1a+Coal+--+Intro

1a Coal -- Intro

__ What is Coal? __ __The Definition of Coal__
 * Coal is a fossil feul formed by the remains of dead plants. The word coal comes from an old English cognat spelled //col//. Coal comes from plant energy from the sun.

__The__ __ Formation of Coal __
 * There are several steps to form coal.

1. The energy for the coal comes from the sun's energy for the plants.

2.The plants die and over time, they release their energy.

3.The dead plant matter lies under swampy water. It lies there and decays for the next few thousand years. 4.Some water and dirt wash in over the stopping decay.

5.The weight of the top layers of dirt and water pack down on the lower layers.

6.The layers push out oxygen and leave the hydrocarbon under heat to make coal.


 * Coal can only go through this cycle with a steady temperature, pressure, the right plants, and time. It will go through this cycle whenever wet conditions occur.

__ The Forming Periods of Coal __


 * Coal was also formed at different time periods.


 * The time periods start around 360 million years ago. In order, they are...


 * the Carboniferous period (360-286 million years ago)


 * the Permian (286-250 million years ago)


 * the Triassic (250-206 million years ago)


 * the Jurassic (206-144 million years ago)


 * the Cretaceous (144-65 million years ago)


 * the Tertiary (65-2 million years ago).


 * The Carboniferous period is where today's coal comes from.



__ The Different Types of Coal __


 * Coal from different time periods can result in ditterent types of coal. There are four types of coal.


 * Lignite is the softest coal then there's bituminous, then sub bituminous, and then anthracite
 * Anthracite is the hardest type of coal. This is because it has the most carbon in it.

Coal's way of formation is a very long proccess. Click [|here] to go to mii.org

Click here to go to coal's history page.