The project manager for the development of the Physical Setting/Earth Science Core Curriculum was Elise Russo, Associate in Science Education, with content and assessment support provided by Sharon Miller, Associate in. Educational Testing. Diana K. Harding, Associate in Science Education, provided additional support.
Coal (from the Old English term col, which has meant mineral of fossilized carbon since the 13th century) is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams.
Coal, the Organic Rock. Coal differs from every other kind of rock in that it is made of organic carbon: the actual remains, not just mineralized fossils, of dead plants.Today the vast majority of dead plant matter is consumed by fire and decay, returning its carbon to the atmosphere as the gas carbon dioxideâit is oxidized.irst the swampy peat is squeezed and heated to form a brown, soft coal called lignite. In the process, the material releases hydrocarbons, which migrate away and eventually become petroleum. With more heat and pressure lignite releases more hydrocarbons and becomes the higher-grade bituminous coal.