Darby and others,
Basaltic magma is classified as mafic; it isconsidered by scientists to represent the average composition of oceaniccrust. Continental crust, meanwhile, approximates the chemistry ofgranite, a felsic rock. What do the terms mafic and felsic mean, and where do those names actually come from?More importantly, how did the two different chemical compositions ofcrust develop in the first place, billions of years ago? That questionis a tough one. If you want to take a crack at it, here is an article:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-evolution-of-continental-crust-2005-07/ (Links to an external site.)
and here is a hint: Different minerals have different melting/freezingpoints. Olivine forms from magma at a very high temperature, whilequartz forms from magma at a much lower temperature.
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