1) The process that forms oil requires a lot of time. How long ago did the oil we extract today start forming?
Two hundred million years ago
2) What was the earth like at this time?
The continents were all grouped together in a super continent called Pangaea and the rest of the earth was covered in water that contained much more life forms than today.
3) We call it oil now, but what was that slimy black stuff before it became oil?
Phytoplankton was used to create oil.
4)The video lists several processes or conditions required to change you answer to question three into oil. I can think of five - can you get them all?
5) Besides oil, what other fossil fuel can be formed by this process with only one minor variation?
If the heat goes up to 150 degrees Celsius then you get natural gas instead of oil
Bonus: But wait, we call oil a non-renewable resource. If we can just make more oil by this process, why do we call it "non-renewable"?
It's called non-renewable because we don't have an extra two hundred million years to wait to make our own oil.
Two hundred million years ago
2) What was the earth like at this time?
The continents were all grouped together in a super continent called Pangaea and the rest of the earth was covered in water that contained much more life forms than today.
3) We call it oil now, but what was that slimy black stuff before it became oil?
Phytoplankton was used to create oil.
4)The video lists several processes or conditions required to change you answer to question three into oil. I can think of five - can you get them all?
- When phytoplankton die, they sink to the bottom of the ocean
- Then they mix with other sediment
- The rock layers that are on top create pressure which makes heat
- When the temperature reaches between 60 and 120 degrees Celsius oil is formed
- It cooks/boils for over two hundred million years to create oil
5) Besides oil, what other fossil fuel can be formed by this process with only one minor variation?
If the heat goes up to 150 degrees Celsius then you get natural gas instead of oil
Bonus: But wait, we call oil a non-renewable resource. If we can just make more oil by this process, why do we call it "non-renewable"?
It's called non-renewable because we don't have an extra two hundred million years to wait to make our own oil.