Question

the decomposition of plants plays an important role in the carbon cycle. three hundred million years ago, many parts of earth were covered by warm, swamp - like forests. when the trees, ferns, and other plants in these forests died, many were buried under layers of mud, water, rock, and sand. over hundreds of thousands of years, pressure and heat transformed carbon - based molecules in these dead plants into a fossil fuel called coal. select the true statement. it takes about 100 years for coal to form. coal is formed from carbon that was taken out of the atmosphere by plants. plants on earth’s surface decompose to form coal.

Explanation:

• Analyze the first option: The text says coal forms over "hundreds of thousands of years", not 100 years, so this is false.
• Analyze the second option: Plants take in carbon from the atmosphere (via photosynthesis). When they die and are transformed into coal, that carbon (from the atmosphere) is part of coal's formation. This matches the carbon cycle and the text's description.
• Analyze the third option: The text states plants were "buried under layers of mud, water, rock, and sand" to form coal, not by decomposing on the surface. So this is false.

Answer:

Coal is formed from carbon that was taken out of the atmosphere by plants.