5.5 Energy Resources

Question 1

Biomass

Answer 1

Plant material that can be used as fuel or that can be converted into fuel.

Question 2

Bituminous coal

Answer 2

A coal variety with a higher grade than lignite but lower grade than anthracite.

Question 3

Cap rock

Answer 3

A layer of rock that prevents liquids and gases from escaping from an oil or gas reservoir.

Question 4

Fossil fuel

Answer 4

Fuels formed by the decay of organisms that lived on Earth in the distant past: coal, petroleum (crude oil), and natural gas.

Question 5

Geothermal

Answer 5

Having to do with the internal heat of Earth.

Question 6

Lignite

Answer 6

A soft, brown variety of coal with a lower grade than bituminous coal.

Question 7

Natural gas

Answer 7

A fossil fuel composed primarily of methane, a hydrocarbon with the chemical formula CH₄.

Question 8

Peat

Answer 8

A spongy material containing partially-transformed pieces of plants. Complete transformation of the plant material in peat produces coal.

Question 9

Petroleum

Answer 9

A liquid fossil fuel composed of a wide variety of hydrocarbon molecules, which are molecules made out of carbon and hydrogen.

Question 10

Reservoir rock

Answer 10

Rock layers which can hold large quantities of petroleum and natural gas in tiny pores between mineral grains.

Question 11

Source rock

Answer 11

A rock layer – often black shale – that is rich in organic material which may be transformed to become petroleum or natural gas.