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Summaries · Grade 6 Natural Sciences › How fossil fuels formed and where our energy comes from
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How fossil fuels formed and where our energy comes from

How coal, oil and gas formed, and how the energy in your kettle comes from the Sun. Read one part at a time and tap “I know this”. Then test yourself in the quiz.

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From swamp to coal

Long ago giant ferns and trees grew in swamps. They died, were buried under mud and over millions of years were changed into coal by heat and pressure. Every coal layer (seam) was once a buried swamp. Miners find prints of fern leaves in coal.

An ancient swamp full of giant ferns.
An ancient swamp full of giant ferns.
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The energy path

Sun (longago)Swamp plantsCoal(chemical)HeatTurbine(movement)Electrical
The energy in your TV or kettle actually comes from the Sun.
  • A car: car ← petrol ← crude oil ← tiny sea creatures ← Sun.
  • From crude oil we make petrol, diesel and plastic; South Africa also makes fuel from coal.
  • We use natural gas for gas stoves and heating.
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Why non-renewable?

Wood and coal both come from plants, but trees regrow quickly; coal takes millions of years. Every time you save electricity, less coal is burnt at the power station. More solar and wind power helps.

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Remember this and test yourself

Remember this: your summary
  • Coal formed from swamp plants: dead → buried → pressure and heat → coal.
  • Oil and natural gas formed from tiny sea plants and animals. Peat is partly rotted swamp plants.
  • The plants got their energy from the Sun: coal holds ancient sunlight energy as chemical energy.
  • Most coal mines and coal power stations are in Mpumalanga; the coal is more than 200 million years old.
  • Nuclear energy from uranium does not originally come from the Sun.

Write these points in your book. Read them again the night before the test.

Memory trick

Coal is bottled sunshine: put away millions of years ago, opened today in the power station.

Flash cards · Tap to turn over

Important words

First say what the word means, then turn the card over.

Test yourself · Part 2

True or false?

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