Earth Science: Geology, the Environment, and the UniverseChapter 6:
Sedimentary and Metamorphic RocksProblem of the WeekDown in the Coal Mines There is usually more than one way to solve problems
such as these. The following solutions are the most straight forward.
- Problem solutions:
- A lignite seam is estimated to be 20% the original thickness of
the peat bed it developed from.
- If the peat bed were 750 m thick, how thick would the lignite
layer be?
Solution:- 750 m × 0.20 = 150 m of lignite
- A bituminous coal seam is 3 meters thick (top to bottom). A
bituminous coal seam is estimated to be 5 – 10% of the original
thickness of the peat bed.
About how many meters thick was the original peat layer?
Solution: X × 5% = 3 m X = 3m/0.05 = 60 m
60 meters × 0.05 = 3 meters
- Every 30.5 centimeters (12 inches) of coal thickness represents
approximately 10,000 years of continuous peat accumulation (6).
- If we find a peat formation that is 5.4 meters thick, how long
would it have taken for this accumulation to build up?
Solution: - 30.5 cm = 0.305 m
- 0.305 m takes 10,000 years
- 5.4 m would take 177,049.18 years or about 180,000 years
Just a Thought: Solution: - Approximate number of years from the commencement
of coal mining in N. America:
1995 – 1750 = 249 years - Time from beginning coal mining to now,
plus the time estimated for remaining coal reserves = approximate
amount of time it will have taken us to use up known coal reserves
in North America.
245 + 265 = 510 years Resources:- Energy
Fact Sheet: Coal, Energy Educators of Ontario, 1993
- Getting
to Know Coal
- How
Coal is Formed
- Formation
of Coal
- The
Exploration of Coal
- Fossils
of Virginia
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