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Answer: The correct answer is (B) Petroleum. Petroleum is also called black gold because it is a very valuable natural resource like gold. It is a dark-colored liquid found underground and is used to make fuel, plastics, and many other products that are important in daily life and industries.
Complete Answer:
Petroleum is called black gold because it looks like a thick, black liquid and is extremely valuable, just like gold. It is found deep inside the earth and is a major source of energy. Petroleum is used to make petrol, diesel, kerosene, and many other important products like plastics, medicines, and chemicals. Because it plays a big role in the world economy and daily life, people compare its importance and value to gold.
Here is why other options are not correct:
(A) Ether: Ether is a class of organic chemical compounds containing an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. While some ethers are liquids, they are not typically black. More importantly, while some ethers have industrial or laboratory uses (like diethyl ether as a solvent or anesthetic in the past), they don’t hold the same widespread economic and strategic importance as petroleum.
(C) Coal: Coal is a black or brownish-black sedimentary rock that is also a fossil fuel, formed from the remains of ancient plants. It is a significant source of energy, especially for electricity generation. While coal is undoubtedly valuable and black in color, the term ‘black gold’ is overwhelmingly associated with petroleum. Coal is also referred to as ‘black diamond’ due to its carbon content and value as an energy source, but ‘black gold’ almost exclusively points to oil.
(D) Hydrocarbons: Hydrocarbons are organic compounds made up of only hydrogen and carbon atoms. Petroleum is a complex mixture of various hydrocarbons, but not all hydrocarbons are black or as economically vital as crude oil in its raw form. Natural gas, for example, is a hydrocarbon but is a gas, not black. While hydrocarbons are the fundamental components of petroleum and are valuable, the term ‘black gold’ refers to the specific mixture that is crude oil due to its color and wide-ranging economic impact.
So remember, petroleum is the one most famously known as ‘black gold’ because of its dark color and immense economic importance in our world.
Common Chemistry Doubts:
