Natural Resources Flashcards
Natural resources
any natural material that is used by humans, such as water, petroleum, minerals, forests, and animals.
renewable resources
a natural resource that can be replaced at the same rate at which the resource is consumed.
nonrenewable resources
a resource that forms at a rate that is much slower than the rate at which it is consumed.
Recycling
the process of recovering valuable or useful materials from waste or scrap; the process of reusing some items.
fossil fuel
a nonrenewable energy resource formed from the remains of organisms that lived long ago ; examples include oil, coal, and natural gas.
petroleum
a liquid mixture of complex hydrocarbon compounds; used widely as a fuel source.
natural gas
a mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons located under the surface of the earth, often near petroleum deposits; used as fuel.
coal
a fossil fuel that forms underground from partially decomposed plant material
acid precipitation
precipitation, such as rain, sleet, or snow, that contains a high concentration of acids, often because of the pollution of the atmosphere
smog
photochemical haze that forms when sunlight acts on industrial pollutants and burning fuels
nuclear energy
The energy released by a fission or fusion reaction; the binding energy of the atomic nucleous
chemical energy
the energy released when a chemical compound reacts to produce new components
solar energy
the energy received by the Earth from the sun in the form of radiation
wind power
the use of a windmill to drive an electric generator
hydroelectric energy
electrical energy produced by falling water
