Worksheets
1
Think about it
Let’s take three minutes to look around and think: what is the role of energy in our daily
lives?
Read the following pictures carefully. Think about the relationship between the pictures in
Group A and Group B.
Group A
Group B
2
A. Scramble for Energy
Activity 1: Investigating into the scramble for energy
Ka Ka, I have been searching information about energy
resources recently. I found some data on the global
energy production and consumption in the website of
the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). I
found a surprising phenomenon.
Figure 1: Global Energy Production and Consumption
Figure 2: Global Energy Production and Consumption
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2008
Production*
287
307
350
363
394
458
489
Consumption*
283
309
348
365
398
462
493
* Quadrillion Btu
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration
You will get it after
looking at the following
graph.
Siu Chi, what surprising
phenomenon did you
find?
3
1.
Refer to Figure 1, describe the trend of global energy production and consumption from 1980
to 2008.
2. (a) According to the data shown in Figure 2, complete the following table.
1980
1990
2000
2005
2008
Energy
Production –
Energy
4
Consumption*
* Quadrillion Btu
(b) With reference to the answer in question 2(a), what are the energy problems?
Oh ...... you mean energy __________ is becoming more
serious. In fact, in order to obtain sufficient and stable energy
resources, countries have started the scramble for energy. The
situation is becoming more and more severe. Why don’t we
study it together!
Alright! Let’s work on it together!
Summary
Think about it: What problems will be caused by the above situation?
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Activity 2: Where are the energy resources?
1.
Global distribution of major energy resources (read P.2 of the Information Folder: Information
Sheet 1)
a. According to Information Sheet 1, colour the maps below according to the key of Figure 3 – 5
to show the spatial distribution of oil, gas and coal.
Figure 3: Distribution of oil reserves of different
continents / regions
Figure 4: Distribution of natural gas reserves of
different continents / regions
Figure 5: Distribution of coal reserves of different
continents / regions
Key:
Largest reserve (red)
Second largest reserve (orange)
Third largest reserve (yellow)
Others (white)
b. With reference to Figure 3 – 5, are oil, gas and coal evenly distributed?
Describe their spatial distribution pattern.
2.
Uneven share of energy resources between more developed and less developed countries (read
P.2-4 of the Information Folder: Information Sheets 2 and 3)
Data analysis: According to Information Sheet 2, complete the table on P.6.
i. Based on GNP per capita, classify the countries into more developed and less developed
countries.
ii. Calculate the net amount of energy of the countries (production - consumption).
5
Country
MDC
Net amount of
energy
Country
(Quadrillion
Btu)
Net amount of
energy
(Quadrillion
Btu)
LDC
Extended activity
Draw a bar chart in the space below to show the net amount of energy of these countries.
6
a. According to Information Sheet 2 and the above table, what are the differences between the net
amount of energy of more developed countries and that of less developed countries?
b. Following the above question, what are the reasons for the differences between the more
developed and less developed countries?
(Hint: compare their economic conditions, levels of industrialization, living standards, etc.)
More developed countries
Less developed countries
Economic
conditions
Levels of
industrialization
Living
standards
Others
c. By summarizing the above information and those included in Information Sheet 3, what are the
implications caused by the spatial distribution of energy resources?
(Hint: economic and political aspects)
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Extended Activity
Think about it: If you were the head of state of a more developed country, how would you solve
the problem of energy shortage?
Summary
The global energy distribution is even / uneven. In addition, the energy production / consumption of
more developed countries is greater than the energy production / consumption, while the situation in
less developed countries is reverse, making energy competition more serious.
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Activity 3: Knowing the types of energy resources
Ka Ka, I still cannot figure out…
After the above investigations, aren’t we clear
about the scramble for energy?
But…isn’t the energy of the world inexhaustible? If it is
inexhaustible, there is no need to compete for it. Isn’t it?
Hmm... I'm not sure. Why don’t we ask the teacher!
Students, let’s learn about the types of energy resources! Please
look at the following photographs carefully, and state what types
of energy resources are they using? Please write the answers in
the box.
Photograph 1
Photograph 2
Photograph 3
Photograph 4
Do you know the differences among the above energy
resources? How can they be classified? Try to complete
the chart on next page.
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Energy
resources
Characteristics
Characteristics
Examples
Examples
Summary
Energy resources can be divided into two types: _______________ and _______________. The
energy being used in our daily lives is mainly _______________ energy.
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B. Current energy problems
Warm-up activities:
Ka Ka, does your family need to pay expensive electricity bill?
We pay more than HK$200 each month on
average. Why asking?
I have just read a report about electricity consumption in Hong
Kong* which said that electricity consumption in Hong Kong is
quite high, resulting in environmental problems.
