Grade 9 Science Related Reading/Chemistry
Grade 9 Chemistry
9M.3: Energy Resource
Fossil Fuels
Task 1 - Pre- Reading Activity
Write some non renewable energy resource in the following concept map.
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Grade 9 Science Related Reading/Chemistry
Task 2 – Reading Activity
Non-renewable Energy Resources?
Some energy resources are non-renewable resources.
These are resources that can never be replaced or are
replaced more slowly than they are used.
Oil, natural gas, and coal are non-renewable resources
called fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are energy resources that
formed from buried plants and animals that lived a very long
time ago. Millions of years ago, the plants stored energy
from the sun by photosynthesis. The animals stored and ate
the energy from the plants. When we burn fossil fuels today,
we are using the sun’s energy from millions of years ago.
Where did the energy
contained in fossil
fuels come from?
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
USES OF FOSSIL FUELS
All fossil fuels have stored energy from the sun. This
can be changed into other kinds of energy. The figure
below shows how we use fossil fuels.
The three most common fossil fuels are coal, natural
gas, and oil (petroleum). Burning coal is a way to produce
electrical energy. Gasoline, wax, and plastics are made from
petroleum. Natural gas is often used to heat homes.
NUCLEAR ENERGY
Electrical energy is also produced from nuclear energy.
Nuclear energy comes from radioactive elements like
uranium. The nucleus of a uranium atom splits into two
smaller nuclei in a process called nuclear fission. There
is not a large supply of radioactive elements, so nuclear
energy is a nonrenewable resource.
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Grade 9 Science Related Reading/Chemistry
Children Are Likely to Suffer Most from Our
Fossil Fuel Addiction
By: Frederica P. Perera
Environmental Health Perspective
The periods of fetal and child development arguably represent the stages of greatest
vulnerability to the dual impacts of fossil fuel combustion: the multiple toxic effects of
emitted pollutants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, particles, sulfur oxides, nitrogen
oxides, metals) and the broad health impacts of global climate change attributable in
large part to carbon dioxide released by fossil fuel burning.
Current scientific evidence indicating that the fetus and young child are at heightened
risk of developmental impairment, lower birth weight, deficits in lung function,
respiratory symptoms, childhood asthma, developmental disorders, and cancer from
fossil fuel pollutants and from the predicted effects of climate disruption such as heat
waves, flooding, infectious disease, malnutrition, and trauma. Increased risk during early
development derives from the inherently greater biologic vulnerability of the developing
fetus and child and from their long future lifetime, during which early insults can
potentially manifest as adult as well as childhood disease. Recent reports conclude that
reducing dependence on fossil fuel and promoting clean and sustainable energy is
economically feasible.
Although much has been written separately about the toxicity of fossil fuel burning
emissions and the effects of climate change on health, these two faces of the problem
have not been viewed together with a focus on the developing fetus and child. These
health effects represent a major societal and public health burden. A significant
proportion of children 6–17 years of age are reported to have developmental problems
including learning disabilities (11.5%), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (8.8%),
and behavioral problems (6.3%).Adolescence and old age are also periods of
vulnerability, but the potential for both immediate and long-term adverse effects is
greatest when exposure occurs prenatally or in the early years.
Consideration of the full spectrum of health risks to children from fossil fuel combustion
underscores the urgent need for environmental and energy policies to reduce fossil fuel
dependence and maximize the health benefits to this susceptible population. We do not
have to leave our children a double legacy of ill health and ecologic disaster.
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Grade 9 Science Related Reading/Chemistry
Task 3 – Post Reading Activity
Q1: Why can it be said that the energy from burning fossil fuels ultimately comes from the sun?
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Q2: What are the three most common fossil fuels?
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Q3: Name three products that come from petroleum.
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Q4: Write two uses of natural gas.
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Q5: Write some disadvantages of fossil fuels.
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Q6: Read the words in the box. Read the sentences. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that
best completes the sentence.
nonrenewable resources
uranium
energy
fossil fuels
1. Energy resources that formed from buried plants and animals are called
______________________.
2. Resources that cannot be replaced or are replaced more slowly than they are used
are called ______________________.
3. Fossil fuels are stored forms of the sun’s ______________________.
4. Nuclear energy is generated from radioactive elements, such as
______________________.
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Grade 9 Science Related Reading/Chemistry
Q7: Analyze the Graph: What is the annual oil production trend after the year 2010?
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Q8: Look at the graph and suggest which is the best fossil fuel to use and why?
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