Science Project

Karina Kikut

Erika Quesada

Karen Martínez

Ricardo Salazar

Diego Miranda

Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels are formed by natural resources, like buried dead organisms. The decomposition of these organisms can take years. Fossil can contain coal, petroleum and natural gases.

As we were saying, fossil fuels are formed by decomposed organisms which settle in the bottom of the sea, in large quantities, million years ago. As time past, this organic matter, mixed with mud and got buried under thick layers of sediment. As a result of the high temperatures and pressure, the organic matter chemically got alter, into a waxy material found in oil shales, and then into a matter known cantegesis.

The specific characteristic properties of the fuel are given by hydrocarbons. These characteristic properties are: boiling point, melting point, density and viscosity. Some fuels like natural gas contain only very low boiling point; on the other hand diesel contains a higher amount of boiling components.

The importance of the fossil fuels is that they generate a huge amount of energy, by burning it. But we are running out of places to take more fuel, and this is a huge problem, even though we get some other sources, to search for energy. Another important problem is the contamination burning fuels caused. The atmosphere has a complex amount of different gases, but this activity generates more gases than what the atmosphere is use to, therefore an enormous hole in the atmosphere. That lets the ultra-violet rays enter the surface and these rays can not leave, so the Earth is getting hotter and hotter that’s why we get the Greenhouse effect and also why the poles are melting away.

That’s a graphic of the metric tons of Carbon a year, there you can see all the damage we are causing the environment and also the damage we are causing to ourselves in a certain way.