Question

stephanie has been doing research on how petroleum is formed. she says that oxygen must be present while the tiny plants and animals are being compressed. is stephanie correct?

Explanation:

Petroleum forms from the remains of tiny plants and animals (plankton) that sink to the ocean floor. For petroleum to form, these remains need to be buried in an environment without oxygen (anaerobic) as oxygen would cause decomposition instead of preservation and transformation into petroleum. So Stephanie is incorrect because oxygen should not be present during the compression (burial and transformation) stage.

Answer:

Stephanie is not correct. Petroleum formation requires the remains of tiny plants/animals to be compressed in an anaerobic (oxygen - free) environment; oxygen would decompose the organic matter instead of allowing it to transform into petroleum.