1. What is a Fossil Fuel? (And why should I care?!) Prepared by Mrs. Terri Reed Brookhollow Elementary November 2004

2. Fossil Fuels Fossil fuels are materials burned to produce heat energy. This energy is used to run cars, ships and trains…

3. … cool and warm buildings. …

4. …and heat stoves and water heaters.

5. Fossil fuels are also burned to produce electricity in power plants.

6. Types of Fossil Fuels

7. Oil (petroleum)

8. Petroleum is refined into gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and other fuels used in most of the world’s automobiles, trucks, trains, aircraft, and ships.

9. Coal

10. Uses of Coal About half of the electricity in the United States comes from burning coal.

11. Burning coal to produce electricity creates by- products that are used in the construction industry like concrete, soil cement, road construction materials, masonry, roofing materials, insulation materials, and wallboard.

12. Coal is also used as a mineral filler for plastics, paint, rubber matting, carpet backing and asphalt.

13. Natural Gas Natural gas burns cleaner than petroleum or coal. It can be piped directly to industrial plants or homes and used for heating, air conditioning, water heaters and stoves.

14. What’s the Big Deal? Fossil fuels are considered non- renewable resources. That means they cannot be replaced within a human lifetime.

15. Why not? Fossil fuels formed from ancient plants and animals. They were formed hundreds of millions of years ago before the time of the dinosaurs - thus the name fossil fuels.

16. What kinds of plants and animals? Scientists believe coal formed from the remains of ancient swamp plants. Petroleum and natural gas both formed from the remains of plankton and algae that lived in oceans.

17. How did they form? When the plants were alive, they used energy in sunlight to make their own food through photosynthesis. Some of that food was stored in the plants’ bodies as chemical energy. Some of the energy was consumed by animals and stored in their bodies as well.

18. When the ancient plants and animals died, their remains settled to the bottom of the swamp, lake or ocean where they lived.

19. Particles of sand, soil and mud settled on top of the remains. More decayed remains and more particles built up into layers.

20. Over millions of years, the sediment was pressed and cemented together to form solid rock. The remains of dead plants and animals were trapped between rock layers.

21. Heat and pressure gradually changed the remains into oil, coal and natural gas.

22. How Coal Formed

23. How Oil and Gas Formed

24. Fossil fuels are still forming today. However, they take millions of years to form, and people use them much faster than nature can make them.

25. According to the 2004 Nystrom Desk Atlas , the world’s supply of coal will be depleted between the years 2200 and 5500.

26. The world’s oil supply will be depleted in 2035.

27. The world’s natural gas supply should last until 2050.

28. Will you live in a world with no fossil fuels? Will your children? Will your grandchildren?

29. What will the world be like without fossil fuels? How will you fuel your car? How will you heat your home? How will the power plant generate electricity to power your home?

30. Should you care?

31. Sources http://www.coaleducation.org/lessons/middle/doe/graphics.htm http://www.tonycolter.com/photos/potd/potd-20030710.jpg Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2002. © 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter08.html http://www.schoolscience.co.uk/content/4/chemistry/fossils/p3.html http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761586407/Fossil_Fuels.html #endadshttp://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761586407/Fossil_Fuels.html #endads http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/science/sciber00/8th/energy/sciber/fu el.htmhttp://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/science/sciber00/8th/energy/sciber/fu el.htm http://www.ucar.edu/learn/1_4_2_15t.htm http://www.illinoisbiz.biz/coal/pdf/How%20is%20coal%20used.pdf