How do the two limestone specimens differ in appearance?

Answer 1

Limestone is a sedimentary rock that consists largely of calcium carbonate (calcite) with few grains of insoluble material included in it. It has no cleavage plane.

Slate is a metamorphic rock derived from shale, which consists of clay minerals (silicates) and a large proportion of tiny fragments of broken rock, such as silica or calcite. Slate consists of thin parallel layers, and is easily split in parallel to them.

Answer 2

Limestone is usually made of precipitated calcite, shell fragments, and mud. If you look very closely, you may see tiny fossils in it. Marble is limestone that has metamorphosed through heat and pressure, therefore, the particles in the limestone have recrystallized into interlocking calcite crystals. Impurities in the marble will appear as dark streaks in the whitish calcite crystal matrix.
The differences are the-

Marble is a metamorphic rock and Limestone is a sedimentary rock.

Limestone is made up of fossil fragments and marble is made up of calcite crystals (White).

Limestone is formed when shells, sand, and mud are deposited at the bottom of oceans and lakes and over time it is made into a rock.

Marble is formed when limestone is heated and squeezed by natural rock and the grains are recrystallize.

Limestone is more porous than marble because there are small openings between the fossil fragments.

Limestone is not very hard, it can be scratched with a knife.

Marble is mainly used for sculpture and limestone is mainly used for architect.

Answer 3

The difference lies in the degree of metamorphism. Metamorphism is the solid state recrystallisation of minerals. Both rocks are metamorphosed by regional metamorphism (directed pressure), however schist is metamorphosed more than slate. Therefore Slate is only a low grade metamorphic rock whereas schist is a medium grade metamorphic rock (gneiss is high grade).

Both will exhibit pronounced layering, called "foliation". This is because mica (a mineral in the rock) is a plate shaped mineral and lines up with its long axis at 90 degrees (right angle) to the direction of pressure. In slate it is called "slaty cleavage"; in schist it is called "schistosity". Schist will shine from the presence of well formed mica minerals, and it may also contain garnet -- a well-formed mineral -- unlike in slate.

Answer 4

Marble is a non-folliated rock, While Slate is a folliated rock.

Marble comes from limestone or dolomite. Slate comes from shale.

They are both metamorphic, that is.

Answer 5

limestone is used to make concrete and shale is not

Answer 6

See this link.