Fossil fuels are natural substances formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals. The main types are coal, oil, and natural gas. Coal forms over millions of years as dead plant matter is buried under layers of mud and compressed. Oil and natural gas also form from buried remains of ancient microorganisms. Fossil fuels are important energy sources and are used to generate electricity, for transportation, heating homes and more, but their extraction and accidents causing spills can significantly damage the environment.

1. Fossil FuelsSama PatelPeriod 4

2. What are fossil fuels?Fossil fuels are natural substances in Earth made up from the remains of ancient plants and animals over time.http://worldwidestar.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/fossil_fuels.gif

3. What are the different types of fossil fuels?The different types of fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas.http://thumb10.shutterstock.com.edgesuite.net/display_pic_with_logo/59156/59156,1241710414,4/stock-vector-conceptual-illustration-showing-many-different-types-of-power-generation-including-nuclear-fossil-29836627.jpg

4. How is coal formed?Coal is formed by carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and varying amounts of sulphur. The dead plants from the swamps are piled up with sand and mud on top. Without water the carbon increases and forms a hard black substance called coal.http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/images/peatcoal.gif

5. Describe the different stages of coal formationIt use to be a fern and a tree-like plant before it was hard and black. When the plants died, they piled up on top of each other. It was buried under water and bacteria with sand and mud covering the top. When the water was squeezed out, the carbon increased and the heat pressure changed the substance of leaves into coal.

6. How is coal used as a fossil fuel?Coal is used as a fossil fuel to produce electricity and heat in something such as a train.

7. How is oil formed?Oil was formed from plants called plankton. When the plankton dies, it sinks in the bottom of the sea and is buried under layers of sand and mud. When these players are mixed it turns into a hard rock, but when bacteria ate the plankton, it turned into ooze, which is now oil. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/03mex/logs/sept25/media/fig1_600.jpg

8. How is oil used as a fossil fuel?Fuel for lamps FertilizersPensCar gasHeating oil for homePlanesShipsFactoriesFood

9. How is natural gas formed?It is formed from a plant called plankton just like oil. The plankton died, sank to the bottom, and sand and mud covered it up. Over the years, bacteria and heat pressure turned the plankton into natural gas.

10. How is natural gas used as a fossil fuel?Natural gas is used as fossil fuel when people are heating homes, buildings, heating water, fertilizations or cooking.http://www.greenathome.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/gas_burner.jpg

11. What are the refineries and why are they important to the production of fossil fuels?A refinery is a factory that takes a raw materials such as crude oil and makes it into petrol other useful products. It is important because it Breaks crude oil down into its various components, which are changed into new products. This is done in a maze of pipes and vessels in an automated control room. 3basic steps in all refineries:Separation (fractional distillation)Conversion (cracking and rearranging the molecules)Treatmenthttp://www.inplacemachiningjvic.com/images/industries_refinery.jpg

12. Describe the Exxon Valdez oil spill discussing the incident, the clean-up, and the effect it had on the environment of Prince William Sound in Alaska.When this incident happened, in 4 hours, over 6,700,000 million gallons of oil was spilled, 8 cargo tanks and 2 water tanks were busted open. Dan Lawn and the coast guard came to clean up, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They helped out by coming to Alaska and cleaning and proving very useful facts. The use of high pressure hot water was used to blast oil from shore lines. The effect this spill had on the Prince William Sound in Alaska was that 11.2 million gallons of oil spilled in it, this was WAY TOO MUCH and over the time, the oil became too thick and very hard to clean up. A little was gone after the winter, but 20 years later, today, there is still some oil left in certain spots.http://arthurpage.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/exxon_valdez.jpg

13. Describe the Deep Water horizon oil catastrophe discussing the incident, the clean-up attempts, and the effect it is having on the environment of the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding areas.When this $560 million dollars worth of Deep Water Horizon oil rig exploded, it lead 11 workers to be missing and 17 injured. After this incident, the coast guard has closed the shores to find missing people and help clean up. The company says that they will take all the blame and pay the fines It will cost to clean the whole place up. Since it is leaking 1,000 barrels of oil a day, the coast guard says that it will indeed affect the Golf shore. Obama announced that there will be no drilling allowed in new areas. http://www.treehugger.com/Deepwater-Horizon-drilling-rig-photo.jpg