Rock/Mineral/Gem Experts/Enthusiasts. Identify these three rocks for me, please? Thanks.?

Question

I've looked online for info to identify them but can't seem to find anything, so your help is greatly appreciated.
The first rock is generally smooth, multicolored (creamy orange-brown, brown, & white) with a slight (very slight) sheen. The 2nd one is flat yet layered and has a mirrored effect to it. It's blackish/grayish, very shiny/mirrored. The 3rd one is black/greyish and rough in texture. It is shiny in some spots and has a slightly mirrored effect. Here's a link to a ms paint illustration I attempted to do of them. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/5633/untitledserei7.png

Answer 1

I am a geologist with a Bachelors. If you are interested in geology the best book by far for rock and mineral identification is, ''National Audubon Society Field guide to rocks and Minerals''.

It is impossible to identify a rock based on color alone, I can only offer suggestions. try to search in google for images of my suggestions to see if any match. but to be sure you will need an expert to make a visual id.

first rock, hmmm slight sheen,smooth, could be a phylite.
2nd rock, hmmm impossible to say maybe anthracite coal.
3rd, hard to say as well, maybe an andesite, dacite, or basalt.


hope that helps, check out the book.

Answer 2

I know very little about rocks and minerals, or geology in general, but I somehow got stuck teaching high school earth science. I only know the ones I had my students identify.
I have no idea what the first one is...
Second one sounds like schist, a metamorphic rock. What ever it is, it is definitely sounds like some sort of a foliated metamorphic rock. Biotite is a mineral that is shiny and form layers, but it breaks into even sheets, and looks/feels like plastic.
Third one might be gabbro, which is an intrusive igneous rock. It could be anthracite, an metamorphic rock of coal, but you would've mentionened how light it feels if it's that. I don't understand why everyone thinks 3rd is basalt. I thought basalt was a dark DULL rock.

Nice drawings!

Answer 3

1) granite
2) either the mineral biotite (it would feel light and appear to all be the same stuff, each layer one coherent sheet) or a metamorphic rock such as gneiss or schist
3) basalt

These are just my guesses from your description and illustrations. If you had a picture I could tell you more, and of course in-person examination is best. :-)

Answer 4

first one looks like nephrite

second one like obsidian

third one like basalt