Fracking

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/fracking

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the well stimulation technique?A method to increase the flow of hydrocarbons from low-permeability rocks
2. What is the primary fracturing fluid?Water, sand (proppants), and chemical additives
3. How does fracking create cracks in the rocks?A well is drilled, then a high‑pressure fluid of water, sand, and chemicals is pumped in. The pressure breaks the rock, and the sand stays in the cracks so they stay open.
4. Why do people use fracking instead of regular drilling?Fracking can reach gas and oil that are stuck in very tight rocks, like shale, which regular drilling can’t get easily. It makes the wells produce more and faster.

Low-Permeability Formations: Rock layers that do not easily allow fluids to pass through.
Proppants: Inert materials, typically sand, used to keep induced fractures open.
Induced Seismicity: Earthquakes that are caused by human activities, such as fluid injection.
Hydrocarbon Extraction: The process of removing oil and natural gas from the Earth.