2mm) Grain Shape (Well Rounded to Very Angular) Sorting (Well Sorted to Poorly Sorted) 5 mm

Will be used in questions on interpretation of rock textures Metamorphic Rocks The measurement of Crystal Size Random Crystal Orientation (Contact Metamorphism) Crystals Aligned or Foliated (Regional Metamorphism) (Slaty Cleavage, Schistose Texture)

Black and white stripes in feldspar Black , grey and white quartz 5 mm Brown biotite mica Granite

Basalt 0.5 mm Black and white stripes of feldspar Blue, green, brown and purple augite Basalt

Porphyritic Andesite Feldspar phenocrysts 3mm – 5mm in diameter Groundmass fine grained < 0.5mm Small amounts of blue, brown and purple augite Porphyritic Andesite

Black and white stripes of feldspar Bright blue, green, orange and purple are olivine crystals between 3mm and 5mm Peridotite

Black , grey and white quartz 2 mm Black , grey and white quartz Sandstone

Black Shale Composed mainly of clay minerals such as kaolinite Darker layers imply a high organic (carbon) content Laminations evident which are <0.1 mm thick Black Shale

Spherical ooliths made of concentric shells of calcite Formed by the evaporation of seawater, calcite is precipitated from solution Each oolith has a nucleus of a shell fragment or small quartz grain Oolitic Limestone

1.0 mm Cleavage traces intersecting at 60°/120° in calcite crystals Many crystals meet together at triple point junctions of 120° Interlocking black, grey, pink and white calcite crystals formed by recrystallisation of limestone by contact metamorphism Marble

Many crystals meet together at triple point junctions of 120° 1.0 mm Many crystals meet together at triple point junctions of 120° Interlocking black, grey and white quartz crystals formed by recrystallisation of sandstone by contact metamorphism Metaquartzite

0.5 mm Black, grey, white and brown mica crystals showing foliation or slaty cleavage Slate

Schist Black, grey and white Quartz Red, yellow and purple mica showing foliation or schistose texture Black garnet 8 mm Schist

Blue, green and grey mica showing foliation or schistose texture 5 mm Black garnet Schist

The Electron Microprobe (EMP) Analytical tool used non-destructively to analyse the chemical composition of minerals, rocks and meteorites Sample bombarded with an electron beam emitting X-rays at wavelengths characteristic to elements being analysed

The Electron Microprobe (EMP) EDS scan of a chrome-bearing augite. Scan time 5 seconds Enables the abundances of elements present to be calculated in parts per million (ppm) in each rock or mineral sample

The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) High resolution scanning electron microscopy contributes to mineral identification and textural analysis SEM machines can magnify up to X 2 million compared with x 2000 of standard light microscopes

The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) SEM image of Nashite a new mineral discovered in abandoned uranium mines of Utah and Colorado, USA and named after Professor Barbara Nash of Utah University in 2013 (note scale bar of 40 microns)