Question

You are the first person to land on Mars. Congratulations! (Please don't leave Matt Damon behind when you leave.) Being the marvelous geologist that you are, the first thing you do is pick up a rock. Your highly trained eyes tell you that it is an igneous rock. It is fine-grained, dark colored, and has small grains of green olivine. You immediately radio back to Houston to tell them you have found a piece of:

A. Gabbro
B. Trash
C. Dacite
D. Basalt
E. Rhyolite
F. Matt Damon's potatoes

Answer 1

The rock described as fine-grained, dark-colored, and containing small grains of green olivine is identified as D. Basalt, which is a common extrusive igneous rock on Mars. Option D. is the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

Given the description of the rock as fine-grained, dark-colored, and containing small grains of green olivine, the correct answer is D. Basalt. Basalt is a mafic, extrusive (volcanic) igneous rock that forms from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron.

The presence of olivine, a common mineral in mafic rocks, supports this identification. The quick cooling on the planet's surface results in the fine-grained texture of basalt, as there is not enough time for large crystals to form.

This rock is formed from the solidification of molten lava and is commonly found on both Earth and Mars. Basalt is often associated with volcanic activity, which is consistent with the Martian surface's history of volcanic origins.