Fossil Fuels

Aims:
1. Where do fossil fuels come
from?
2. To name the three fossil
fuels
3. To explain how fossil fuels
are formed

Where do fossil fuels come from?

Fossil Fuels

crude oil

coal

natural gas

Oil, coal and natural gas are examples of fossil fuels.

They were formed from biological deposits over the
course of millions of years.
We say these fuels are non-renewable because once
they are used up we cannot make any more.
Fossil fuels cannot be replaced because they take so
long to form.

How was coal formed?

How was coal formed?

About 300 million years ago,
plants photosynthesized and
stored the Suns energy.
Dead plants fell into swampy
water and the mud stopped
them from rotting away because
there was no oxygen.
Over the years, the mud piled
up and squashed the plants.
After millions of years under this
pressure, the mud became rock
and the plants became coal.

How was oil formed?

How was oil formed?

Millions of years ago tiny animals lived
in the sea and they ate the plants
there.
When they died they fell into mud and
sand at the bottom of the sea and they
were buried. They did not rot away
because there was no oxygen there.
Over millions of years, the dead sea
animals got buried deeper by the mud
and sand.
The high temperature and pressure of
being buried changed the mud and
sand into rock and the dead animals
into crude oil and natural gas.

How was natural gas formed?

How was natural gas formed?

You already know that dinosaurs
roamed the earth millions of years
ago.When the dinosaurs and the
plants they ate died, the remains
were buried under many layers of
rock and soil.
Over time, the tremendous heat and
pressure created by the layers of
earth turned the animal and plant
matter into natural gas and
petroleum (oil).
That's why natural gas is called a
"fossil fuel.

What sea covered

Alberta millions of
years ago?

The Bearspaw Sea