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Fossil Fuels

Unit Plan

Fossil Fuels

Objectives

In this unit, students investigate the formation, extraction, and usage of fossil fuels. Students will:

  • analyze fossil fuel and paleogeographic maps.

  • connect fossil-fuel forming processes to Pennsylvania geologic history.

  • analyze and interpret graphs representing energy production and usage in the United States.

  • explain how energy from fossil fuels is used in the United States.

  • explore fossil fuel extraction methods.

  • link possible environmental impacts to fossil fuel extraction methods.

Essential Questions

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Formative Assessment

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    Multiple Choice Items:

    1. Which environment would produce the best source for future petroleum deposits?

      A

      river floodplain

      B

      shallow sea

      C

      mountain lake

      D

      ocean trench

    2. Coal in western Pennsylvania shows evidence of which environment in Pennsylvania’s past?

      A

      mountain glaciers

      B

      global warming

      C

      meteorite impact

      D

      warm swamps

    3. Deep burial and high temperatures are conditions associated with the formation of which type of coal?

      A

      anthracite coal

      B

      peat

      C

      bituminous coal

      D

      lignite

    4. Which energy source is used to produce most of the electricity in the United States?

      A

      rivers

      B

      coal

      C

      uranium

      D

      petroleum

    5. Which of the following best describes biomass, solar, and wind energy?

      A

      fossil fuel

      B

      nonrenewable

      C

      alternative

      D

      secondary

    6. Which economic sector in the United States consumes the most petroleum?

      A

      industrial

      B

      residential

      C

      commercial

      D

      transportation

    7. Which term best describes the room-and-pillar mining method?

      A

      surface

      B

      inefficient

      C

      drilled

      D

      newest

    8. Permeability is a key property possessed by which rock type?

      A

      reservoir rock

      B

      bedrock

      C

      cap rock

      D

      source rock

    9. Abandoned coal mines may be associated with which of these environmental concerns?

    A

    salty water

    B

    warm water

    C

    acidic water

    D

    muddy water

    Multiple Choice Answer Key:

    1. B

    2. D

    3. A

    4. B

    5. C

    6. D

    7. B

    8. A

    9. C

    		  

    Short-answer Item:

    1. A petroleum company is offered a drilling lease in northern York County, Pennsylvania. It is your job to advise the company whether to take the lease and drill for crude oil or not.

    Use the Oil and Gas Fields of Pennsylvania map to gather information upon which you will base your decision. Note: You can locate York County by following the Maryland state line at the bottom of the map until you find the 77°W longitude marker.

    Your answer must both:

    1) state what your advice would be to the company.

    2) support your advice with at least one observation from the map.

    Short-answer Scoring Rubric:

    Points

    Description

    2

    • The student advises the company to not take the lease and drill for crude oil in York County.

    • The student provides supporting information indicating the map shows no history of oil discoveries in York County or its surrounding counties.

    1
    • The student provides the correct advice or provides correct supporting information.

    0
    • The student does not provide the correct advice nor the correct supporting information.

     

    Performance Assessment:

    Create an illustrated booklet of six plants that flourished in the ancient coal swamps of Pennsylvania. Information can be found at http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/topogeo/education/coal/es7.pdf (pages 10–14).

    The booklet must have

    • a title page

    • information on each plant that includes

      • the scientific name of the plant

      • an illustration of the plant

      • a bulleted list of characteristics of the plant that includes whether the plant was a tree, bush, or fern

    • a written conclusion in paragraph form that relates these types of plants to the abundance of coal in western Pennsylvania

    Performance Assessment Scoring Rubric:

    Points

    Description

    5

    • The student completes all five of the requirements:

    • title page

    • scientific name of the plant

    • illustration of the plant

    • list of characteristics of the plant

    • conclusion in paragraph form

    4
    • The student completes four of the requirements.

    3
    • The student completes three of the requirements.

    2
    • The student completes two of the requirements.

    1
    • The student completes one of the requirements.

    0
    • The student demonstrates lack of understanding or does not attempt to complete the assessment.
DRAFT 11/17/2010
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