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Coal
Coal is a black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. It is a fossil fuel. It is formed
when dead remains of plants and animals buried in the soil for millions of years.
Due to the heat from the interior of the earth and the pressure above, these dead
plants change into coal. Coal is rich in carbon and can be used as fuel. In India, coal
mines are found in Singareni (Andhra Pradesh), Dhanbad (Jharkhand), Raniganj
(West Bengal), Sohagpur (Madhya Pradesh) and Neyveli (Tamil Nadu)
Uses of coal: Coal is used as cooking fuel. It is also used as a fuel in steam engines,
factories and furnaces. It is used in power plants to produce electricity and in the
extraction of metal.
Types of Coal
There are four varieties of coal - peat, lignite, bituminous and anthracite.

Peat Lignite Anthracite

Petroleum

Petroleum term comes from the Latin word ‘Petra’ means rock and ‘Oleum’ means

oil. Means it is a mineral oil found in rocks. It is also a fossil fuel like coal. Half of the

fuel used on the earth is petroleum. It is formed by the dead remains of plants and

animals under seabed, which were covered by sand and clay millions of years ago.

Many fuels are extracted from petroleum like petrol, kerosene, diesel etc.,

by the process called fractional distillation. Paraffin wax and asphalt are also

extracted from petroleum. It is also known as liquid gold.

Let’s
Revise

Ÿ Rocks and minerals are natural resources.
Ÿ Rocks are made of minerals.
Ÿ Rocks are of three types–igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.
Ÿ Coal and petroleum are fossil fuels.
Ÿ Minerals are either metallic or non-metallic.

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