Chert

Slate

Chert vs Slate

Chert

Slate

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1 Definition

1.1 Definition

Chert is a hard, dark, opaque sedimentary rock which is composed of silica with an amorphous fine-grained texture

Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism

1.2 History

1.2.1 Origin

Unknown

England

1.2.2 Discoverer

Unknown

1.3 Etymology

From flint-like quartz, 1670s, of unknown origin- a local term, which has been taken into geological use

From Old French esclate, from esclat (French éclat)

1.4 Class

Sedimentary Rocks

Metamorphic Rocks

1.4.1 Sub-Class

Durable Rock, Hard Rock

Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock

1.5 Family

1.5.1 Group

Not Applicable

1.6 Other Categories

Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock

2 Texture

2.1 Texture

Banded, Rough

Foliated

2.2 Color

Black, Brown, Green, Grey, Red, White

Black, Brown, Buff, Green, Light to Dark Grey, Purple, Red, Shades of Blue

2.3 Maintenance

Less

2.4 Durability

Durable

2.4.1 Water Resistant

✔ ✘

59% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

81% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.2 Scratch Resistant

✔ ✘

62% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

65% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.3 Stain Resistant

✔ ✘

43% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

42% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.4 Wind Resistant

✔ ✘

38% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

19% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

2.4.5 Acid Resistant

✔ ✘

22% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

15% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

2.5 Appearance

Glassy or Pearly

Dull

3 Uses

3.1 Architecture

3.1.1 Interior Uses

Decorative Aggregates, Homes

Bathrooms, Decorative Aggregates, Entryways, Floor Tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior Decoration, Kitchens, Stair Treads

3.1.2 Exterior Uses

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Office Buildings

As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Garden Decoration, Paving Stone

3.1.3 Other Architectural Uses

Curbing

3.2 Industry

3.2.1 Construction Industry

Arrowheads, Construction Aggregate, Cutting Tool, Spear Points

As Dimension Stone

3.2.2 Medical Industry

Not Yet Used

3.3 Antiquity Uses

Artifacts, Monuments

Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines

3.4 Other Uses

3.4.1 Commercial Uses

Creating Artwork, Gemstone, In fire-starting tools, Jewelry, To ignite fire, Used in flintlock firearms

Blackboards, Commemorative Tablets, Laboratory bench tops, Standard material for the bed of Billiard table, Standard material for the beds of Pool and Snooker table, Tombstones, Used in aquariums, Writing Slates

4 Types

4.1 Types

Flint, Jasper, Radiolarite, Common Chert, Chalcedony, Agate, Onyx, Opal, Magadi-type Chert, Porcelanite, Siliceous Sinter

Not Available

4.2 Features

Clasts are smooth to touch, Easily splits into thin plates, Has High structural resistance against erosion and climate

Easily splits into thin plates, Surfaces are often shiny, Very fine grained rock

4.3 Archaeological Significance

4.3.1 Monuments

Used

4.3.2 Famous Monuments

Data Not Available

4.3.3 Sculpture

Not Yet Used

Used

4.3.4 Famous Sculptures

Not Applicable

Data Not Available

4.3.5 Pictographs

Not Used

Used

4.3.6 Petroglyphs

Not Used

Used

4.3.7 Figurines

Not Yet Used

Used

4.4 Fossils

Present

Absent

5 Formation

5.1 Formation

Chert forms when microcrystals of silicon dioxide grow within soft sediments that become limestone or chalk. The chert formation can be either of chemical or biological origin.

Slate is a low grade metamorphic rock that is generally formed by metamorphosis of mudstone or shale, under relatively low pressure and temperature conditions.

5.2 Composition

5.2.1 Mineral Content

Quartz, Silicon

Apatite, Biotite, Chlorite, Feldspar, Graphite, Hematite, Kaolinite, Magnetite, Pyrite, Tourmaline, Zircon

5.2.2 Compound Content

Silicon Dioxide

Aluminium Oxide, CaO, Iron(III) Oxide, Potassium Oxide, MgO, Sodium Oxide, Silicon Dioxide, Titanium Dioxide

5.3 Transformation

5.3.1 Metamorphism

✔ ✘

19% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

50% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.2 Types of Metamorphism

Not Applicable

Burial Metamorphism, Cataclastic Metamorphism, Regional Metamorphism

5.3.3 Weathering

✔ ✘

78% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

65% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.4 Types of Weathering

Not Applicable

Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering

5.3.5 Erosion

✔ ✘

86% Sedimentary Rocks Rocks have it !

✔ ✘

77% Metamorphic Rocks Rocks have it !

