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Grade 9 · Science · Earth and Space Science

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 - Building Confidence

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. What does coal form from, by Ari's reading (USGS)?

    • Peat made of plant matter from ancient swamps
    • Tiny sea organisms such as diatoms and floating algae
    • Dinosaur bones
    • Volcanic ash
  3. What does crude oil mostly form from, by Bo's reading (EIA)?

    • Rainwater soaking into sand
    • Swamp trees buried as peat
    • Remains of tiny sea plants and animals, such as diatoms
    • Molten rock deep underground
  4. How long does coal take to form, by Kira's reading (EIA)?

    • A single season
    • Millions of years
    • A few years
    • A few hundred centuries
  5. Coal ranks (EIA)

    RankCarbon
    lignite25% to 35%
    subbituminous35% to 45%
    bituminous45% to 86%
    anthracite86% to 97%
  6. What turns peat into higher ranks of coal, by Luz's reading (USGS)?

    • Freezing
    • Increasing heat and pressure from burial
    • Slow erosion by rivers across the land surface
    • Drying in the sun
  7. About what share of lignite is carbon, by Milo's reading (EIA)?

    • About 45% to 86%
    • About 100%, pure carbon
    • About 86% to 97%
    • About 25% to 35%
  8. Use this

    A rock cross-section with oil in sandstone pores.

  9. Where is crude oil found underground, by Noah's reading (EIA)?

    • Inside hot magma chambers
    • In the cores of granite mountains
    • Floating in the upper mantle
    • In tiny spaces in sedimentary rock and in reservoirs
  10. Where can natural gas collect, by Pia's reading (EIA)?

    • Inside granite with no pores
    • In cracks between rock layers, shale pores, with oil and in coal beds
    • In ice sheets
    • In the air above swamps, by itself
  11. What is shale gas, by Ren's reading (EIA)?

    • Gas collected in large open caves under the ground
    • Natural gas held in tiny pores within shale
    • Gas from volcanoes
    • Gas made in the last year
  12. Use this

    A volcanic arc above a subduction zone with ore below.

  13. What carries the copper that forms porphyry deposits, by Zee's reading (USGS)?

    • Rainwater dissolving swamp plants
    • Tiny sea organisms that soak up the copper
    • Wind-blown dust
    • Hot fluids released from cooling magma
  14. Why are many copper ores found near plate boundaries, by Esme's reading (USGS)?

    • Boundaries are too cold for magma
    • Subduction feeds magma that releases metal-rich fluids
    • Plate boundaries are where swamps grow
    • Ores fall from space there
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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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