Texture and metamorphic grade. Schist has visible crystals, while phyllite has crystals too small to be seen with the eye or barely seen. This is a result of schist having higher grade metamorphism.
Chat with our AI personalities
Schist is a metamorphic rock that tends to have larger mineral grains and a more layered structure compared to phyllite. Phyllite is also a metamorphic rock, but it has smaller mineral grains and a more silky sheen due to the alignment of mica minerals.
The list that orders rocks in increasing grain size and increasing grade of metamorphism is: shale (fine-grained) - slate (fine-grained) - phyllite (medium-grained) - schist (medium to coarse-grained) - gneiss (coarse-grained).
The mineral common in schist and gneiss but not common in slate and phyllite is garnet. Garnet typically forms in higher-grade metamorphic rocks such as schist and gneiss due to the increased temperature and pressure conditions necessary for its formation.
Phyllite is a foliated metamorphic rock that is texturally intermediate between slate and schist. It exhibits a greater degree of metamorphism than slate but not as much as schist, resulting in a medium-grain texture with a glossy sheen.
Slate is a low-grade metamorphic rock characterized by fine-grained foliated structure. Phyllite is intermediate-grade metamorphic rock with a greater degree of crystallization and foliation than slate. Schist is a medium-grade metamorphic rock with visible mineral grains and strong foliation. Gneiss is a high-grade metamorphic rock with distinct banding of light and dark minerals and high crystallization.
Shale can transform into slate, then phyllite, followed by schist, and ultimately into gneiss through a series of increasing metamorphic changes. This progression involves the recrystallization of minerals under heat and pressure, resulting in the formation of different textures and new mineral compositions at each stage.