ENERGY RESOURCES STUDY GUIDE

Section 1: Fossil Fuels

  • Fuels
  • substances that provide energy as the result of a chemical change
  • Combustion
  • Process of burning a fuelto change chemical energy into thermal energy
  • Major fossil fuels: Coal, Oil, Natural Gas
  • Coal
  • a solid fossil fuel formed fromdecaying plant remains
  • the most plentiful fossil fuel in the U.S.
  • Oil (petroleum)
  • Thick black liquid fossil fuel
  • Refineries-factories where crude oil is separated into fuels and other products:
  • Petrochemicals- compounds that aremade from petroleum
  • Examples: plastics, propane, etc.
  • Natural Gas
  • Produces the lowest levelsof most air pollutants
  • Fossil fuels are energy-rich because they containhydrocarbons
  • Energy transformation
  • a change from one form of energy to another
  • Example:Rubbing your hands together
  • Mechanical (energy of motion) thermal energy (heat)
  • In an electric power plant, turbines are turned using mechanical energy from steam
  • NON-renewable resources
  • Take hundreds of millions of years to form
  • If fossil fuels continue to be used more rapidly (faster) than they are formed, the reserves will eventually run out.

Section 2: Renewable Sources of Energy

  • Solar Energy
  • The sun gives off light and heat
  • Advantage: it will notrun out for billions of years
  • Solar power plants
  • Solar cells
  • Used to power: lights, calculators
  • Passive solar heating
  • Converts sunlight into thermal energy WITHOUT using pumps or fans
  • Example: parking your car in the sun—(it heats up from just sitting there)
  • Active solar heating
  • Converts light from the sun into thermal energy and distributes the heat using pumps and fans
  • Hydroelectric power
  • Electricity generated by moving water in rivers
  • Pros: (once dam is built) cost is inexpensive, does not create air pollution
  • Cons: most rivers have been dammed, negative impact on environment/ habitats
  • Wind Energy
  • Blades of a windmill capture wind’s energy and use it to turn a turbine
  • The turbine is connected to a generator which makes electricity
  • An indirect form of solar energy
  • Biomass
  • Made from living things
  • Examples:
  • Wood, leaves, food waste, manure
  • Geothermal energy
  • Intense heat from earth’s interiorwarms the magma beneath Earth’s surface

Section 4: Energy Conservation:reducing energy use

  • Efficiency
  • percentage of energy that is actually used to perform work
  • Ex: Taking a bike ride instead of a car ride, which helps save fuel for the future
  • Energy-efficient devices/ items/ concepts
  • Compact fluorescent light bulbs instead ofincandescent
  • Insulation-a layer of material that blocks the transfer of heat between the air inside and outside a building
  • Public transportation, carpooling
  • Examples of energy conservation:
  • Recycling aluminum soda cans
  • Walking instead of driving
  • Turning off lights
  • Unplugging devices when they are not in use (Ex: cell phone charger)