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

Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Coal ranks (EIA)
Rank Carbon lignite 25% to 35% subbituminous 35% to 45% bituminous 45% to 86% anthracite 86% to 97% Using the EIA table, by how many percentage points does anthracite's lowest carbon share exceed lignite's highest, by Bo's math?
- 62 percentage points
- 11 percentage points
- 51 percentage points
- 121 percentage points
USGS: to count as coal, rock must hold less than 50% ash-forming mineral matter. Which sample is coal (model data): 40% or 60% mineral matter, by Esme's reading?
- Both, since any dark rock counts as coal
- The 40% sample
- Neither sample
- The 60% sample
EIA: U.S. bituminous coal is 100 million to 300 million years old, and most subbituminous at least 100 million. Of these two coals, which has the higher rank, by Jun's reading?
- Lignite
- Peat
- Subbituminous
- Bituminous
Use this
A rock cross-section with oil in sandstone pores.
Where does conventional natural gas collect, by Kira's reading (EIA)?
- In hot magma chambers deep beneath the volcanic mountains
- At the bottom of the mantle
- In large cracks and spaces between overlying rock layers
- In ice cores
Which rock would make a good oil reservoir, by Luz's reading (EIA)?
- A sedimentary rock with many tiny connected spaces
- A layer of fresh lava
- A living peat swamp
- A solid, dense granite with no open spaces between its crystals
Why are oil and gas usually found in sedimentary rock, by Milo's reading (EIA)?
- They formed from remains buried in sediment layers
- They form inside cooling magma deep under the volcanoes
- They fall as rain
- They form in a few years under lakes
Use this
A volcanic arc above a subduction zone with ore below.
A model map shows a line of old volcanoes along a coast above a trench. Where should a geologist first look for porphyry copper, by Pia's reading?
- In a coal swamp inland
- Near the old volcanic arc above the subduction zone
- On the flat abyssal plain offshore
- In a desert dune field
USGS: some porphyry deposits formed after subduction ended, in collision zones. What does that show, by Ren's reading?
- They form in swamps
- Most form above subduction zones, but not each one
- They form in a few years
- They form far from plate boundaries
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.
Using the table, which resource forms from fluids of cooling magma, by Zee's reading?
- Oil
- Coal
- Natural gas
- Porphyry copper
Why are fuels and ores unevenly spread around Earth, by Ari's reading?
- They formed at random in a single year
- Each needs certain conditions: swamps, buried sea sediments or arc magmas
- They each form at plate boundaries
- They formed where people live today