What are some ways you can tell the difference between clastic sedimentary rocks and chemical sedimentary rock

Question

I know that non-clastic rocks will not react with HCl but I was wondering if there were other ways to tell.

Answer 1

Stratification. Most sili-clastic rocks exhibit some sort of layering. Although there are sili-clastic deposits, such as mudstones, that do not they are not common compared to sandstones, siltstones and shales that do. Be aware that HCl reacts with limestone and powdered dolomite, but not with halite, gypsum or any other chemical precipitate. Also know that sili-clastic rocks can have calcite cement that will react with HCl, even though they are not chemical precipitates.