3. Renewable and Nonrenewable Energy Reference Sheet
Credible Website: www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy
Resources
1) Natural- an Earth material, used by humans
a. Water
d. Soil
b. Plants
e. Rocks
c. Animals
f.
Minerals
2) Renewable- is a natural resource that can be replaced as fast as it is used.
a. Water
d. Air
b. Trees
e. Wood
c. Solar Energy
f.
Fish
3) Nonrenewable- a natural source that cannot be replaced as fast as it is used
(millions of years).
a. Oil
b. Coal
c. Natural Gas
d. Metals (gold, iron)
e. Rock (Granite)
1
Renewable:
Wind
What:
Wind energy is converted form of
solar energy
Hot air rises, reducing the
atmospheric pressure at the earth’s
surface, and cooler air is drawn in to
replace it  creates wind
Where:
US Wind energy is available in these
top 5 states: North Dakota, Texas,
Kansas, South Dakota, Montana
How:
Electrical turbines Kinetic energy
of the wind  Mechanical Energy
Electricity Energy for homes and
businesses
Biomass
(biofuel)
What:
Living Matter (trees, grass, animal
waste)
Hydropower
What:
Waves- moving water to generate
energy
Water Cycle-providing seasonal
rain and runoff from snow pack
Where:
Biosphere, every part of the world
Where:
Shorelines, rivers, lakes (water0
How:
There are approximately 590 million
wet tons of biomass in the US =
324,000,000,000 kWh available
electricity annual
Cost:
0.60 per kwh
Cost:
$0.70 kwh
How:
The water funnels through a dam,
into a powerhouse and turns a
turbine. The turbine turns a shaft
that rotates a series of magnets past
copper coils in a generator to create
electricity. The water returns to the
river. From the powerhouse,
transmission lines carry electricity
to communication.
Cost:
$0.30 – $0.50 kwh
Uses:
Electricity
Uses:
Electricity and Fuel
Uses:
Electricity
Cons:
Impact negatively of landscape
Requires significant amount of wind
and land
Pros:
It’s a free source of energy
Produces no water or air pollution
Cons:
Not cost effective
Air Pollution
Cons:
Negatively Impacts the
environment
Can only be used by water
Pros:
Easily Stored
Abundant, clean and safe
Pros:
Abundance
Burns waste product
2
Hydrogen
(Fuel Cells)
What:
Elements that have 1 proton in an
electrochemical cell
H + O2  H20
Where:
California, Indiana and Texas
Any place you can find Hydrogen
How:
Steam electrolysis Hydrogen
(g)
Unlimited
Cost:
0.86 per kwh
Geothermal
Solar Power
What:
Heat from the Earth
What:
Energy from the sun’s rays
Where:
Volcanoes, hot springs, fumaroles,
Pacific Ocean: Ring of Fire,
underground, Earth’s layer
How:
Drilling  brings steam up for us to
use  we convert it back into water
Where:
Far West and Far East Coasts
Cost:
$0.70 kwh
How:
Protons from the sun are stored in
Solar Panels  and we keep for
future use
Cost:
$1.10 kwh
Uses:
Vehicles
Refining
Electricity
Processing Food
Cons:
Flammable
Requires Natural Gas\
Costly
Uses:
District Heating (Energy and
electricity), Swimming in hot springs
Uses:
Heat and electricity
Cons:
Expensive and Corrosive, Global
Warming
Pros:
Gives off Water
Clean when burned
Pros:
Unlimited Supply
Creates a Jobs
97% less acid rain when used
Cons:
Not reliable
Creates a Waste in photovotalic
cells
Not Cost Efficient
Large Surface Area
Pros:
NO air or water pollution
Unlimited supply
3
Nonrenewable:
Natural Gas
Coal
How does it form?
Plants and animals died (diatoms)
buried on the ocean floor and get
covered by sand and silt. Over millions
of years heat and pressure turned the,
into oil, natural gas and gasoline.
Where is it?
Middle East, Europe and Asia
How does it form?
Dead plants and organisms
How do we get it?
Natural gas sits on top of oil and drill it
up pipelines and trap the petroleum
on top.
How do we get it?
Strip Mining and mining
underground, rip off tops of
mountains
How much is left?
