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"Fossil Fuels and Renewable Resources"

Terms in this set (52)

Fuel
A substance that provides energy as the result of a chemical change.
Combustion
Process of burning fuel.
Hydrocarbons
Energy-rich chemical compounds that contain carbon and hydrogen atoms.
Three major fossil fuels.....
Coal
Oil
Natural Gas
Fossil Fuels
a nonrenewable energy-rich resource that forms in the Earth's crust for millions of years from the remains of once living organisms. Formed during the Carboniferous Period, approximately 360 to 286 million years ago.
Coal
A non-renewable resource, a solid fossil fuel formed from decaying plant matter.
Petroleum
A non-renewable resource. An oily, dark-colored, flammable liquid found in the earth, consisting mainly of a mixture of various hydrocarbons. Gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil, paraffin, and lubricants are made from petroleum.
Refinery
A factory in which crude oil is heated and separated into fuels and other products
Natural Gas
A non-renewable resource. A mixture of methane and other gases. A resource that is used in heating systems, in stoves, ovens, and some vehicles. Advantage: it is the cleanest burning fossil fuel. Disadvantage: highly flammable, could cause a violent explosion and fire.
nonrenewable resources
A natural resource that cannot be replaced or that can be replaced only over thousands or millions of years. A resource used faster than it can be produced.
Coal mining can cause......
Erosion and water pollution. Can cause air pollution when burned.
When fuels are burned the chemical energy that is used to generate another form of energy such as........
Heat
light
motion
electricity
Crude oil
Petroleum as it comes out of the ground and before it has been refined or processed into useful products
How Fossil Fuels are formed
As trees and plants died and sank to the bottom of the swamps of oceans, they formed layers of a spongy material called peat. Over hundreds of years, the peat was covered by sand and clay etc., which turned into sedimentary rock. More rock piled on top of more rock, and pressed down on the peat. The peat was squeezed until the water came out of it and it eventually, over millions of years, turned into coal, oil or petroleum, and natural gas.
renewable resources
Any natural resource that can replenish itself in a relatively short period of time, usually no longer than the length of a human life.
How Fossil Fuels provide energy
Fuels contain stored chemical energy. When they are burned, the chemical energy is converted into other forms of energy.
solar energy
Renewable resource. Energy from the sun. Advantage: does not cause pollution. Disadvantage: Only available during certain hours of a clear day. Energy must be collected over a wide area.
Active solar heating systems
a heating system that uses solar collectors and additional electricity to power pumps or fans to distribute the Sun's energy
passive solar heating systems
Convert sunlight into thermal energy, but do not distribute it.
geothermal energy
Energy produced by magma sources deep underground. Only available where magma is close to Earth's surface.
biomass fuels
fuels made from things that were once alive, including leaves, food wastes, and even manure. Other examples include wood, sugar-cane wastes, corn, alcohol, methane.
What type of resources come from natural processes that have been happening for billions of years and will continue to happen?
Natural resources
What captures light energy and transform it to electrical energy?
Solar cells
What can use solar energy to generate electricity for large areas?
Solar power plants
How do solar power plants generate electricity?
They transform energy in sunlight, which then turns turbines connected to generators.
What type of solar energy uses technology, such as solar panels, that gathers and stores solar energy that heats water and homes?
Active solar energy
What type of solar energy uses design elements that capture energy in sunlight?
Passive solar energy
What needs to be used to produce electricity from wind energy on a large scale?
Wind turbines
A group of wind turbines that produce electricity is called what?
A wind farm.
How does water energy produce electricity?
Hydroelectric power and tidal power.
What is electricity produced by flowing water?
Hydroelectric power.
Why do humans build a dam across a powerful river?
To produce hydroelectric power.
In a hydroelectric power plant, what does energy from flowing water produce?
Electricity
In a geothermal power plants, what energy from Earth's interior is used to produce electricity?
Thermal energy
What is thermal energy from Earth's interior called?
Geothermal energy
How do people reach the thermal energy in hot, dry rocks or bodies of magma?
Drill wells
How does a geothermal power plant convert the thermal energy found in hot rocks or magma into electricity?
It heats water that makes steam. The steam turns turbines connected to generators that produce electricity.
What is energy produced by burning organic matter, such as wood, food scraps, and alcohol?
Biomass energy
What is the most widely used biomass?
Wood
How can we use industrial wood scraps and organic material, such as grass clippings and food scraps to make electricity?
They could be burned to generate electricity on a large scale.
Can biomass be used for vehicles?
Yes, it can be converted into fuels for vehicles.
What is a type of biomass that can be used as a renewable fuel for cars?
Ethanol
What is made from sugars in plants, such as corn?
Ethanol
What is ethanol made from?
Sugars in plants, such as corn.
What is ethanol usually blended with?
Gasoline, because it reduces pollutants released by vehicles.
What renewable fuel is made from vegetable oils and fats?
Biodiesel
Biodiesel is an example of what renewable energy?
Biomass, because it is made from vegetable oils and fats.
What is an advantage of using biodiesel?
It emits few pollutants and is the fastest growing renewable fuel in the US.
What emits few pollutants and is the fastest growing renewable fuel in the US?
Biodiesel
What are two advantages to using renewable energy resources?
They are renewable and they produce less pollution than fossil fuels.
What are disadvantages associated with using renewable resources?
Some are costly or limited to certain areas.
Only 7% of US energy comes from renewable energy. Where does the most renewable energy resource come from?
Biomass energy, 53%
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