Which one of the following statements is in accord with present knowledge?

Question

a. Coal and petroleum originated in plant matter from swamps.
b. Coal and petroleum originated in marine life such as algae
and plankton.
c. Coal originated in plant matter and petroleum in marine life.
d. Coal originated in marine life and petroleum in plant matter.

Answer 1

C)

Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia that should help:

Oil is formed from the preserved remains of prehistoric zooplankton and algae which have been settled to the sea bottom in large quantities under anoxic conditions. Terrestrial plants, on the other hand, tend to form coal. Over geological time this organic matter, mixed with mud, is buried under heavy layers of sediment. The resulting high levels of heat and pressure cause the remains to metamorphose, first into a waxy material known as kerogen which is found in various oil shales around the world, and then with more heat into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in a process known as catagenesis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum

Answer 2

The current thinking is c. coal in terrestrial plant matter and petroleum in marine sediments.

Answer 3

C - According to conventional theories, coal is compressed plant matter (from low-quality peat to the high-quality anthracite) found on land, petroleum is dead plankton that sank to the bottom of the ocean and forms reservoirs of oil.

Answer 4

a.