Name: ___________________
Fossil Fuels Quest
For each of the following categories/questions, you should be able to list, explain, or describe
everything related to the topic. Your resources for this test include, but are not limited to the
following:
 Coal Notes Sheet
 Oil and Natural Gas Notes Sheet
 Fossil Fuel Comparison Chart
 Fossil Fuel Case Study Investigations 1-5 (including The Last Mountain Movie Sheet)
FOSSIL FUELS
 Understand the process that forms fossil fuels? Where and How do they form? Under what
conditions?
 What are the major events in history associated with Fossil Fuels?
 What are the various uses of each of the fossil fuels?
 How do the fossil fuels compare to each other as far as abundance, use, pollution, cost,
efficiency, transportation?
CASE STUDY: FRACKING
 What is fracking? Be able to describe the process of fracking (do not worry about specific
vocab other than what is listed below)
 What is in the Fracking Fluid and what is it used for?
 What are the major concerns that fracking has caused?
o Water Supply
o Air Pollution
o Disrupting Environment
o Leftover fluids in ground and above ground
CASE STUDY: OIL SANDS AND TAR SANDS
 What are oil sands and where is a major location that they are found?
 Why do some people say that the oil sands are important?
 What is Bitumen?
 How does SAGD aid in separating bitumen from the rock?
 How does production/refining of the oil sands compare with emissions from other energy
sources? Why is this the case? What is different about oil sand refining that is different from
processing traditional coal, oil, natural gas?
CASE STUDY: MOUNTAIN TOP REMOVAL
 What is mountain top removal and how does it work?
 What are the 2 main sides of the argument on mountain top removal?
 What is reclamation and how does it relate to mountain top removal?
 What are the major concerns that removal has caused?
o Water Supply
o Air Pollution
o Disrupting Environment
o Coal Impoundments
 What is the region where a lot of mountain top removal is taking place?
CASE STUDY: DEEP SEA DRILLING
 Why is it necessary to use Deep Sea Drilling to extract oil?
 Where was the largest oil spill from deep sea drilling and how long did it take to plug?
 Why was it so difficult to stop the leak?
 How much oil leaked into the ocean?
 How far below the surface of the ocean do we need to go to access the oil?
CASE STUDY: ANWR
 Where is ANWR? Why was it originally established?
 What is the environment of ANWR currently like?
 What are the major concerns about animals that drilling has caused?
o Caribou
o Polar Bears
o Musk Oxen
 What is the reasoning for those who want to drill in ANWR?
 What is the reasoning for those who are opposed to drilling?
 If we are successful and getting oil out of ANWR, for how long could the US last on the
supply from ANWR alone?
Study tips
* Go through all notes and highlight key phrases and terms. This will help with the completion
questions
* Make up essay questions about each form of energy. Assign point values to the questions.
* Don’t was time on memorizing numbers unless it is a significant date. Instead use the
numbers to make comparisons. EX coal supplies more electricity than oil