High electricity consumption implies that more fossil fuels are used,
resulting in serious environmental problems. I have also watched a lot of
videos online. Classmates, let’s take a look!
*
Read P.6 in the Information Folder: Information Sheet 4
Browse the following websites. Watch Videos 1-4 and identify the types of environmental
problems.
Video
Environmental problem
1. 「救救北極熊，要你行動」(1:30)
http://www.greenpeace.org/hk/multimedia/videos/
climate-energy/save-polar-bear/
2. 「海洋酸化」(1:15)
http://www.greenpeace.org/hk/multimedia/videos/
climate-energy/ocean-acid/
3. 「煤有問題」 (1:04)
http://www.greenpeace.org/hk/multimedia/videos/
climate-energy/coal-nightmare/
4. 「大連石油洩漏現場‧實拍」(1:24)
http://www.greenpeace.org/hk/multimedia/videos/
climate-energy/dalian-oil-leak-live/
Video source: Greenpeace (Hong Kong)
http://www.greenpeace.org/hk/#tab=3
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Activity 4: Electricity ‧ fossil fuels ‧ environmental problems (read P.7-10 of the Information
Folder: Information Sheets 5-8)
Group discussion: what are the environmental problems caused by exploiting and using fossil fuels?
1.
Use the following box to summarize the outcome of discussion
Environmental problem：_______________________________________
How do exploiting or using fossil fuels lead to the above environmental problem?
2.
Use the following table to record the presentations of other groups.
Environmental problem
How do exploiting or using fossil fuels lead to this
environmental problem?
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Extended Activity
Construct a concept map to demonstrate "the types of environmental problems caused by
exploiting and using of fossil fuels"
Environmental Problems
Summary
Exploiting and using fossil fuels result in many environmental problems, such as _______________,
_______________, _______________ and _______________.
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Activity 5: Goodbye forest! (Read P.11-15 of the Information Folder: Information Sheets 9 to 10)
Siu Chi, besides using fossil fuels, fuel wood can also
damage the environment seriously.
Ka Ka, in this modern era, are people still using fuel wood?
Do you know which parts of the world are still using a lot of wood as fuel? Why do these areas still
need to rely a lot on wood for energy?
Try to complete the following flow chart to show "the damages to the natural environment by
extensive use of fuel wood".
__________________
___________________
Summary
Less developed / more developed countries are still relying on fuel wood as the basic energy source,
resulting in large amount of rain forests and forest resources being exploited and cut. This leads to
serious environmental problems.
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Extended Activity
Watch the video: A brief history of fossil fuels
1.
Watch the video produced by Post Carbon Institute (about 5 minutes):
a. Official website, in English without subtitles
http://www.postcarbon.org/video/175694-the-ultimate-roller-coaster-ride-a
b. Online video, in English with Chinese subtitles
http://www.youmaker.com/video/svb5-fd1757305dd142ecadb4a7e3014d4869001.html
2.
Which two types of fossil fuels does the video mention? Apart from these, what other types of
energy have been mentioned?
3.
As mentioned in the video, what are environmental problems caused by using fossil fuels?
4.
After watching the video, what is your reflection on the use of energy in your daily life?
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C. Renewable energy and nuclear power
Warm-up activities:
As the use of fossil fuel and fuel wood will cause serious
environmental problems, why don’t we choose to use other
type of energy resources to replace them, such as
renewable energy?
In fact, we quite often use renewable energy in our daily lives.
Please take a look at your personal belongings to see whether there is any item
using renewable energy? Can you point out what kind of renewable energy does it
use?
Item: __________________
Type of renewable energy: _______________________
Do you know where the building as shown in the photographs is? What kind of renewable energy is
it using?
I am a wind turbine relying on
__________ to drive the blades and
to move the turbine. I have been
standing on Tai Ling* in
__________ since 2006.
* Teachers can go to the following website to let students see the real time operation of the Lamma
Winds.
http://www.heh.com/hehWeb/AboutUs/RenewableEnergy/RealTimeOperation/Index_zh.htm
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Activity 6: Understanding renewable energy
Read carefully the following description and photographs about various types of renewable energy.
Match the descriptions with the types and photographs.
Make use of the Earth’s
Solar Energy
‧
‧
internal heat, such as steam or
hot water to drive the turbines
‧
‧
‧
‧
‧
‧
‧
‧
‧
‧
‧
‧
to generate electricity
Make use of the kinetic
energy of water flowing from
Wind Power
‧
‧ higher level to drive turbines
and generators to generate
electricity
Hydro-electric
Make use of the movement of
‧
power
‧ waves to drive turbines to
generate electricity
The energy of solar radiation,
Biofuels
‧
‧ used for electricity generation
or production of hot water
Geothermal
Make use of wind power to
‧
energy
‧ drive generators to generate
electricity
Large quantities of corn,
soybeans, sugar cane etc. are
Wave Energy
‧
‧ grown to produce ethanol
through the processes of
grinding and fermentation.
