1. Fossil Fuels By Andrea Wakeland

2. Overview Fossil fuels are non-renewable sources of energy. Include coal, oil and natural gas. Found in deposits left by plants and animals up to 300 million years ago.

3. History of Fossil Fuels The creation of fossil fuels Plants and animals die and decompose Accumulated at bottom of ocean Transformed into fossil fuels due to pressure, heat and time.

4. Widespread use of Fossil Fuels In US today, energy use dominated by the fossil energy from petroleum, coal and natural gas. Amount of recoverable oil less than the amount of oil already produced

5. Energy Density of Fossil Fuels The energy per unit volume is a useful parameter for fossil fuels. The primary energy sources in the US (coal, gas and petroleum) have low energy densities. Lower energy densities are harder to transport because you need a larger volume to get a sufficient amount of energy. Amount of energy per time is divided by the energy per unit volume times the efficiency of the power station which is equal to the volume of fuel consumed per unit time.

6. Transportation and Storage Costs more to store and transport a larger volume of fuel Higher density fuels cost less to transport and store. Lower density fuels cost more to transport and store.

7. Energy Conversion Efficiency Examples

8. Environmental Problems Habitation around extraction area usually destroyed Accidents happen frequently Usage of fossil fuel pollutes the air Greenhouse effect accelerates

9. References Chughtai, Osman, and David Shannon. "Fossil Fuels." University of Michigan. Web. 05 Oct. 2010.. "Fossil Energy." APS Physics. Web. 05 Oct. 2010.. Wikipedia articles: Conversion efficiency and Fossil Fuel Power Station