Energy Resources

Question 1

ability to do work

Answer 1

Energy

Question 2

is a natural resource that cannot be re-made or re-grown at a scale comparable to its consumption

Answer 2

nonrenewable resource

Question 3

are considered nonrenewable because they can not be replenished in a short period of time. These are called fossil fuels

Answer 3

Coal, petroleum, and natural gas

Question 4

How is coal made?

Answer 4

As the plants died, they sank to the bottom of the swamps. Over the years, thick layers of plants were covered by dirt and water. Tey were packed down by the weight. After a long time, the heat and pressure changed the plants into coal.

Question 5

How are col and gas made?

Answer 5

Oil and natural gas are formed underground, over several to tens of millions of years, from prehistoric organisms decomposed by high subterranean heat and microorganisms. Oil and gas collect in formations underground, where they are prone to accumulate, to form oil/gas fields.

Question 6

Advantages of using fossil fuels to make electricity

Answer 6

AdvantagesElectricity can be generated fairly cheaply. Transporting oil and gas to the power stations is easy.Gas-fired power stations are very efficient. A fossil-fueled power station can be built almost anywhere

Question 7

Disadvantages of using fossil fuels to make electricity

Answer 7

• Pollution.
• Burning any fossil fuel produces carbon dioxide, which contributes to the “greenhouse effect”, warming the Earth.
• Burning coal produces more carbon dioxide than burning oil or gas.
• Mining coal can be difficult, dangerous and ugly.
  -Coal-fired power stations need huge amounts of fuel
• Fossil fuels are a non- renewable energy resource. Once we’ve burned them all, there isn’t any more and our use of fossil fuels has nearly doubled every 20 years since 1900. This is a particular problem for oil, because we also use it to make plastics and many other products

Question 8

Uses uranium to create energy

Answer 8

Nuclear fission

Question 9

produces around 11% of the world’s energy needs, and produces huge amounts of energy from small amounts of fuel, without pollution

Answer 9

Nuclear power

Question 10

Advantages of using nuclear power

Answer 10

Costs about the same with coal so it’s it expensive, does not cause pollution, produces huge amount of energy from small amounts of fuel, produces small amounts of waste, and reliable

Question 11

Disadvantages of using nuclear power

Answer 11

Although not much waste is produced, it is very, very dangerous.
It must be sealed up and buried for many years to allow the radioactivity to die away.
Nuclear power is reliable, but a lot of money has to be spent on safety - if it does go wrong, a nuclear accident can be a major disaster.
People are increasingly concerned about possible accidents and terrorism.
Nuclear energy from Uranium is non-renewable.
Once we’ve dug up all the Earth’s uranium and used it, there isn’t any more. However, because only small quantities are needed, we have enough for hundreds of years.

Question 12

are natural resources that can be replenished in a short period of time

Answer 12

Renewable resources

Question 13

Energy from the Sun

Answer 13

Solar

Question 14

Advantages of Solar Power

Answer 14

•Solar energy is free - no fuel, no waste or pollution.•In sunny countries, easy to use in remote places•Good for low-power uses such as solar powered garden lights and battery charger

Question 15

Disadvantages of using solar power

Answer 15

•Doesn’t work at night. •Very expensive to build solar power stations.•Can be unreliable unless you’re in a very sunny place•Solar energy is renewable because the sun is always there

Question 16

Energy from the WIND

Answer 16

Wind

Question 17

Advantages of wind power

Answer 17

Wind is free.
Produces no waste or greenhouse gases.
The land beneath can usually still be used for farming.
Wind farms can be tourist attractions.
A good method of supplying energy to remote area

Question 18

Disadvantages of using wind power

Answer 18

The wind is not always predictable - some days have no wind.
Suitable areas for wind farms are often near the coast, where land is expensive.
Some people feel that covering the landscape with these towers is uglyCan kill birds.
Can affect television reception if you live nearby. Can be noisy.

Question 19

Energy from Earth’s heat.

•Hot rocks underground heat water to produce steam. We drill holes down to the hot region; steam comes up, is purified and used to drive turbines, which drive generators to make electricit

Answer 19

Geothermal

Question 20

runs on natural steam coming from the grounds

Answer 20

Steam Power Plant

Question 21

uses underground hot water and steam that is about 182°C

Answer 21

Flash – Steam power plant

Question 22

uses hot water but not directly as a source of steam

Answer 22

Binary cycle water plant

Question 23

extract heat by creating a subsurface fracture system to which water can be added through injection well

Answer 23

Enhanced Geothermal system

Question 24

Advantages of using geothermal plants

Answer 24

Advantages
Once you’ve built a
geothermal power station, the energy is almost free.
Geothermal energy does not produce any pollution.
extract heat by creating a subsurface fracture system to which water can be added through injection wells.
No fuel is needed.
The power stations do not take up much space.

Question 25

Disadvantages of using geothermal plants

Answer 25

Disadvantages
There are not many places where you can build a geothermal power station.
Sometimes a geothermal site may “run out of steam”,perhaps for several years.
Dangerous gases and minerals may come up from underground.
Geothermal energy is renewable.
The energy keeps on coming, so long as we don’t pump too much cold water down and cool the rocks too much.

Question 26

Energy from the flow of water

Answer 26

Hydrothermal or Hydroelectric

Question 27

Hydro-electric power is generated from_ . Nowadays there are many hydro-electric power stations, providing around 20% of the world’s electricity

Answer 27

Falling water

Question 28

How does Hydrothermal work?

Answer 28

•A dam is built to trap water, usually in a river valley.•Water is allowed to flow through tunnels in the dam, to turn turbines and thus drive generators to produce electricity.

Question 29

Advantages of Hydroelectric power

Answer 29

Electricity can be generated constantly (all the time)
Water can be stored above the dam ready for when it is needed.
Hydro-electric power stations can increase to full power very quickly, unlike other power stations.
Once the
almost free.
No waste or pollution produced.
Much more reliable than wind, solar or wave power.

Question 30

Disadvantages of using Hydro electric power

Answer 30

The dams are very expensive to build.
Building a large dam will flood a very large area upstream, causing problems for animals that used to live there.
Finding a suitable site can be difficult - what about the people, plants and animals living there already?
Water quality and quantity downstream can be affected, which can have an impact on plant life.

Question 31

Energy from burning organic or living matter

Answer 31

Biomass

Question 32

Advantages of using biomass

Answer 32

•It makes sense to use waste materials where we can. •The fuel tends to be cheap.•Less demand on the Earth’s resources.

Question 33

Disadvantages of using biomass

Answer 33

Disadvantages •Collecting the waste in sufficient quantities can be difficult. •We burn the fuel, so it makes pollution.•Some waste materials are not available all year round.