Definition
Schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock with medium to large, flat, sheet like grains in a preferred orientation
  
Chalk is a soft, white, powdery limestone consisting mainly of fossil shells of foraminifers
  
History
  
  
Discoverer
Unknown
  
Unknown
  
Etymology
From French schiste, Greek skhistos i.e. split
  
From old English cealc chalk, lime, plaster; pebble, from Greek khalix small pebble, in English transferred to the opaque, white, soft limestone
  
Class
Metamorphic Rocks
  
Sedimentary Rocks
  
Sub-Class
Durable Rock, Medium Hardness Rock
  
Durable Rock, Soft Rock
  
Family
  
  
Group
Not Applicable
  
Not Applicable
  
Other Categories
Coarse Grained Rock, Fine Grained Rock, Medium Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
  
Fine Grained Rock, Opaque Rock
  
Texture
Foliated, Platy
  
Clastic or Non-Clastic
  
Color
Black, Blue, Brown, Dark Brown, Green, Grey, Silver
  
Grey, White, Yellow
  
Maintenance
Less
  
Less
  
Durability
Durable
  
Durable
  
Water Resistant
Yes
  
No
  
Scratch Resistant
No
  
No
  
Stain Resistant
No
  
No
  
Wind Resistant
No
  
No
  
Acid Resistant
No
  
No
  
Appearance
Layered and Shiny
  
Soft
  
Architecture
  
  
Interior Uses
Decorative Aggregates, Floor Tiles, Interior Decoration
  
Decorative Aggregates, Homes, Interior Decoration
  
Exterior Uses
Garden Decoration, Paving Stone
  
As Building Stone, As Facing Stone, Paving Stone, Garden Decoration
  
Other Architectural Uses
Not Yet Used
  
Powder
  
Industry
  
  
Construction Industry
As Dimension Stone, Building houses or walls, Cement Manufacture, for Road Aggregate, Roadstone
  
As Dimension Stone, Cement Manufacture, Construction Aggregate, for Road Aggregate, Making natural cement, raw material for manufacture of quicklime and slaked lime, Source of calcium
  
Medical Industry
Not Yet Used
  
Not Yet Used
  
Antiquity Uses
Artifacts
  
Artifacts, Monuments, Sculpture, Small Figurines
  
Other Uses
  
  
Commercial Uses
Used in aquariums, Writing Slates
  
Alumina Refineries, Creating Artwork, Drawing on blackboards, Gymnasts, athletes and mountain climbers use for grip, In aquifers, Paper Industry, Production of Lime, Raw material for manufacture of quicklime, slaked lime, Soil Conditioner, Whiting, Whiting material in toothpaste, paint and paper
  
Types
Mica Schists, Calc-Silicate Schists, Graphite Schists, Blueschists, Whiteschists, Greenschists, Hornblende Schist, Talc Schist, Chlorite Schist, Garnet Schist, Glaucophane schist.
  
Not Available
  
Features
Easily splits into thin plates, Smooth to touch
  
Clasts are smooth to touch, Is one of the oldest rock, Smooth to touch, Very fine grained rock
  
Archaeological Significance
  
  
Monuments
Not Yet Used
  
Used
  
Famous Monuments
Not Applicable
  
Data Not Available
  
Sculpture
Not Yet Used
  
Used
  
Famous Sculptures
Not Applicable
  
Data Not Available
  
Pictographs
Used
  
Used
  
Petroglyphs
Used
  
Used
  
Figurines
Not Yet Used
  
Used
  
Fossils
Absent
  
Present
  
Formation
Schist formed by dynamic metamorphism at high temperatures and pressures that aligns the grains of mica, hornblende and other elongated minerals into thin layers.
  
Chalk is formed from lime mud, which accumulates on the sea floor which is then transformed into rock by geological processes.
  
Composition
  
  
Mineral Content
Alusite, Amphibole, Biotite, Chlorite, Epidote, Feldspar, Garnet, Graphite, Hornblade, Kyanite, Micas, Muscovite or Illite, Porphyroblasts, Quartz, Sillimanite, Staurolite, Talc
  
Calcite, Clay, Clay Minerals, Quartz, Sand
  
Compound Content
CaO, Carbon Dioxide, MgO
  
Ca, NaCl, CaO
  
Transformation
  
  
Metamorphism
No
  
No
  
Types of Metamorphism
Not Applicable
  
Not Applicable
  
Weathering
Yes
  
Yes
  
Types of Weathering
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering, Mechanical Weathering
  
Biological Weathering, Chemical Weathering
  
Erosion
Yes
  
Yes
  
Types of Erosion
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Glacier Erosion
  
Chemical Erosion, Coastal Erosion, Water Erosion
  
Physical Properties
  
  
Hardness
3.5-4
  
1
  
Grain Size
Medium to Fine Coarse Grained
  
Very fine-grained
  
Fracture
Conchoidal
  
Not Available
  
Streak
White
  
White
  
Porosity
Highly Porous
  
Highly Porous
  
Luster
Shiny
  
Dull
  
Cleavage
Slaty
  
Non-Existent
  
Toughness
1.5
  
1
  
Specific Gravity
2.5-2.9
  
2.3-2.4
  
Transparency
Opaque
  
Opaque
  
Density
2.8-2.9 g/cm3
  
2.49-2.50 g/cm3
  
Thermal Properties
  
  
Specific Heat Capacity
Not Available
  
0.90 kJ/Kg K
  
12
Resistance
Impact Resistant, Pressure Resistant, Water Resistant
  
Heat Resistant
  
Deposits in Eastern Continents
  
  
Asia
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam
  
Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam
  
Africa
Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa
  
Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe
  
Europe
Austria, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
  
England, France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom
  
Others
Not Yet Found
  
Not Yet Found
  
Deposits in Western Continents
  
  
North America
Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA
  
Canada, USA
  
South America
Brazil, Colombia, Guyana
  
Colombia
  
Deposits in Oceania Continent
  
  
Australia
New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland
  
Adelaide, New Zealand, Queensland, Tonga, Victoria, Yorke Peninsula