Natural gas is a combination of hydrocarbons that are extracted from wells. This gas is burned to create energy. Although natural gas is often used in power plants, it is also common in households in the form of propane for cooking and methane for heating.
You are probably most familiar with petroleum or oil. Petroleum is the raw source for the liquid fuel that powers combustion engines. Jet fuel, gasoline, diesel fuel and other substances are derived from crude oil. Plastics are also made from petroleum.
Coal is the first fossil fuel to be utilized by mankind. Coal seams can still be found on the surface and has been mined for thousands of years. Today, coal is mined in huge amounts either underground or in giant strip mines.