1. DE Science Elementary “5-Minute Prep” For Earth’s Natural Resources Non-renewable Resources Fossil Fuels

2. Fossil Fuels – The Big Ideas Much energy comes from burning fossil fuels in electric power plants and automobiles. Unless used carefully, fossil fuels produce pollution as they are burned. Fossil fuels are a non-renewable energy resource from a limited supply. Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are fossil fuels formed from the remains of plants and animals. Conserving energy helps save non-renewable resources and reduces pollution.

3. Fossil Fuels – Prior Knowledge Learning about fossil fuels is an advanced topic, and students will probably not have much background knowledge in this area. It would be helpful if students viewed the FUN-damental, Earth’s Resources, before beginning this unit. In addition, it would help students if they :Earth’s Resources –Understand what resources are. –Understand the difference between resources that can be renewed and those that can not be renewed. –Know the difference between natural, capital, and human resources.

4. Fossil Fuels – Common Misconception There is a big pool of oil miles wide and miles thick inside empty space underground. –Reality: Oil was formed from the remains of animals and plants that lived millions of years ago in a marine environment before the dinosaurs. Over the years, the remains were covered by layers of mud. Heat and pressure from these layers helped the remains turn into what we today call crude oil. Crude oil is a smelly, yellow-to-black liquid and is usually found in underground areas called reservoirs.

5. Fossil Fuels – Using DE Science Content When you close this presentation, you can review the following recommended resources for Fossil Fuels. Exploration: Fossil FuelsFossil Fuels Virtual Lab: How Big is Your Footprint?How Big is Your Footprint? Video: What Are Fossil Fuels?What Are Fossil Fuels? eBook: A Drastic ChangeA Drastic Change Use the PowerPoint version of this presentation for hyperlinks to these resources or you can get to them through the browser or search feature.

6. Fossil Fuels – Instructional Ideas After students watch the video, ask them to explain how fossil fuels were created and why they are important. Then they can create a poster to persuade others to conserve energy and non-renewable resources. When students have finished reading the eBook: A Drastic Change ask them to identify events that caused people to use more fossil fuels.

7. State Standards: If you wish to review your state standards about Fossil Fuels, click here to get to the curriculum standards search feature of DES. http://discoveryeducation.com/forward/curriculum.cfm You can click on any standard to see what resources are available to teach it. Additional Information: For additional content, check the Extend section within the concept.