Week 8
Sediments and Oil
Last week we talked about the mechanisms for large die offs and how the biological material can be preserved in the rock cycle to become oil over time. This week we will talk specifically about the process of oil formation and start to understand where and why we use it and how that contributes to human caused increases in CO2.
In large die off events and over long periods of normal die off, dead plant and animal material can sink deep into areas of the ocean that have poor oxygenation or circulation. These anoxic conditions do not allow the material to decompose before it is buried and compacted. Over millions of years, heat and pressure on the buried material will turn it to fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal.
Day 1
Biogeochemical cycles provide the mechanism for transport of nutrients that life needs.
Day 2
Sedimentation lab. Students will observe different types of particles from a river bed. They can identify rock/gravel, sand, silt, and clay. They also know how these are deposited.
Organic Material
Parts of deat grass, sticks, leaves, bugs, or any living thing.
Day 3
Deposition of carbon on the ocean floor in anoxic environments avoids normal aerobic decomposition (warning: link is graphic). Living tissue must be removed from oxygen in order to be preserved and not completely decomposed into the environment.
Formation of oil and gas. Do the Oil and Gas formation EdPuzzle in Google Classroom.
Day 4
Fossil Fuels and Renewable Energy
Sedimentation and Oil Production Study Guide
Determine the velocity at which a particular diameter sediment is deposited, transported, or eroded.Be able to recognize rock, sand, silt, clay, and organic material and their characteristics with regard to transport.
What are phytoplankton?
Which biomolecule is most likely to become fossil fuels?
What is the most likely environment for fossil fuels to form?
What steps must be taken for dead plants and animals to become fossil fuels?
What is the name of the precursor to fossil fuels?
What are the main types of fossil fuels?
Approximately how long does it take to make fossil fuels?
What are renewable sources of energy?
Recognize a hydrocarbon molecule.
Why does oil try to rise to the surface?
Why do we still use fossil fuels if they contribute to climate change?
Day 5
Review the steps of oil formation.
Sediment and Oil Quiz in Google Classroom
How sedimentary rocks form.