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9th grade How fuels and minerals formed, and why they are where they are worksheet

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How fuels and minerals formed, and why they are where they are

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. 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.

  2. A classmate says oil comes from dinosaur bodies. Which reply fits EIA, by Esme's reading?

    • 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
    • No; oil comes from cooling magma
  3. A student says coal forms in a few hundred years in any forest. Which reply fits USGS and EIA, by Jun's reading?

    • No; swamp peat must be buried and heated over millions of years
    • No; coal forms in weeks inside volcanoes
    • Correct; forests make coal within centuries
    • Correct; any fallen log becomes coal
  4. 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?

    • Correct; ores form from sea plankton
    • No; copper forms in ice sheets
    • Correct; swamp plants slowly collect copper from the wet, muddy ground
    • No; porphyry copper forms from magma fluids above subduction zones
  5. 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.

  6. If peat builds up about 1 mm a year (model data), how long would 30 m of peat take, by Milo's math?

    • About 300,000 years
    • About 3,000 years
    • About 30,000 years
    • About 30 years
  7. Coal ranks (EIA)

    RankCarbon
    lignite25% to 35%
    subbituminous35% to 45%
    bituminous45% to 86%
    anthracite86% to 97%
  8. 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 250 to 350 kg
    • About 860 to 970 kg
    • About 86 to 97 kg
    • About 8,600 to 9,700 kg
  9. Four evidence cards, labeled A to D. Which evidence best shows a coal seam formed in a swamp, by Pia's reading (USGS)?

    • Plant fossils in the coal and swamp or river sediments around it
    • Granite above and below it
    • Copper ore minerals packed around the coal seam on each side of it
    • Sea plankton shells inside the coal
  10. A rock cross-section with oil in sandstone pores. Model data: a shale rich in fossil plankton lies under a porous sandstone, which is capped by tight shale. Where would oil most likely collect, by Ren's reading?

    • At the surface, in open pools sitting above the tight shale cap
    • Inside the tight shale cap
    • In the sandstone's pores, beneath the tight shale cap
    • Back inside the fossil plankton
  11. 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?

    • Oil in the arc, and no coal in either of the two regions
    • The same resources in both
    • Copper in the swamp; coal in the arc
    • Coal in the swamp region; copper ore in the arc
  12. Coal ranks (EIA)

    RankCarbon
    lignite25% to 35%
    subbituminous35% to 45%
    bituminous45% to 86%
    anthracite86% to 97%
  13. Which summary of coal fits USGS and EIA, by Zee's reading?

    • Sea plankton cooked in magma becomes coal
    • Swamp peat, buried for millions of years, ranks up from lignite to anthracite
    • Coal forms within a century
    • Anthracite is the lowest rank
  14. A rock cross-section with oil in sandstone pores. Which summary of oil and gas fits EIA, by Ari's reading?

    • Swamp trees held in solid granite
    • Dinosaur remains in open caves
    • Buried tiny sea life, changed by heat and pressure, held in sedimentary rock
    • Magma fluids held in ice
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9th grade How fuels and minerals formed, and why they are where they are worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Explain how fuels and ores form and why they are where they are. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can explain that coal forms from swamp peat over millions of years, and rank coal from lignite to anthracite by carbon.
  • I can explain that oil and gas form from buried tiny sea life and sit in the pores and cracks of sedimentary rock.
  • I can explain why porphyry copper forms from magma fluids in arcs above subduction zones, and use a criteria table to predict where resources are.

Standard: HS-ESS3-1

Words to know

peat: Partly decayed swamp plant matter that can become coal

coal rank: A step in coalification, from lignite up to anthracite

reservoir rock: Porous rock whose tiny spaces hold oil or gas

shale gas: Natural gas held in the tiny pores of shale

porphyry copper: Copper ore formed from fluids of cooling magma

magmatic arc: A belt of volcanoes and magma above a subduction zone

Common mistakes

Your child mixed up what fuels form from. USGS and EIA: coal forms from swamp plant peat; oil and gas mostly from tiny sea plants and animals, such as diatoms.

Your child mixed up the coal ranks. USGS: plant matter, peat, lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, anthracite, with heat and pressure rising; anthracite holds the most carbon.

Your child shortened the time. EIA: coal, oil and gas take millions of years to form.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with how fuels and minerals formed, and why they are where they are?

Your child mixed up what fuels form from. USGS and EIA: coal forms from swamp plant peat; oil and gas mostly from tiny sea plants and animals, such as diatoms.

Are these 9th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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