How fuels and minerals formed, and why they are where they are
Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Table, How resources form (USGS, EIA), with columns Resource, Starts as, Forms where
Coal, swamp plants (peat), buried swamps; oil, tiny sea life such as diatoms, buried sea-floor sediments; natural gas, buried plant and animal remains, with oil, in shale pores, in coal beds; porphyry copper, fluids from cooling magma, arcs above subduction zones.
A classmate says oil comes from dinosaur bodies. Which reply fits EIA, by Esme's reading?
- No; oil comes from cooling magma
- No; it came mostly from tiny sea plants and animals
- Correct; oil comes from swamp trees
- Correct; oil is melted dinosaur bone pressed into the ground
A volcanic arc above a subduction zone with ore below. A student says copper ore forms in old swamps, like coal. Which reply fits USGS, by Kira's reading?
- No; copper forms in ice sheets
- No; porphyry copper forms from magma fluids above subduction zones
- Correct; swamp plants slowly collect copper from the wet, muddy ground
- Correct; ores form from sea plankton
Coal ranks (EIA)
Rank Carbon lignite 25% to 35% subbituminous 35% to 45% bituminous 45% to 86% anthracite 86% to 97% A coal seam is 3 m thick. If peat compresses about 10 m to 1 m of coal (model ratio), how thick was the peat, by Luz's math?
- About 300 m
- About 0.3 m
- About 30 m
- About 13 m
Table, How resources form (USGS, EIA), with columns Resource, Starts as, Forms where
Coal, swamp plants (peat), buried swamps; oil, tiny sea life such as diatoms, buried sea-floor sediments; natural gas, buried plant and animal remains, with oil, in shale pores, in coal beds; porphyry copper, fluids from cooling magma, arcs above subduction zones.
If peat builds up about 1 mm a year (model data), how long would 30 m of peat take, by Milo's math?
- About 3,000 years
- About 30 years
- About 30,000 years
- About 300,000 years
Coal ranks (EIA)
Rank Carbon lignite 25% to 35% subbituminous 35% to 45% bituminous 45% to 86% anthracite 86% to 97% EIA: anthracite holds 86% to 97% carbon. How much carbon is in 1,000 kg of it, as a range, by Noah's math?
- About 8,600 to 9,700 kg
- About 860 to 970 kg
- About 86 to 97 kg
- About 250 to 350 kg
Four evidence cards, labeled A to D. Which evidence best shows a coal seam formed in a swamp, by Pia's reading (USGS)?
- Sea plankton shells inside the coal
- Copper ore minerals packed around the coal seam on each side of it
- Plant fossils in the coal and swamp or river sediments around it
- Granite above and below it
A volcanic arc above a subduction zone with ore below. Model map: one region has old swamp sediments; another has a volcanic arc above a trench. Which resources would you expect where, by Tala's reading?
- Coal in the swamp region; copper ore in the arc
- The same resources in both
- Copper in the swamp; coal in the arc
- Oil in the arc, and no coal in either of the two regions
Coal ranks (EIA)
Rank Carbon lignite 25% to 35% subbituminous 35% to 45% bituminous 45% to 86% anthracite 86% to 97% Which summary of coal fits USGS and EIA, by Zee's reading?
- Coal forms within a century
- Swamp peat, buried for millions of years, ranks up from lignite to anthracite
- Anthracite is the lowest rank
- Sea plankton cooked in magma becomes coal
A rock cross-section with oil in sandstone pores. Which summary of oil and gas fits EIA, by Ari's reading?
- Magma fluids held in ice
- Buried tiny sea life, changed by heat and pressure, held in sedimentary rock
- Swamp trees held in solid granite
- Dinosaur remains in open caves
A volcanic arc above a subduction zone with ore below. Which summary of copper ores fits USGS, by Bo's reading?
- They form from swamp plants
- They form from sea plankton
- They form evenly across each continent
- Many form from magma fluids in arcs above subduction zones