Question

Granite is a coarse or medium-grained rock that is rich in quartz and feldspar. It is formed when bodies of magma cool and harden deep below the earth. What type of rock is granite?
A) metamorphic
B) sedimentary
C) extrusive igneous
Eliminate
D) intrusive igneous

Answer 1

Granite is a type of intrusive igneous rock

Explanation:

An igneous rock formed from hot magma or lava cools, solidifies or crystallizes to form rocks.

Based on the rate of cooling of magma, igneous rocks can either be intrusive or extrusive.  

A slow cooling of the magma deep within the earth without reaching the surface of the volcano leads to the production of intrusive igneous rocks.

This slow cooling leads to crystallization forming large crystals visible to the eyes with a phaneritic texture.

Granite has the best phaneritic texture among intrusive igneous rocks. Granite crystals can be easily visualized and are constituted by minerals like white feldspar, black hornblende, translucent quartz, and platy black biotite.

Extrusive igneous rocks like basalt are formed from microscopic crystals from fast cooling of magma.