Earth Resources

Question 1

crust

Answer 1

rigid, outermost layer of solid and liquid Earth resources, serves as platform for humans, protects,

Question 2

plate tectonics

Answer 2

motion is generated by convection in the mantle, which causes plates to move, results in topographical features and weather, movements cause minerals to move around and be brought up to the surface

Question 3

boundaries / faults

Answer 3

the edges of plates where the most motion is generated

Question 4

types of actions along boundaries

Answer 4

• divergent: plates move away from e/o, leads to mountains
• convergent: plates collide with e/o, forms faults
• transform/lateral: plates move side by side and scrape against e/o, creates volcanic activity and earthquakes

Question 5

volcanoes

Answer 5

pipelines that take mantle material and bring it up to the surface, molten rock found underground is magma, when emitted by a volcano, it’s lava

Question 6

2 primary types of volcanoes

Answer 6

• shield volcano: horizontal, massive, produces gentle but broad slope, magma flows easily, taller (ex. Hawaii)
• composite volcano: steep edges, sticky lava that doesn’t flow easily, wider, more explosive due to having more gas (ex. Mt. Pinatubo)

Question 7

tsunamis

Answer 7

occur when an earthquake happens underwater

Question 8

mineral

Answer 8

well-defined, naturally occurring, solid, inorganic, chemical compound

Question 9

rock

Answer 9

an assemblage of one or more minerals

Question 10

3 primary types of rocks

Answer 10

• igneous: created by cooling magma
• sediment: created by breakdown of igneous rocks and other abiotic substances
• metamorphic: consolidation of sedimentary and igneous rocks

Question 11

techniques used to identify economically viable mineral deposits

Answer 11

• satellite imagery: used to identify deposits by looking at wavelengths of light which respond to diff things in the surface
• geomagnetic sensors: measure changes in magnetic fields generated by rocks

Question 12

mining techniques

Answer 12

• open pit: cone-shaped, down into crust, dynamite
• dredging: underwater, for placer deposits (like gold which accumulates at the bottom of waterbodies)
• strip: linear, used for deposits created in layers
• shaft: dug into the crust with branches
• mountain top: removing mountain peaks

Question 13

mining impacts on surface

Answer 13

deforestation, habitat fragmentation, soil erosion

Question 14

mining impacts on atmosphere

Answer 14

dust and carbon emissions, transforming into other pollutants, deposited, accumulation, c.c.

Question 15

underground mining impacts

Answer 15

collapsing the mine, sinkholes, pumping of groundwater which lowers water table

Question 16

gangue

Answer 16

the valueless component of ore that is removed and discarded

Question 17

coal

Answer 17

mostly C, contains H, S, and O impurities, originates from peat (decomposed materials of living things in the ground)

Question 18

formation of coal

Answer 18

peat is compressed by heat and pressure and starts to transform into lignite and then coal, process takes a long time, quality has degraded due to more impurities

Question 19

different qualities of coal that depends on carbon content

Answer 19

• anthracite: most carbon-rich, contains most energy per unit
• bituminous: lower carbon content, more common, contains gases that can lead to explosions when released
• lignite: low carbon content, high sulfur and metal content,

Question 20

impacts of coal mining and energy use

Answer 20

• coal mining is expansive and intrusive
• creates atmospheric pollution
• disturbance and destruction of habitats
• acid mine drainage
• abandoned mines and decommissioning
• tailing/spoiling landslides
• energy source depletion
• damage to natural env

Question 21

methods to “clean” coal

Answer 21

• scrubbers: decrease emissions by introducing a chemical reaction that changes sulfur into gypsum which contains less sulfur, leads to cleaner plant exhaust, turns carbon released into solid carbon which can be stored in the ground
• fluidized-bed combustion: increases efficiency by mixing coal with limestone to limit pollution and create more heat
• sequester carbon in storage: lowers net energy, energy intensive

Question 22

oil/tar

Answer 22

the most used fuel in the world, has been used in a variety of ways,

Question 23

formation of oil

Answer 23

petroleum is created by decomposed marine life, dead algae mixes with inorganic clays near ocean bottoms in a low-oxygen env which generates kerogen, when heated, it releases oil and gas into the sediment around it

Question 24

crude oil

Answer 24

raw material that is extracted out of the ground

Question 25

oil / tar sands

Answer 25

considered unconventional oil sources since it has combination of bitumen (thick, low-grade, crude oil), sand, and water, associated with heavy env degradation

Question 26

oil transport

Answer 26

substantial risk of env damage, pipelines are the most common way of transport, other methods include marine transport and direct extraction

Question 27

diversity of oil

Answer 27

comes from refining, heating the oil to vapourize and separate its components via distillation

Question 28

plastics

Answer 28

created by cracking ethane and propane with heat, turns them into ethylene and propylene, can be converted into polymers, durable, lightweight, decompose after a long time, generate a lot of pollution

Question 29

natural gas

Answer 29

volatile component that evaporates and remains trapped near its source, commonly accompanies coal and oil, the cleanest of the fossil fuels

Question 30

methane flaring

Answer 30

natural gas is emitted into the atmosphere thru this process, this wastes and loses energy since it’s expensive and intensive to capture and transport natural gas

Question 31

methane clathrates

Answer 31

mixture of methane and water which forms a solid ice-like structure, exist below the oceans, in permafrost, and outerspace, if it melts, methane is liberated into the atmosphere

Question 32

2 types of nuclear energy

Answer 32

• nuclear fission: energy comes from splitting atoms
• nuclear fusion: takes energy from the initial nuclear fission reaction to make another reaction to emit more energy, would be a self-maintaining system, development may lead to an unlimited supply of electricity

Question 33

uranium

Answer 33

non-renewable resource that doesn’t emit CO2 during energy production, radioactive, produces way more energy than fossil fuels when burned

Question 34

nuclear fission

Answer 34

bombarding the uranium with neutrons causes a chain reaction and splits uranium,

Question 35

uranium mining

Answer 35

can be open pit or underground, extensive processing concentrates uranium into yellowcake (intermediate form of U concentrate and is enriched to form low-grade, highly-enriched, U)

Question 36

uranium processing

Answer 36

using gaseous diffusion, U is separated, converted into a solid, and pressed into pellets, pellets are installed into fuel rods that are placed into a reactor,
fuel is used to vapourize the water, steam moves turbines, generates electricity, and steam is condensed

Question 37

uranium enrichment

Answer 37

takes low-grade U and concentrates its atoms to reach 4%, which is the min needed to sustain a controllable chain reaction

Question 38

“spent” fuel rods

Answer 38

filled with a large amount of dangerous radioactive material, placed in a water tank to cool down and decay to safer levels to ensure safe handling and storage

Question 39

major nuclear disasters

Answer 39

• Three Mile Island (USA): gas leak
• Chernobyl: released explosion, meltdown
• Fukushima: earthquake and tsunami flooded reactor, meltdown

Question 40

nuclear energy and waste production

Answer 40

spent fuel rods are dangerous, no safe places to store radioactive materials, waste is generated at each step of mining, processing, and generation, not that efficient overall