5.3.6 Types of Erosion

Chemical Erosion

Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion, Water Erosion, Wind Erosion

6 Properties

6.1 Physical Properties

6.1.1 Hardness

6.5-7

3-4

6.1.2 Grain Size

Very fine-grained

6.1.3 Fracture

Uneven, Splintery or Conchoidal

Splintery

6.1.4 Streak

White

Light to dark brown

6.1.5 Porosity

Highly Porous

Less Porous

6.1.6 Luster

Waxy and Dull

Dull

6.1.7 Compressive Strength

Flint

⊕

▶

▼

450.00 N/mm²

Rank: 1 (Overall)▶

30.00 N/mm²

Rank: 30 (Overall)▶

▲

Obsidian

⊕

▶

175 (Granite)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.1.8 Cleavage

Non-Existent

Slaty

6.1.9 Toughness

1.5

1.2

6.1.10 Specific Gravity

2.5-2.8

2.65-2.8

6.1.11 Transparency

Translucent to Opaque

Opaque

6.1.12 Density

2.7 g/cm³

2.6-2.8 g/cm³

6.2 Thermal Properties

6.2.1 Specific Heat Capacity

Banded iron for..

⊕

▶

▼

0.74 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 19 (Overall)▶

0.76 kJ/Kg K

Rank: 17 (Overall)▶

▲

Granulite

⊕

▶

1.09 (Travertine)

◀ ▶ ADD ⊕

6.2.2 Resistance

Heat Resistant, Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Wear Resistant

7 Reserves

7.1 Deposits in Eastern Continents

7.1.1 Asia

China, India, Iran, Japan, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam

China, India, Turkey

7.1.2 Africa

Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Tanzania

Not Yet Found

7.1.3 Europe

Austria, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom

7.1.4 Others

Greenland, Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Arctic

7.2 Deposits in Western Continents

7.2.1 North America

Canada, Mexico, USA

USA

7.2.2 South America

Bolivia, Brazil

Brazil

7.3 Deposits in Oceania Continent

7.3.1 Australia

New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia

Not Yet Found

Chert vs Slate Information

Earth’s outer layer is covered by rocks and these rocks have different physical and chemical properties. As two rocks are not same, it’s fun to compare them. You can also know more about Chert and Slate Reserves. Chert is a hard, dark, opaque sedimentary rock which is composed of silica with an amorphous fine-grained texture. Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. These rocks are composed of many distinct minerals. The process of formation of rocks is different for various rocks. Rocks are quarried from many years for various purposes. You can check out Chert vs Slate information and Chert vs Slate characteristics in the upcoming sections.

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Chert vs Slate Characteristics

Though some rocks look identical, they have certain characteristics which distinguish them from others. Characteristics of rocks include texture, appearance, color, fracture, streak, hardness etc. Chert vs Slate characteristics assist us to distinguish and recognize rocks. Also you can check about Properties of Chert and Properties of Slate. Learn more about Chert vs Slate in the next section. The interior uses of Chert include Decorative aggregates and Homes whereas the interior uses of Slate include Bathrooms, Decorative aggregates, Entryways, Floor tiles, Flooring, Homes, Hotels, Interior decoration, Kitchens and Stair treads. Due to some exceptional properties of Chert and Slate, they have various applications in construction industry. The uses of Chert in construction industry include Arrowheads, Construction aggregate, Cutting tool, Spear points and that of Slate include As dimension stone.

More about Chert and Slate

Here you can know more about Chert and Slate. The life cycle of a rock consists of formation of rock, composition of rock and transformation of rock. The composition of Chert and Slate consists of mineral content and compound content. The mineral content of Chert includes Quartz, Silicon and mineral content of Slate includes Apatite, Biotite, Chlorite, Feldspar, Graphite, Hematite, Kaolinite, Magnetite, Pyrite, Tourmaline, Zircon. You can also check out the list of all Sedimentary Rocks. When we have to compare Chert vs Slate, the texture, color and appearance plays an important role in determining the type of rock. Chert is available in black, brown, green, grey, red, white colors whereas, Slate is available in black, brown, buff, green, light to dark grey, purple, red, shades of blue colors. Appearance of Chert is Glassy or Pearly and that of Slate is Dull. Properties of rock is another aspect for Chert vs Slate. The hardness of Chert is 6.5-7 and that of Slate is 3-4. The types of Chert are Flint, Jasper, Radiolarite, Common Chert, Chalcedony, Agate, Onyx, Opal, Magadi-type Chert, Porcelanite, Siliceous Sinter whereas types of Slate are Not Available. Streak of rock is the color of powder produced when it is dragged across an unweathered surface. The streak of Chert is white while that of Slate is light to dark brown. The specific heat capacity of Chert is 0.74 kJ/Kg K and that of Slate is 0.76 kJ/Kg K. Depending on the properties like hardness, toughness, specific heat capacity, porosity etc., rocks are resistant to heat, wear, impact, etc.Chert is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant whereas Slate is heat resistant, impact resistant, pressure resistant, wear resistant.