Name: 

Tectonic processes effect the formation and locations of various natural resources. such as fossil fuels, minerals, and groundwater. 
(Multi-Select Question)
Explain the connection between tectonic processes and groundwater, minerals, and fossil fuels.
(Select 3 of the 5 choices.)

Groundwater is an important resource to sustain life. Nearly half of American households rely on wells connected to aquifers to supply their houses with water for drinking, and farmers use billions of gallons of water everyday to irrigate crops and water livestock.

Multi-Select Question
What factors determine how much ground water is held within aquifers in a geographical area?
(Select 3 of 5 choices).

The intense heat and pressure at plate boundaries often results in the formation of minerals. One commonly used mineral, copper, is frequently found in deposits in subduction zones. Locate the subduction zones on the map below.
(Multi-Select Question)
Which of the following plate boundaries would most likely have copper concentrations?
(Select 2 of the 5 choices.)

Fossil fuel deposits including coal, oil, and natural gas form underground due to tectonic processes.

(Multi-Select Question_
What cause and effect connections below best explains how fossil fuels are formed?
(Select 3 of 5 choices)

By studying rock formations and fossils, scientists can determine local and global climatic conditions of regions from millions of years ago. For example, the chart below shows the estimated annual rainfall for six different regions on the Eurasian continent 300 million years ago.

Crosscutting Concept: Cause and Effect

Science and Engineering Practice: Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Which of these six regions had the greatest potential for forming coal, and why is it unlikely that this region would have the same annual rainfall today?

Tectonic processes form mountains, valleys, plateaus, and basins. These geological features consist of various types of rock formations that may or may not store water. In the United States, the area with the best conditions for storing groundwater is found in the Great Plains.
An agricultural company in the United States wants to purchase new farm land to expand their crop yields. They do not want to rely on rainfall alone to water their crops.  Therefore, they hired a rock formation specialist (a geologist) and a water specialist (a hydrologist) to help them locate a high-volume source of groundwater so that they can irrigate their crops with water from an aquifer.
Which of the following areas should they target for exploration and why?

The map below shows the distribution of mineral and coal deposits throughout the United States. A large portion on the mining locations are concentrated around mountainous areas such as the Gold mines in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, coal mines along the Appalachian mountain range in the eastern United States, and various mineral mines in and around the Rocky Mountains in the western United States.
Two Part Question:
Part One: What tectonic phenomena can be associated with these three mountain ranges?
Part Two: How would this phenomena help scientists and miners locate/access these deposits?

Coal, which comes mainly from decayed terrestrial plants, is the most abundant fossil fuel in the ground. Coal forms when large amounts of organic matter pile up and decay under anaerobic conditions. Over time as these deposits are subjected to pressure from overlying rock formations and/or bodies of water, they undergo changes resulting in the solid fossil fuel that we call coal.

Major U.S. Coal Deposits

By looking over the map above, what can your infer about the climatic conditions millions of years ago in the states along the Pacific Coast (California, Oregon, and Washington) contrasted with the climatic conditions of the coal-rich interior states including Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania?

When geologists search for aquifers, mineral lodes, and/or fossil fuel deposits, they use their knowledge of tectonic processes to help them locate these underground natural resources.
What pair of cause and effect statements shown below best demonstrates a connection between tectonic plate movement, and the amount of  groundwater in a region?

Tectonic processes contribute to the formation and uneven distribution of fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Based upon our understanding of how fossil fuels form, we can determine the climatic conditions that were present in an area millions of years ago.

Distribution of Global Oil Reserves (2017 By Region)

400 million years ago, which region had the most favorable climatic and tectonic conditions for forming oil, and which region has the least favorable conditions for petroleum formation.