Energy Resources Quiz

Energy Resources

• Energy is the ability to do work and exists in various forms
• Non-renewable energy sources are those that will run out in a lifetime
• Fossil fuels are formed from fossilized remains of plants and animals, rich in carbon
  • Oil (petroleum): mined, transported, and refined into usable fuels (gasoline, propane, kerosene)
  • Crude oil is a fossil fuel made from hydrocarbon chains, used to produce diesel, asphalt, and kerosene
  • Natural gas: composed mostly of methane, used as fuel for chemicals
  • Coal: solid, composed of carbons, a hard, black, flammable rock, used as a solid fossil fuel
• Nuclear energy is a non-renewable energy, generating electricity from splitting atoms

How Coal Formed

• Before the dinosaurs, giant plants died in swamps
• Over millions of years, plants were buried under water & dirt
• Pressure and heat turned plants into coal

Renewable/Alternative Energy

• Energy sources not based on fossil fuels or atomic reactions
• Solar energy, biofuel, hydroelectric, geothermal, and wind energy
• Renewable energy sources are becoming more common, but they depend on the pace of technological advancement to be fully replaced by alternative sources.

Environmental Concerns

• Fossil fuels cause air and water pollution and CO2 emissions, which are dangerous to the environment
• Fossil fuels are being slowly replaced by renewable options, depending on the pace of technological advancements

Geomorphic Processes

• Physical processes that create and modify landforms on the Earth’s surface
• Endogenic (internal) processes vs Exogenic (external) processes
• Exogenic processes involve weathering, erosion, mass wasting, and transportation; these processes continually modify the Earth's surface
• Exogenic processes modify relief from above including weathering and mass wasting affecting the Earth's surface

Weathering

• Disintegration and decomposition of rocks at or near their original location
• Produces regolith (loose material)

Mass Wasting

• Downslope movement of rock, soil, and other debris due to gravity
• Factors affecting movement include slope, speed, the type and nature of materials involved, water, and soil/material

Soil

• Consists of mineral grains and organic components
• Supports plant growth and contains critical nutrients
• Soil includes four main characteristics: depth, texture, structure, and organic matter
• Soil profile contains layers from the surface called soil horizons

Waste Management

• Waste is any material, substance, or byproduct no longer needed from a process
  • Municipal solid waste is from households, businesses, and commercial sites
  • Industrial waste is from manufacturing processes
  • Agricultural waste is from crop processes and residues
  • Hazardous waste comes from many sources, including industrial and agricultural processes
• Waste management involves various methods to control waste processes: discarding, destroying, processing, recycling, and reusing
• The prime objective of waste management is to reduce the amount of dangerous material and to avoid health and environmental problems

Plate Tectonics

• Segments of the Earth's crust, floating on a partially molten layer
• Interactions of plates cause earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building;
• Plates move at different and possibly average rates: north Atlantic 1cm/yr and Pacific 4cm/yr
• Major plate interactions include convergent, divergent and lateral (strike slip)

Magma and its Formation

• Molten or semi-molten rock mixture under Earth's surface, often composed of four parts: hot liquid base (melt); minerals from the melt; solid rocks from the surrounding areas; and dissolved gases
• Magma formation can involve decompression melting, where pressure reduction allows melting, or flux melting, where water or carbon dioxide is added to the rock
• Transfer of heat can also create magma when heat from magma infiltrates the cold crust

Metamorphism

• Changes in composition and structure of rocks from heat, pressure, or other natural causes
• Types include contact, cataclastic, hydrothermal, regional, and burial
• Processes by which rocks are changed through intense heat and pressure from extreme conditions and surroundings