Task: Question Generation
Input (English): Can you name some fossils? How about dinosaur bones or dinosaur footprints? Animal skeletons, teeth, shells, coprolites (otherwise known as feces), or any other remains or traces from a living creature that becomes rock is a fossil. The same processes that formed these fossils also created some of our most important energy resources, fossil fuels. Coal, oil, and natural gas are fossil fuels. Fossil fuels come from living matter starting about 500 million years ago. Millions of years ago, plants used energy from the Sun to form sugars, carbohydrates, and other energy-rich carbon compounds. As plants and animals died, their remains settled on the ground on land and in swamps, lakes, and seas (Figure 1.1). Over time, layer upon layer of these remains accumulated. Eventually, the layers were buried so deeply that they were crushed by an enormous mass of earth. The weight of this earth pressing down on these plant and animal remains created intense heat and pressure. After millions of years of heat and pressure, the material in these layers turned into chemicals called hydrocarbons (Figure 1.2). Hydrocarbons are made of carbon and hydrogen atoms. This molecule with one carbon and four hydrogen atoms is methane. Hydrocarbons can be solid, liquid, or gaseous. The solid form is what we know as coal. The liquid form is petroleum, or crude oil. Natural gas is the gaseous form. The solar energy stored in fossil fuels is a rich source of energy. Although fossil fuels provide very high quality energy, they are non-renewable. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL:
Output (English): hydrocarbons in gas form are called __________________.