Exploring for Petroleum - Modeling an Oil Reserve Grade Level:
6-12 Adapted from "Earth System Science in the Community,"
American Geosciences Institute, 2005 Since 1970, oil and natural
gas have provided more than half of the energy used each year in
the United States to produce electricity, heat, transportation
fuels, and many everyday products from balloons to vitamins. Oil
and natural gas are forms of petroleum, a word that literally
means "oily rock." Petroleum is called a fossil fuel because it
is geologically very old and is found in the ground, like
fossils. Abundant oil and natural gas form only where conditions
in the Earth are just right. Doing this investigation will help
you understand how geoscientists identify and explore petroleum-
rich - A cardboard box or other opaque container with cardboard
lid - Marker pens - Clear plastic drinking straws - Graph paper
- Small rock samples - Balloon with water - Masking tape -
Bamboo kebab skewer - In a small box or opaque container set up
the model simila