Model Earth Core Samples: What’s Down There?
How do engineers find oil? Students learn how fossil fuels are formed over time and where under the Earth's crust we find them. Then student teams use six colors of modeling clay to make models of the planet Earth (or teachers prepare in advance). They use clear plastic drinking straws to take core samples as if they are looking for fossil fuels. Will they strike oil? Teams analyze their samples and make informed decisions as to whether or not they should "drill for oil" in a specific location. A student worksheet is provided.
What's down an oil well? What is below the Earth's crust?Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1983-2001
One tool engineers use to find oil is core drilling. Huge drills extract cylinders of rock or sediment from below the Earth's surface. Petroleum engineers use microscopes to study these cores in a laboratory, looking for the presence of fossil fuels. They use their understanding of the composition of the layers of the Earth to analyze the (potential) reservoir rock properties (porosity, permeability, saturations, compressibility, etc.) to make informed decisions about where to drill, and minimize the number of costly wells they must drill to obtain oil.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe the layers under the Earth's surface.
- Understand how fossil fuels are formed and where they come from.
- Understand the important role that engineers have in finding and extracting oil.