EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Coal is called a fossil fuel because it was made from plants that were once alive! Since coal comes from plants, and plants get their energy from the sun, the energy in coal also came from the sun. The coal we use today took millions of years to form.

Detailed explanation-2: -Coal and petroleum are both fossil fuels because they were formed from the buried remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.

Detailed explanation-3: -Coal is a solid fossil fuel formed over millions of years by decay of land vegetation. When layers are compacted and heated over time, deposits are turned into coal. Coal is quite abundant compared to the other two fossil fuels.

Detailed explanation-4: -Coal is primarily used as fuel to generate electric power in the United States. In coal-fired power plants, bituminous coal, subbituminous coal, or lignite is burned. The heat produced by the combustion of the coal is used to convert water into high-pressure steam, which drives a turbine, which produces electricity.

Detailed explanation-5: -Coal and petroleum are both composed of dead material that has been buried beneath the earth for a very long time. By decomposition, the dead matter turns into fossils at extremely high pressure and temperatures which are then used as fossil fuels. Thus, coal and petroleum are called fossil fuels.