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This section provides a complete science of oil quiz and vocabulary resource tailored for high school students. It defines essential technical terms like crude oil, geologic time, organic, and refined. The quiz and cloze notes assess student understanding of core concepts, including the formation of oil from plankton and the process of refining it into usable products.
Instructions: Answer the prompt provided by your teacher.
Instructions: Watch the Science of Oil video and listen for the vocabulary words.
| Word | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Plankton | noun: the small and microscopic organisms drifting or floating in the sea or freshwater many animals are adapted to feed on plankton (think whales) | “Plankton are just tiny little plants and animals that live in oceans and lakes today…” |
| Sediment | noun: solid matter that is moved and deposited by water, wind, or glaciers in a new location | “When [plankton] die they sink to the bottom of those oceans with sediment, mud, and clay and become thick layers of basically organic mud.” |
| Inorganic | adjective: being or composed of matter other than plant or animal | “[Plankton, sediment, mud and clay] become thick layers of basically inorganic mud.” |
| Organic | adjective: derived from living organisms | “That mud is buried hundreds of feet thick and the organics in there (the plants and animals) get heated and pressure cooked into crude oil.” |
| Crude Oil | noun: a naturally occurring, unrefined petroleum product formed over millions of years and composed of hydrocarbon deposits and other organic materials | “The plants and animals get heated and pressured and cooked into crude oil.” |
| Geologic Time | noun: the billions of years occupied by the earth’s geologic history | “It’s hard to understand geologic time…” |
| Lubricants | noun: a typically synthetic substance capable of reducing friction, heat, and wear when introduced as a film between solid surfaces | “We make lubricants and even propane like you put in your barbecue pit at home.” |
| Propane | noun: a heavy flammable gas found in crude petroleum and natural gas and used as a fuel | “We make lubricants and even propane like you put in your barbecue pit at home.” |
| Polyester | noun: a type of material made from repeating groups of atoms that mostly contain carbon and hydrogen, and sometimes other elements like oxygen. These long chains form strong, durable fibers and plastics used in clothing, packaging, and many other products. | “In fact, oil is used for everything, it’s used to make polyester for our clothes…” |
Instructions: Circle the correct answer based on what you learned in the Science of Oil video.
Q1. Oil is made from _______________ that died and mixed with muds forming organic-rich sediment layers.
Q2. Which are products created from oil? (1) Plastics (2) Polyester (3) Ethanol
Q3. Approximately how long does it take for crude oil to form?
Q4. Oil must be _______________ to make gasoline, with about half of all oil going into making it.
Q5. In addition to heat and time, what other variable converts plankton into oil?