What are the properties used to identify Igneous rocks?
Properties used to identify igneous rocks include mineral composition, texture, and color. There are four different mineral compositions; Felsic, Intermediate, Mafic, and Ultramafic. The texture of an igneous rock is determined by its grain size. There are eight terms relating to the type of texture an igneous rock has. They are pegmatitic, phaneritic, porphyritic, aphanitic, glassy, vesicular, frothy, and pyroclastic. Why does the type of mineral composition matter when identifying an igneous rock? By looking at what type of mineral composition an igneous rock has you can determine what type of magma made it and what environment it was made in. What is the difference in composition between Felsic, Intermediate, Mafic, and Ultramafic igneous rocks? Igneous rocks contain the following common minerals: Plagioclase feldspar, Olivine, Potassium feldspar, Pyroxene, Quartz, Amphibole, Biotite, and Muscovite. The percentage of these minerals present in an igneous rock determines whether it is
