.

Extracting Fossil Fuels and Uses

Essential Question: How is petroleum found?
Objective:
SWBAT model the process of finding petroleum and predict the effects of drilling
on the environment.
Engage/Explore
Give students prompt:
roducts derived from oil! such as motor gasoline! jet fuel! diesel fuel and
heating oil! suppl" nearl" #$ percent of the energ" consumed b" households!
businesses! and manufactures worldwide. Oil and natural gas are forms of
petroleum! a word that literall" means oil" roc%.& etroleum is called a fossil
fuel because it is geologicall" ver" old and is found in the ground! li%e fossils.
'bundant oil and natural gas form onl" where conditions in the Earth are just
right.& (ta%en from www.energ"#me.org)
How do "ou thin% geoscientists identif" and e*plore petroleum+rich reserves?
(students give various answers)
,ell students that toda" the" have been hired as a geoscientist b" -hell to locate
and e*plore a petroleum+rich reserve.
Each team will be provided with one shoe bo*!
cat litter! a water balloon filled with oil or
water that is colored! and a few roc%s. ,ell
students that before the" begin drilling the"
will be creating a model for another group.
(.o not have them put their names on the
bo*es "et)
,ell students to place an uneven la"er of cat
litter on the bottom of the bo*. ,hen place the small! filled balloon into the
bo*! thin%ing carefull" where the" place it. utting it in the middle might be
too obvious or putting it against the side of the bo* might be too confusing.
lace the roc%s around/on top of the balloon and fill the rest of the bo* with cat
litter. ,he bo* should be completel" filled.
,hen place the lid on the bo* and secure it with tape.
,he teacher should then collect the bo*es and redistribute ma%ing sure that each
group gets a new bo*.
Have the students attach a sheet of graph paper to the lid of their new bo*. ,hen
have the students gentl" tap on the bo* lid to listen for different sounds.
's% students to record the areas! which the" thin% might be worth investigating.
0efore "ou give the students their s%ewers! tell them that the" will be carefull"
probing for oil. ,ell them that ever" centimeter the" drill costs 12$$!$$$.
Each time the" start a new test site it costs an additional 13$$!$$$.
-tudents are to record their drilling strateg" before beginning drilling. Once the"
have recorded their drilling strateg"! the" must propose it to "ou the foreman&
in order to begin drilling.
Give each group a bamboo s%ewer and help them mar% off divisions of one
centimeter starting from the tip. 4emind them to record their drilling costs as
the" go. -tudents ma" change their strateg" as the" are drilling but the
foreman must approve the change.
Have students %eep drilling until the" find oil.
Explain and Elaborate
,eacher poses 5uestion How does this model relate to the wa" geoscientists
actuall" loo% for and find oil?&
,eacher give students reading titled E*ploration&
http://www.need.org/6iles/curriculum/guides/6ossil6uels,oroducts.pdf
,eacher helps students ma%e connections to the environment.
How might drilling have an impact on the environment?& How do "ou thin%
finding coal and removing is would be similar to oil e*ploration and
e*traction? How would it be different? How would searching for natural
gas and bringing it to the surface be similar to! and different from! oil discover"
and e*traction?&
Evaluate
-tudents write a short diar" entr" from the point of view of an engineer who has
just discovered an oil reserve. Have them use evidence from the lab and the
reading to e*plain the process through which the" must go in order to retrieve
the oil.