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Earth Science Notes
Chapter Five-Energy Resources
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SECTION 1-Natural Resources
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1. Natural resources -are the resources that Earth provides, including air, water, land, organisms, rocks,
minerals, and nutrients.
2. Renewable resources, like trees and water, can be replaced in a relatively short period of time. A rate that
is equal to or greater than the rate at which they are being used.
3. Nonrenewable resources are resources that cannot be replaced, or that can be replaced, but only over
thousands or millions of years. Example--oil, gas, coal
4. To help ensure the availability of a natural resource, we can do one of two things:
a. We can conserve a resource, which means using it sparingly and not wasting it. Ex.-Conserving water
b. We can recycle a natural resource; reuse the natural resources to make new products.
1. Recycling reduces the amount of natural resources that must be obtained from the Earth.
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SECTION 2-Fossil Fuels
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1. The Sun is the ultimate source of most energy on Earth. The Sun’s energy is transferred from
photosynthetic organisms to all other living things.
2. Fossil fuels, such as natural gas, coal, and petroleum, formed from organisms that lived millions of years ago.
a. They are a nonrenewable resource.
b. Energy is released from fossil fuels when they are burned. The burning of these fossil fuels releases
sulfur into the atmosphere, and thus contributes to air pollution.
3. Types of Fossil Fuels:
a. Liquid Fossil Fuels--Petroleum
1. Petroleum, or crude oil, is an oily mixture of flammable organic compounds from which liquid
fossil fuels and other products, such as asphalt, are separated. Examples: gasoline, jet fuel,
kerosene, diesel fuel, and fuel oil
b. Gaseous Fossil Fuels--Natural Gas
1. A combustible gas formed naturally in the earth, consisting primarily of methane, with
hydrogen and other gases. It is used as a fuel.
c. Solid Fossil Fuels--Coal
1. Is a solid fossil fuel formed underground from buried, decomposed plant material.
2. As coal burns, it produces useful energy in the form of heat. The main use of the heat from
coal is the production of electricity. Coal-burning power plants supply more than half the
electricity used in the United States.
4. How Do Fossil Fuels Form? See Figure 8 Page 113
a. Oil and natural gas form from altered and buried marine organisms and often are found near one
another.
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1. Natural gas was formed millions of years ago, when water covered much more of the earth's
surface than it does today.
2. Tremendous quantities of tiny marine organisms called plankton died and settled to the ocean
floors. There, fine sand and mud drifted down over the plankton. Layer upon layer of these
deposits piled up.
3. The great weight of the deposits, plus bacteria, heat, and other natural forces, changed the
chemical compounds in the plankton into natural gas and oil.
4. The gas and oil flowed into the holes in limestone, sandstone, and other kinds of porous rocks.
Layers of solid rocks formed over the porous rocks and sealed the gas and oil beneath them.
5. Later, movements in the earth's crust caused the ancient seas to draw back, and dry land
appeared over many gas and oil deposits.
5. How Does Coal Form? See Page 114
a. Coal forms from decayed swamp plants. As the plants died, they gradually formed a thick layer of
matter on the swamp floor.
b. Over the years, this matter hardened into a substance called peat. In time, the peat deposits became
buried under sand or other mineral matter.
c. As the mineral matter accumulated, some of it turned into such rocks as sandstone and shale. The
increasing weight of the rock layers and of the other overlying materials began to change the peat into
coal.
6. How Do Humans Obtain Fossil Fuels?
a. Examine figure 9 page 115 to determine where fossil fuels are located.
b. Drilling wells-removes petroleum and natural gas.
c. Coal is obtained by deep mining methods or strip mining methods.
7. Obtaining and using fossil fuels can cause many environmental problems, including acid precipitation, water
pollution, destruction of habitat, and smog.
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SECTION 3-Alternative Resources
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1. Alternative energy resources, such as solar energy, water, geothermal energy, wind, nuclear energy, and
biomass, can supplement dwindling conventional energy resources.
2. Nuclear energy results when atoms of radioactive elements emit particles in the process known as fission.
Fission is the process in which the nuclei of radioactive atoms are split and energy is released.
a. Radioactive wastes and the threat of overheating in nuclear power plants are among the major
problems associated with using nuclear energy.
3. Solar energy-energy from the sun. It is unlimited.
a. Can be converted to electricity by using solar cells; both on a large and small scale.
b. Can be used for direct heating by using solar collectors.
4. Wind is a source of energy in areas that have consistently strong winds. The process produces no air
pollutants, and land on wind farms can be used for more than one purpose.
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5. Hydroelectric energy is inexpensive, renewable, and produces little pollution. Energy is derived from moving
water.
a. Can produce damage to wildlife habitats, create erosion issues, and decrease water quality.
6. Plant material and animal dung that contains plant material can be burned to release energy. These sources of
energy are called biomass.
7. Some plant material can be converted to alcohol. This alcohol can be mixed with gasoline to make a fuel
mixture called gasohol.
a. Corn is used to make ethanol.
8. Geothermal energy can be harnessed from hot, liquid water and steam that escape through natural vents or
through wells drilled into the Earth’s crust. This energy can be used for direct heating or can be converted to
electricity. See Figure 27 page 125.
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QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
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1. What are some ways that humans use natural resources?
2. Contrast renewable resources with nonrenewable resources.
3. How can we conserve natural resources?
4. What are some different forms of fossil fuels?
5. How are fossil fuels obtained?
6. Identify some problems with using fossil fuels.
7. List ways to deal with fossil-fuel problems.
8. Identify some alternative energy resources.
9. Compare and contrast fission and fusion.
10. How are plants used to produce energy?
11. List advantages and disadvantages of using alternative energy resources.
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