SOURCES OF ENERGY - GRAPHS

Chapter 1 from the book

Answer the following questions. Use your books to find the information. You may
also google information to Fill in the chart.You may work in pairs.

1. A) What are fossil fuels? Give a definition and describe the process on how
they were made. State the difference of creation between coal and oil with
natural gas.

Fossil fuels are three: coal, oil and natural gas. They are formed from the decomposition of
the remains of plants and animals and it has taken millions of years for them to
accumulate and from deposits which are large enough to be mined for human use. 

*Coal creation: 
Coal was formed approximately 300 million years ago from the remains of trees and other
vegetation. These remains were trapped on the bottom of swamps, accumulating layer
after layer and creating a dense material called peat. As this peat was buried more and
more underground, the high temperatures and pressure transformed it into coal.
*Oil and Natural Gas creation:
The oil and the natural gas are formed from the decomposition of plants and dead
creatures, which collected in layers on the sea bed. Their remains were covered by mud
and sand. As the sand was compressed into hard stone rock, the oil and gas separated
and rose through the sandstone, filling in the spaces between the particles of rock. The
lighter gas rises to the rop.

            B) Fossil fuels are extracted through mining and drilling. Describe BOTH
processes. Include: types of mining, how they work, advantages and disadvantages of
using those methods.

Open cast mining (1)

The same methods used for mining rocks and minerals are also used for mining
coal. All that needs to be done is: 
 Clear the vegetation and remove the top soil.
 Break up and loosen the rock by using explosives 
 Use diggers to remove the loose rock 
 Tip the rock or mineral into trucks or railway wagons

Deep underground mine (2)

For seams of coal that lie too far below the surface, deep mining methods of
extraction are needed. Coal can not be mined as deep as other minerals, because
high temperatures deep underground increase risk of combustion. Drilling is the
only certain way of finding out if oil and gas are present

Open cast mining Deep underground mine

How Advantages Disadvantages How Advantages Disadvantages

they they
work work

Explaine *Quicker *Only for Explaine *Allows more *Bad working

d (1) *Less superficial d (2) possibilities conditions for
dangerous extractions to find miners 
*Less impact *Affects people bigger *Unhealthy
in the living nearby  quantities or work
environment *Noise, air and new minerals *Dangerous
* More job visual pollution and rocks *More difficult
opportunities  *Destruction of *More job to discover
the place and opportunities *More
wildlife, leaves *Collect more expensive
bigger scars on money 
the landscape  *Less
aggressive to
the
 landscape

           C) Name and describe the effects of mining.

Mining can benefit both the economy of a country and its people, the money earned can
be used to fund development projects and improve the quality of life of their people (by
making new roads, supplying clean water, and building schools and hospitals and clinics)
provided that governments spend the money wisely. Also mining is hard and dangerous.

           D) State the strategies that should be implemented after mining takes place.

As soon as work stops in a quarry or surface ,mine, the environmentally friendly action is
for mining company to fill in the hole and replace the top soil, in order to try to leave land in
a similar condition to what it was like before the work began. Bulldozers can be used to
level a natural landscape so that it looks like a surrounding land that has not been
distributed by mining. 

Trees, frases and shelter belts can be planted; these should grow well provided that all the
old topsoil has been replaced. This is known as landscaping. It is also an example of
restoration, because the land is being restored, as near as possible, to what it was like
before the mining. Farmers may be able to start using the land again. 

E) Alternative sources of energy. Fill in the following chart: pag 21, 27, 29

SOURCE OF RENEWABLE/ ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

ENERGY NON
RENEWABLE

SOLAR ENERGY Renewable  Heat from the  Needs lots of

light of the Sun space as
using solar efficiency is
panels and not 100% yet.
photovoltaic  No solar
cells. power at night
 Solar power is so there is a
pollution free need for a
and causes no large battery
greenhouse bank.
gases to be  Depending on
emitted after geographical
installation. location the
 Renewable size of the
clean power solar panels
that is vary for the
available every same power
day of the generation.
 year, even  Solar
cloudy days powered cars
produce some do not have
power. the same
 Safer than speeds and
traditional power as
electric typical gas
current. powered cars.
 Return on  Lower
investment production in
unlike paying the winter
for utility bills. months.

WIND ENERGY Renewable  include an  Many people

unlimited, free, are concerned
renewable with the visual
resource, effects that
economic wind turbines
value, have on the
maintenance beautiful
cost, and scenery of
placement of nature.
wind  Wind turbines
harvesting may be
facilities. dangerous to
 Wind is a flying animals.
natural Many birds
occurrence and bats have
and harvesting been killed by
the kinetic flying into the
energy of wind rotors.
doesn't affect  Some wind
currents or turbines tend
wind cycles in to generate a
any way. lot of noise
which can be
unpleasant.
 In the
darkness/at
night it may
be difficult for
incoming
boats to see
wind turbines
thus leading
to collisions.

NUCLEAR ENERGY Non-  The production  Huge demand

Renewable of electric of power
energy is  No coal left,
 continuous. A very little oil
nuclear power and gas
plant is  Nuclear
generating fission
electricity for chambers are
almost 90% of cooled by
annual time. water, in both
 Nuclear power the boiling
does not water reactors
depends on and
natural pressurized
aspects. water
 When a reactors.
nuclear power
plant is
functioning
properly, it can
run
uninterrupted
for up to 540
days. This
results in fewer
brownouts or
other power
interruptions.

GEOTHERMAL Renewable  Geothermal  Greenhouse

reservoirs are gas below
naturally Earth’s
replenished. surface can
 The power potentially
output of a migrate to the
geothermal surface and
plant can be into the
accurately atmosphere.
predicted. Not  Construction
subject to the of geothermal
same low- power plants
energy can affect the
fluctuations as stability of
with solar or land.
wind.  If geothermal
 Can provide energy is
base load or transported
peak power. long
distances,
cost can
become
prohibitive.
 Geothermal
 heat pumps
need a power
source.

BIOMASS Renewable  Using  Additional

fuelwood, crop work is
wastes and needed in
animal dung areas such as
as fuel harvesting
 used as a fuel methods.
reduces need  Some
for fossil fuels Biomass
for the conversion
production of projects are
heat, steam, from animal
and electricity wastes and
for residential, are relatively
industrial and small and
agricultural therefore are
use. limited.
 is always  Is in some
available and cases is a
can be major cause
produced as a of pollution.
renewable
resource.
 crops produce
oxygen and
use up carbon
dioxide.
 Less money
spent on
foregin oil.

HYDROELECTRICIT Renewable  fast flowing  Large dams

Y water, such as are
from a expensive,
waterfall or developing
below a lake. countries may
 Fast-flowing get into debt
water  The best
 High rainfall physical
spread conditions are
throughout the often remote
year from places
 A natural store where many
of water such people live in
long distance
 as a lake power
 A narrow, linesneed to
deep valley be buillt
suitable for  Forest and
building a dam other types of
and making a natural
reservoir  vegetation are
detroyed, as
also are
wildlife
hebitats
 People
already living
in the valley
that is going
to be flooded
are forced to
move into
new
settlements
 

2. DESCRIBE each of the following graphs:

A)
B)

C)
D)

2 BUILD A GENERAL CONCLUSION ON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE

GRAPHS AND THE INFORMATION YOU READ ABOUT, WHILE ANSWERING THE
FOLLOWING ASPECTS:

 USE OF RENEWABLE SOURCES OF ENERGY

 USE OF FOSSIL FUELS
 USE OF SOURCES OF ENERGY PER CONTINENT
 CHANGES IN THE USE OF ENERGY
 MINING ACTIVITY