How to distinguish between limestone and sandstone in a lab?
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Limestone is typically composed of calcium carbonate; either aragonite or calcite. Some limestones are formed by direct precipitation of calcium carbonate, while others are made up of the skeletal remains (fossils) of invertebrates.
The term sandstone is actually a textural term applied to granular sedimentary rocks with grains ranging from 2 mm to 0.0625 mm in diameter. Most often the term is used to rocks consisting of sand size grains of quartz (quartz arenite); however, it can be applied to sands of other consistencies, such as grains predominantly of feldspar (arkose), or lithic fragments (litharenites). Sandstones consisting of sand-size grains of shell material are called calcarenites (or grainstones by some classification schemes). So a type of limestone can in fact be a type of sandstone.
The term sandstone is actually a textural term applied to granular sedimentary rocks with grains ranging from 2 mm to 0.0625 mm in diameter. Most often the term is used to rocks consisting of sand size grains of quartz (quartz arenite); however, it can be applied to sands of other consistencies, such as grains predominantly of feldspar (arkose), or lithic fragments (litharenites). Sandstones consisting of sand-size grains of shell material are called calcarenites (or grainstones by some classification schemes). So a type of limestone can in fact be a type of sandstone.
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