Summary
Renewable energy includes mainly: _______________, _______________, _______________,
_______________ , _______________ and _______________.
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Extended Activity
Data analysis: Great Powers of renewable energy (read P.17-19 of the Information Folder:
Information Sheet 11)
With reference to Information Sheet 11:
a. Which countries do you think are the strong powers in the development of renewable
energy?
b. Why? Explain this by referring to the data and other relevant information (the geographical
location, natural conditions and economic situations, etc. of those countries).
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Activity 7: What are the advantages of using renewable energy?
Ka Ka, what are the advantages of using renewable
energy?
I'm not sure. Why don’t we ask the teacher!
There are a lot of advantages of using renewable energy. Let’s
study the following information* first. List the advantages of
using renewable energy onto the table below.
…Denmark plans to generate electricity by
biofuels in five major cities, and to gradually
reduce or eliminate coal-fired power…It is
estimated that coal consumption will be
reduced by about 25%, and carbon dioxide
emissions will be reduced by 3 to 5%...
... PolyU successfully developed a
solar energy car air-conditioning
system ... It can effectively reduce
gasoline consumption ... It is
estimated that about 10 to 40%
petroleum can be reduced ... To
take minibus as example, 27%
petroleum is saved, and 4 tons of
carbon dioxide emission can be
reduced each year ...
…The newly built wind farms in the U.K. can reduce
1.9 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions each
year. They produce environmental friendly energy
that is beneficial to the environment, and to alleviate
global warming…
… Rizhao city of Shandong
Province will plan to construct
wave energy generator … this
energy resource is clean and
renewable. It can be harmonious
with the ecological environment,
and are energy resources with
high sustainability …
… Taiwan is trying to find
stable heat sources to
develop geothermal
power … If a geothermal
power plant can be built, it is
estimated that it can operate
for at least 30 years.
Geothermal energy is
inexhaustible and the supply
will not stop…
…Vancouver is ranked the first among green cities in Canada in
2011… It is ranked the first in terms of carbon dioxide emissions
and air quality … It implements green energy policy, and uses
hydroelectric power as its main power … emissions of sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen oxides are low, and air quality is good…
Advantages of using renewable energy
* Read P.20-21 of the Information Folder: Information Sheet 12
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Activity 8: Specific example (read P.22-28 of the Information Folder: Information Sheets13-15)
Country / Region: ___________________
Energy problems encountered:
What kind of renewable energy is used? ___________________
Favorable conditions for developing the above renewable energy:
Limitations of using the above renewable energy:
Do you think it is a sustainable way to develop the above energy?
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Extended Activity
Discussion: Do you agree with the construction of an offshore wind farm* in Hong
Kong?
* For information about construction of wind farm in Hong Kong, read P.29-30 of the Information
Folder: Information Sheet 16.
Summary
Advantages of using renewable energy
Limitations of using renewable energy
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There are different limitations and costs for developing renewable
energy. So, how about we use nuclear energy? I know that nuclear
energy is relatively clean and a small amount of raw material can
generate a great capacity of electricity.
Siu Chi, I don’t agree with you! Don’t you see the
far-reaching impact of the nuclear accident in
Fukushima of Japan? I object to the use of nuclear
power!
Don’t argue any more! Let’s have a class debate to see who is
more reasonable!
Activity 9: To use “Nuclear” or not?
Table 1
Standpoint:
Arguments:
Questions:
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Table 2
Note-taking:
Table 3: Arguments for and against the use of nuclear power
For
Against
* For information about the nuclear accident in Fukushima of Japan and its relevant information,
read P.31-32 of the Information Folder: Information Sheet 17
Summary
There are advantages and disadvantages for the development of nuclear power. Each region or
country should consider their economic, social and environmental factors carefully before
developing nuclear power.
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D. Meeting future energy demand in a sustainable way
Activity 10: Solving energy problem (read P.36-43 of the Information Folder: Information Sheets
18-20)
Hong Kong and other countries in the world have adopted different policies and
sustainable ways to meet future energy demand. Let’s see what the governments in
different places have done!
Do you think the energy policy of __________________ sustainable? Why?
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Activity 11: Be an energy-saving ambassador
Besides governments of different countries have the responsibility to develop a
sustainable energy policy, as a member of the global village, we need to save energy
too.
How can you help promote energy saving in school / at home (select one only)?
Try to select any one of the following methods to provide recommendations. Present your ideas in
front of the class.
1.
Writing slogans (limited to a maximum of 2.
four sentences)
Drawing poster
3.
Rewriting the lyrics of a song
Designing an advertisement (limited to 5
4.
minutes)
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