Question

Petroleum is commonly called as:
(A) Black gold
(B) Yellow gold
(C) Green gold
(D) Blue gold

Answer 1

We know petroleum is a fuel source that is called crude oil or just oil among people. It is a natural liquid that is found beneath the surface of the earth. It is found as a yellowish black liquid and can be refined into various types of fuels to satisfy every one of our needs. Usually, the term petroleum is interchangeably used to denote both the purest form that is mined from beneath the ground and also the petroleum products that are used as fuels for our vehicles like gasoline and diesel.

Complete Step by Step answer
Chemically, petroleum is a hydrocarbon compound that is found beneath the surface of the earth. It can be found either in the form of alkanes, cycloalkanes, or aromatic hydrocarbon compounds or in the form of more compound polymer structures like asphaltenes. All these can be refined to be made into the desired form for our use as different fuel products according to the chemistry of the petroleum found.
For example, Alkanes with at least 5 to 8 carbon atoms can be refined into gasoline, the ones with higher numbers of carbon atoms can be refined into diesel, kerosene or jet fuel. All these products can be refined in a refinery from the yellowish black liquid that is obtained from mining below the earth’s surface. We know that petroleum products are a huge source of energy and thus a huge source of income. This is why petroleum is often called as black gold.
Hence option A is correct.

Note
Petroleum is nothing but a fossil that has been buried under the surface of the earth for a long period of time that it has been subjected to decay to break down into hydrocarbon chains. Later it was found to have huge monetary value, which was why it was named the “black gold”.