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Multiple Choice

Metamorphic rocks are typically classified as foliated or nonfoliated.

Texture is how metamorphic rocks are categorized, into foliated and nonfoliated. Foliated rocks develop a planar alignment of minerals under directed pressure, producing layered or banded appearances (examples include slate, phyllite, schist, and gneiss). Nonfoliated rocks lack that layering because minerals recrystallize more or less uniformly in all directions under heat, so they don’t show foliation (examples include marble and quartzite). The other terms describe how rocks form (sedimentary origin or igneous origin) rather than how metamorphic rocks are textured, so they don’t describe the typical classification of metamorphic rocks.

Texture is how metamorphic rocks are categorized, into foliated and nonfoliated. Foliated rocks develop a planar alignment of minerals under directed pressure, producing layered or banded appearances (examples include slate, phyllite, schist, and gneiss). Nonfoliated rocks lack that layering because minerals recrystallize more or less uniformly in all directions under heat, so they don’t show foliation (examples include marble and quartzite). The other terms describe how rocks form (sedimentary origin or igneous origin) rather than how metamorphic rocks are textured, so they don’t describe the typical classification of metamorphic rocks.