130 trillion cubic feet
How much is left?
USA 27.1%
Russia 17.3%
China 12.6%
India 10.2 %
Australia 8.6%
Uses:
Heat, generating electricity, travel
Uses:
Industrial 30.3%, Electricity 26.4%,
residential 21.6%, commercial 13.9%
Cost:
$12 cubic feet
How it is hurting the environment:
Naturally seepage  pollutes CO2, CO,
NO2, SO2
Where is it?
Europe and Asia, Asian Pacific, North
America and Africa
Cost:
$160 per ton in 2008 now $1-15 per ton.
How it is hurting the environment:
Killing trees off lose O2 and CO2
habitats for animal
Pollution Acid rain
4
Uranium (nuclear)
How does it form?
Naturally occurring in the ground
(Periodic Table)
Where is it?
Southern East Region
Top States Illinois, PA
How do we get it?
Uranium U235 Fission (Atoms splits)
Petroleum/Oil
How does it form?
Plants and animals died (diatoms)
buried on the ocean floor and get
covered by sand and silt. Over millions
of years heat and pressure turned the,
into oil and gasoline.
Where is it?
Saudi Arabia Iran, Iraq, Kuwait,
MIDDLE EAST
How do we get it?
Pumping in steam (heat) into the
ground and drilling out by pumping up
the oil
How much is left?
How much is left?
nd
Uranium 2 energy source we have left 64.3 %  Use 83 million barrel per day
(90%)
in 2080  5 million barrels a day
Uses:
Electricity, weapons (atomic bomb),
submarines
Cost:
$1.72 per kilowatts/hour
How it is hurting the environment:
Buried Yucca Mountains, Nevada
Pollution
Radio activate waste diseases poison
 plants and animals
Uses:
36.7%
* ink Medicine, heat homes, fuel 
gasoline, diesel, jet fuel
* Dishwashing liquids
Cost:
$3.26 per gallon
$125 barrel
How it is hurting the environment:
1) Natural Seepage
2) Spills
3) Ships/ barrages
4) Drilling/ Pipelines
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Renewable and Nonrenewable Application
1.
Most of the energy we use originally came from
a. The sun
b. The soil
c. The air
d. The oceans
2.
The U.S. consumes lots of energy. Which fuel provides the most energy?
a. Petroleum
b. Coal
c. Natural gas
d. Solar
3.
Coal, petroleum, natural gas, and propane are fossil fuels. They are called fossil fuels because:
a. they are burned to release energy and they cause air pollution
b. they were formed from the buried remains of plants and tiny animals that lived hundred
of millions of years ago
c. they are nonrenewable and will run out
d. they are mixed with fossils to provide energy
4.
Gasoline is produced by refining which fossil fuel?
a. natural gas
b. coal
c. petroleum
5.
d. propane
Propane is used instead of natural gas on many farms and in rural areas. Why is propane often
used instead of natural gas?
a. it’s safer
b. it’s portable
c. it’s cleaner
d. it's cheaper
6.
What sector of the U.S. economy consumes most of the nation’s petroleum?
a. residential
b. commercial
c. industrial
d. transportation
7.
Natural gas is transported mainly by
a. pipelines
b. trucks
c. barges
d. all three equally
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8.
Global warming focuses on an increase in the level of which gas in the atmosphere?
a. ozone
b. sulfur dioxide
c. carbon dioxide
d. nitrous oxide
9.
Solar, biomass, geothermal, wind, and hydropower energy are all renewable sources of energy.
They are called renewable because they
a. are clean and free to use
b. can be converted directly into heat and electricity
c. can be replenished by nature in a short period of time
d. do not produce air pollution
10.
Today, which renewable energy source provides the U.S. with the most energy?
a. wind
b. solar
c. geothermal
d. hydropower
11.
Electricity is the movement of
a. atoms
b. molecules
c. electrons
d. neutrons
12.
How much of the energy in burning coal reaches the consumer as electricity?
a. 1/3 (one-third)
b. 1/2 (one-half)
c. 3/4 (three-quarters)
d. 9/10 (nine-tenths)
13.
In a nuclear power plant, uranium atoms
a. combine and give off heat energy
b. split and give off heat energy
c. burn and give off heat energy
d. split and give off electrons
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