Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources

Gold is a natural resource, because it occurs naturally in the environment and humans use it. Gold cannot be made from other substances, and there is a finite supply of it.

Which of the following are examples of natural resources? Choose three that apply.

• Houses

• Trees

• Sunlight

• Clothing

• Coal

Gold is a natural resource, because it occurs naturally in the environment and humans use it. Gold cannot be made from other substances, and there is a finite supply of it.

What is gold an example of?

• a fossil fuel

• a renewable resource

• a non-renewable resource

• a natural pollutent

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NGSS.MS-ESS3-1

Dakota pumped the gasoline for his dad’s truck when they stopped to refuel. He thought about gasoline and the fossils fuels people use every day.

Choose the correct phrases to finish the sentence.

The reason fossil fuels are useful is because they provide ______, but fossil fuels are harmful to the atmosphere because they emit ______.

• 1. 1. fuel that burns much hotter than wood
     
     2. carbon dioxide

• 1. 1. more dense fuel
     
     2. carbon

• 1. 1. cleaner fuel than wood
     
     2. methane

• 1. 1. more dirty fuel than wood

  
  2. carbon dioxide

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NGSS.MS-ESS3-5

Diana’s father works in Houston, Texas, as a geologist in the oil and gas industry. He identifies locations where hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, might produce fuel resources.

How does fracking work?

• Pressurized fluids are used to break up layers of shale rock.
  
  They force out the natural gas trapped there, which is then collected.

• 
  Pressurized fluids are inserted into different kinds of rock.
  
  They force out the groundwater, and the fossil fuels are extracted from the groundwater.

• Pressurized fluids are inserted into deep oil wells to get the remaining oil.

• Pressurized fluids are inserted into known gas fields to locate the
  gases.
  
  The gases mix with the liquid before they are extracted.

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NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

Geologists estimate that people have used about half of the petroleum resources on Earth in the last few centuries.

The resources are being used due to a(n) _____ population.

Fill in the blank.

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NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

Julio’s family recently installed solar panels on their house in Phoenix, Arizona. They wanted to decrease their electrical bills, although the panels cost them some money upfront. The remaining electrical energy in Julio’s home comes from a hydroelectric power plant.

What kind of resource is solar power?

• generated energy

• short-term energy

• nonrenewable

• renewable

Julio’s family recently installed solar panels on their house in Phoenix, Arizona. They wanted to decrease their electrical bills, although the panels cost them some money upfront. The remaining electrical energy in Julio’s home comes from a hydroelectric power plant.

Julio knows that hydroelectric energy is a renewable resource; however, it has some drawbacks as well. What are the problems created by using hydroelectric power?

Choose the three that apply.

• disrupts natural processes such as fish migration

• must be close to a source of moving water

• dams must be built

• requires the use of turbines

• affects habitats

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NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

Charlotte visited Iceland with her family one summer, and she was amazed at all the hot water pools in the capital. She knows that these sorts of pools are not common in her state, but Iceland has a special geographic location. Look at the diagram.

Choose the correct words to finish the sentence.

• Iceland uses a large amount of solar energy because it is located over an area of sunlight.

• Iceland uses a large amount of geothermal energy because it is located over an area of heat.

• Iceland uses a large amount of hydroelectric energy because it is located over an area of flowing water.

• Iceland uses a large amount of wind energy because it is located over a windy area.

Biofuels are renewable resources because they are made from corn or sugar cane.

In what ways are biofuels and fossil fuels similar?

• They are both examples of renewable resources.

• They are both formed from biomass or plant based materials.

• They are both burned and give off emissions.

• They both require more energy to produce or refine them than they yield.

Carson’s class visited a hydroelectric plant on a field trip during their study of energy. The process interested him, and he had the chance to observe it in action.

Explain how moving water generates electrical power, and describe where it goes.

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NGSS.MS-PS3-5