Learning objectives
At the end of the course the Student will have to know and correctly name the main rock types and the most common ornamental stones, acquire possession of geological language, be able to interact with geologists to solve project problems and know how to recover and consult the thematic geological-technical documentation and official cartography.
Course unit content
The course is composed of 42 hours of frontal lessons and 10 hours of practical exercises, tutored by the teacher, on the macroscopic analysis and classification of rocks and ornamental stones .
Full programme
1. Structure of the Earth and global tectonics
Crust, lithosphere, asthenosphere, isostasy, earth magnetic field, mosaic of lithospheric plates, seismic, magmatic, metamorphic and orogenic phenomenology of crustal junctions, earthquakes, dynamics of lithosphere and rocks cycle.
2. Depositional environments stratigraphy and tectonics
Environments, processes and sedimentary deposits, continental, coastal and marine depositional environments, evaporites, carbonates, carbonate platforms, lithostratigraphic units, folding and faulting, basic types of faults, displacement, basic types of folds, axial plane.
3. Geological survey and cartography
Filed mapping, geological contacts, reading of geological maps, legend, geological sections, geomorphological and thematic mapping.
4. Origin and classification of rocks
Minerals and rocks, textural properties of basic rock types, genetic and textural categories of intrusive, effusive and pyroclastic rocks and of metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, analysis and classification of plutonic and volcanic rocks and of metamorphic and sedimentary rocks.
5. Technical properties and use of rocks
Construction rocks: direct use and use as raw materials, ornamental stones; rocks and ornamental stones: physical and thermal properties, stress resistance, laboratory tests.
Bibliography
Teacher's tutorial files downloadable from the Elly portal
Teaching methods
Frontal lessons (80%)
Practical exercises (20%)
Assessment methods and criteria
Oral examination on topics covered in the program (modules 1-5 below). Up to three questions each of which refers to one or more pages of the teacher's tutorial files. Request to expose the topic chosen and not its internal specific items. The order of presentation, completeness, clarity and terminology are evaluated.
