OVERVIEW

Petrography provides the basic knowledge necessary to classify and understand the formation processes of magmatic, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, forming the Earth's lithosphere. Petrography plays a fundamental role in Earth Sciences because it provides the skills necessary to characterize the composition and structure of geomaterials, with both applicative and understanding implications for the Earth's dynamics.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course provides the basic knowledge for understanding the formation processes of magmatic and metamorphic rocks. Being a fundamental discipline to understand the endogenous and exogenous processes leading to rock formation, Petrography is relevant to pure and applied geosciences.

PREREQUISITES

To deal efficiently with the contents of the course, basic knowledge of inorganic chemistry, mineralogy and geology is required. As reported in the Manifesto, the teaching of Mineralogy is propedeutic to Petrography.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ELISABETTA RAMPONE (President)

CARLOTTA FERRANDO

MARCO SCAMBELLURI (President Substitute)

LESSONS

Class schedule

PETROGRAPHY

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam is unique and integrated for the two modules.

The exam consists of a written and an oral test. The student must also present a paper that contains the description of all the thin sections and samples of metamorphic and magmatic rocks examined during laboratory exercises (module 1 and module 2).

The written test involves the description and classification of a thin section of magmatic or metamorphic rock under an optical microscope and the description and classification of a hand-made sample of magmatic or metamorphic rock. Each description is given a grade from 0 to 30 and the mark of the practical test is the average between the two votes.

The oral exam consists in the discussion of the Magmatic Petrography (module 1) and Metamorphic Petrography (module 2) program.

The final grade is given by the arithmetic average between the mark of the practical test and the oral exam. The oral exam must be taken in the same session as the practical test. The positive evaluation of the written test (grade> 18) remains valid for one year. 2 appeals will be available in the winter session (January-February) and 4 appeals in the summer session (June, July, September).

Please refer to the specific AulaWeb application of this course for any updates due to changes in the health and epidemiological situation.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Details on how to prepare for the exam and the degree of detail required for each topic will be provided during the lessons.

The written exam will verify the actual acquisition of the necessary knowledge to recognize and classify the main types of magmatic and metamorphic rocks both through the observation of thin sections by optical microscope and by the observation of samples. The verification also concerns the student's ability to recognize and describe the formation processes of the observed samples and the geological settings of formation of the observed rock samples. The student must be able to connect and integrate the knowledge learned during the laboratory activities with those provided during the lectures.

The oral exam will mainly focus on the topics covered during the lectures (modules 1 and 2) and will aim to assess not only if the student has reached an adequate level of knowledge, but also if he has acquired the ability to recall the theoretical notions applying them to simple concrete contexts. The ability to present the topics clearly and with correct terminology will also be evaluated.

Exam schedule