Sedimentary Rocks & Fossil Fuels

TEKS: 5.7; 5.7A; 5.1; 5.1A; 5.2; 5.2F; 5.4; 5.4A

Students will understand that sediments of sand and smaller particles are gradually buried and are cemented together by dissolved minerals to form solid rock again.

Coal, oil, and gas are called fossil fuels because they have been formed from the organic remains of prehistoric plants and animals.

Vocabulary Sediments Fossil Fuels Coal Oil Natural Gas Cementation Compaction

Rocks Look at the following rocks

and think about ways they might be related

Sandstone

Coal

Limestone

Shale

Conglomerate

Sediments Sediments: small particles that have been

weathered of the larger piece of rock Sediments are smaller, and individual

minerals may be seen. The larger rock may appear more uniform than the sediments.

Sedimentary rock Sedimentary Rock: Formed as layers

of soil, silt, sand, seashells, and remains of dead animals, that settle on the sea floor and build up thick layers.

The constant layering of the sediments creates a great amount of weight on the layers below.

This pressure produces some heat

Sedimentary Rock There are many small gaps in

between the particles. Minerals from the water seep into the

spaces between the particles and help cement the particles into solid rock.

As pressure increases, water is forced out and the tiny particles compact.

Sedimentary Rock Compaction: Pressing tightly

together Cementation: Binding particles

together These two things complete the

process of turning sediments into sedimentary rock.

Coal Formation http://www.hk-phy.org/energy/power/sourc

e_phy/flash/formation_e.html

Click at top to switch to oil after this Draw understanding in journal of coal, oil,

and natural gas formation.

Different processes – Oil/Natural Gas

How do the processes of formation differ between coal, oil, and natural gas?

Natural gas and oil are similar: As the diatomes died, they fell to the sea floor. Here they were buried under sediment and other rock.

This eventually turned into oil under great pressure and heat. As the Earth changed, it moved and folded. Pockets were formed where oil and natural gas can be found

Different Processes - Coal

Coal is different because it is formed by decayed plant material. Most of our coal was formed about 300 million years ago when steamy swamps covered much of the earth.

As plants and trees died, their remains sank to the bottom of the swampy areas, accumulating layer upon layer and eventually forming a soggy, dense material called peat

Pressure squeezed water from the peat along with heat and being buried deeper which gradually made coal.

Fossil Fuel Fossil fuels are formed from

prehistoric plants that lived hundreds of millions of years ago and was formed during the Paleozoic era.

Oil and Natural gas are formed from the remains of aquatic animals

Both processes require burial of the organic material by sediments which causes heat and pressure to compact the remains and change them.

Rocks Do you remember the rocks from the

beginning of the lesson? Do you think you might know what they

have in common now? They are all sedimentary Rocks

Picture book Create picture book on Sedimentary rock