Quartzite

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/quartzite

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the rock type?Metamorphic (non-foliated)
2. What is the parent rock?Quartz sandstone
3. What is quartzite and how does it form?Quartzite is a super‑hard rock that starts as sandstone made of quartz grains. When the sandstone is heated and pressed deep inside the Earth, the quartz grains grow and lock together, turning it into quartzite.
4. Why does quartzite come in many colors?Tiny minerals like iron oxide, feldspar, mica, or chlorite can be mixed in. These minerals give quartzite shades of pink, red, yellow, green, blue, or orange.

Orogenic Belt: A region of the Earth's crust that has been deformed and uplifted, typically by continental collision.
Recrystallization: The process by which mineral grains in a rock change size, shape, or orientation due to heat and pressure.
Non-foliated: Describes metamorphic rocks where mineral grains are not arranged in parallel layers or bands.
Conchoidal Fracture: The characteristic smooth, curved break pattern seen in brittle materials like glass and some rocks.