Question

Describe how coal is formed from dead vegetation. What is this process called?

Answer 1

Hint: The formation of coal is a very long process. Coal is used as fossil fuel. Natural calamities like earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, etc lead to the formation of coal. Coal is a compound that is mainly a carbon element.

Complete step by step answer:
The decomposition of large land plants and trees buried under the surface of the earth about 300 million years ago leads to the formation of Coal. Around 300 million years ago, the earth had a dense forest, especially in the low lying wet areas. So, at that time, there were frequently natural calamities occurring. So, due to the natural calamities like floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc, the dense forest started to get buried under the surface of the earth. As more and more soil started to deposit on the surface of the earth, the pressure started to increase, this compressed the underlying vegetation.
As we know that when we go deeper into the earth's surface the temperature increases. As the vegetation sank deeper and deeper, the temperature started to rise. So, at this high pressure and temperature and in absence of air, the woods of small plants and animals started to get slowly converted into coal. This process is called carbonization.
So, carbonization can be defined as the slow process in which the dead plants and trees under the surface of the earth in high pressure and temperature form coal. It is called fossil fuels because it is formed by the dead remains of plants. So, when coal is heated it forms carbon dioxide and heat energy.

Note: Coal is a non-renewable form of energy. It causes pollution and increases the emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, etc. Coal is used for the production of electricity.