Topic 1.12- 1.17- Energy resources Flashcards
List non renewable energy sources
- fossil fuels: coal, natural gas, oil,
- Nuclear
List renewable energy sources
- wind
- solar
- hydroelectric
- geothermal
- biofuels
- tidal
What is a fossil fuel
hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the earth’s crust from the remains of dead plants and animals.
What are the three main types of fossil fuels
coal, crude oil, natural gas
What are the main uses of fossil fuels
- burned to provide heat
- to power engines
- to generate electricity
What are the pros of fossil fuels
- relatively cheap
- used in any conditions
- infrastructure designed to run on it
What are the cons of fossil fuels
- limited resource
- produce CO2 when burned
- produce toxic gases when burned
What is nuclear energy
energy obtained via nuclear reactions, such as nuclear fission reactions in nuclear power stations
Uses of nuclear energy
- generates electricity
What are the pros of nuclear energy
- Do not produce any pollutants
- Can be used in any conditions
- Very unlikely to run out
What are the cons of nuclear energy
- relatively expensive
- Technically a finite resource
- produce radioactive waste which remains harmful for thousands of years
- small chance of a nuclear meltdown which could release large amounts of radioactive material into the environment
How do wind turbines work
Blades spin in wind causing a generator to turn, which converts kinetic energy into electrical energy
How do solar Panels work
Solar cells generate electric currents directly from sunlight
What are the pros of wind and solar energy
- low cost to run
- doesn’t produce any pollutants
- dont damage environment
- getting cheaper each year
What are the cons of wind and solar energy
- high cost to build
- produces pollutants whilst being made
- weather dependent
- cant increase production in high demand
- take up a lot of space, unappealing to the eye
What is geothermal energy
thermal energy generated and stored in the earths crust- from radioactive decay
What are the to uses of geothermal energy (and describe them)
heating- water pumped into the ground to be heated and then back up to heat our homes
electricity- water in ground heated until a vapour which then rises and turns turbines to generate electricity
what are the pros of geothermal energy
- installing has minimal damages to the environment
- when running no pollutants produced
- reliable over long periods
what are the cons of geothermal energy
- can only be used in certain areas
- power plants can be expensive to install
What are biofuels
fuels made from recently living organisms generally from plants or algae
what are the pros of biofuels
- carbon neutral
- cheap to make
- easy to transport
- can mix with petrol
what are the cons of biofuels
- need to grow plants suitable which can take up other land (deforestation), damaging environment
- harvesting, processing and transport releases more co2
How do tidal barrages and hydroelectric damns work
- A big damn prevents water flowing to get a higher water level on one side than the other
- stored water has gpe that can be converted into electricity
what are the pros of tidal barrages and hydroelectric damns
- no pollution
- reliable
- provide immediate response to demand
- work on large and small scales
- cheap to run
what are the cons of tidal barrages and hydroelectric damns
- big impact on surrounding environment
- stop boats and fish from travelling up and down river
- expensive to build
