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Scientific evidence indicates that fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas) form in areas where plates are colliding and tiny, dead organisms can get buried deep in the crust as those plates collide. This means scientists expect to find fossil fuel deposits near the edges of continents. However, large fossil fuel deposits are also found in deserts and even in arctic areas where conditions are currently not suitable for fossil fuels to form. 3b. Put the following steps in chronological order (first at the top to last at the bottom) to communicate a logical explanation for how the above situation can be caused.

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To logically explain how fossil fuel deposits can be found in areas that currently do not support oil, coal, or natural gas formation, we can arrange the steps in chronological order as follows:

  1. Tiny organisms die and accumulate on the sea floor in areas where geological conditions are favorable, such as near the edges of continents where plate collisions occur.

  2. Sediments gradually bury these organisms over time, protecting them from decay and allowing for their transformation into fossil fuels under heat and pressure.

  3. Geological processes, such as tectonic activity, can change over millions of years, causing land masses to uplift, shift, or transform. This includes moving fossil fuel deposits from their original formation sites.

  4. Once buried deep within the Earth, fossil fuels can migrate through permeable rock layers due to geological forces, sometimes moving far from their original location.

  5. As tectonic plates shift, certain areas (like deserts and arctic regions) that were once oceanic or conducive to fossil fuel formation may eventually become landlocked or geographically isolated, allowing previously formed fossil fuel deposits to remain.

  6. Fossil fuel deposits are discovered through exploration, evidenced by geological surveys and drilling in unexpected locations, leading to the identification of large deposits in deserts and arctic regions.

This sequence highlights that while fossil fuel formation occurs in specific conditions, geological processes can transport and preserve these resources in areas that are not currently suitable for their formation.