Download Sedimentary rock

Coulter
• Sediment is small, solid pieces of material that
come from rocks or living things.
• Most sedimentary rocks are formed through a
series of processes: erosion, deposition,
compaction, and cementation.
• Destructive forces are constantly breaking up
and wearing away all the rocks on Earth’s
surface.
• Running water, wind, or ice loosen and carry
away fragments of rock.
• Is the process by which sediment settles out of
the water or wind carrying it.
• The process that presses sediments together.
• Thick layers of sediment build up gradually
over millions of years. These layers press down
on the layers beneath them. This weight further
compacts the lower layer.
• Layers often remain visible in sedimentary rock.
• Is the process in which dissolved minerals
crystallize and glue particles of sediment
together.
• Dissolved minerals seep into the spaces
between particles and then harden.
• There are three major groups of sedimentary
rocks:
• Clastic rocks
•Organic rocks
• Chemical rocks
• Clastic rock is a sedimentary rock that forms when rock
fragments are squeezed together.
• These fragments can change in size from clay particles you
would need a microscope to see to large boulders that are to
heavy to lift.
• Common clastic rocks include shale, sandstone, conglomerate,
and breccia.
• shale forms tiny particles of clay
• Sandstone form from the sand on beaches, ocean floor, riverbeds, and
sand dunes.
• Most sand particles consist of quartz.
• Conglomerate have rounded edges
• Breccia large sharp edges
• Forms where the remains of plants and animals are deposited
in thick layers.
• Coal and limestone are two important organic rock.
• Coal forms from the remains of swamp plants buried in water.
Layer upon layer of plant remains build up, the weight of the
layers squeezes the decaying plant. Over millions of years, they
slowly change into coal.
• Limestone forms in the ocean, where many living things have
hard shells or skeletons made of calcite. The shells of animals
pile up and over millions of years compaction and cementation
change the sediment into limestone.
• Chemical rocks are minerals that dissolve in a
solution and crystallize.
• Chemical rocks can also form from mineral
deposits left when seas or lakes evaporate.
• Example: rock salt is made of the mineral halite,
which forms by evaporation.
• People have used sedimentary rocks throughout history
for many different purposes, including building
materials and tools.
• People made arrowheads out of flint for thousands of
years.
• Flint is a hard rock that can be shaped.
Sedimentary and limestone have been used in
building for thousands of years, because they are
easy to cut.
the white house is built of sandstone.