1. Chapter 4 Earth’s Resources

2. Ch. 4.1 Energy and Mineral Resources

3. Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources
A renewable resource can be replenished over fairly short time such as months, years, or decades.
A nonrenewable resource takes millions of years to form and accumulate.
Even though 6% of the world’s population lives in the United States, we use 30% of the world’s annual production of mineral and energy resources.

4. Fossil Fuels
A fossil fuel is any hydrocarbon that may be used as a source of energy.
The three main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas.
Coal is formed when heat and pressure transform plant material.
Petroleum and natural gas form from the remains of plants and animals that were buried in ancient seas.
Another name for petroleum is oil.

5. Tar Sands and Oil Shale
Some energy experts believe that fuels derived from tar sands and oil shales could become good substitutes for dwindling petroleum supplies.
Tar sands are usually mixtures of clay and sand combined with water and varying amounts of a black, thick tar called bitumen.
Read the tar sands section on pg. 97 to create a flow chart for questions 3.

6. Tar Sands and Oil Shale
Oil shale is a rock that contains a waxy mixture of hydrocarbons called kerogen.
Mining oil shale isn’t a profitable solution currently due to current technology and costs of mining, processing, and waste disposal.

7. Formation of Mineral Deposits
Practically every manufactured product contains substances that come from minerals.
An ore is a useful metallic mineral that can be mined at a profit.
Some of the important mineral deposits form through igneous processes and from hydrothermal solutions.
Read pg to fill in the information for question

8. Nonmetallic Mineral Resources
Nonmetallic mineral resources are extracted and processed either for the nonmetallic elements that contain or for their physical and chemical properties.
Nonmetallic mineral resources are divided into two broad categories- building materials and industrial minerals.
Use Table 1 on page 101 to answer the questions in #3

9. Ch. 4.2 Alternate Energy Resources

10. Solar Energy
Solar energy is the direct use of the sun’s rays to supply heat or electricity.
Solar energy has two advantages: the “fuel” is free, and it’s not polluting.
Examples include
Solar collectors on south-facing windows
Roof-mounted devices
Photovoltaic cells that convert the
sun’s energy directly into electricity.

11. Nuclear Energy
In nuclear fission, the nuclei of heavy atoms such as uranium 235 are bombarded with neutrons. The uranium nuclei then split into small nuclei and emit neutrons and heat energy.
In a nuclear power plant, the fission reaction is controlled by moving neutron-absorbing rods into or out of the nuclear reactor.

12. Wind Energy
Some experts estimate that in the 50 to 60 years, wind power could meet 5 to 10 percent of the country’s demand for electricity.
Examples include
If the winds in North and South Dakota could be harnessed, they would provide 80% of the electrical energy used in the US.
Altamont Pass near San Francisco now operates more than 7000 wind turbines.

13. Hydroelectric Power
Hydroelectric power is when the power that falling water generate drives turbine that produce electricity.
Examples Include
Egypt’s Aswan High Dam on the Nile River is estimated to be filled half with sediments by 2025.
Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell on the Colorado River

14. Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy is harnessed by tapping natural underground reservoirs of steam and hot water.
Geothermal energy is where hot water is used directly for heating and to turn turbines to generate electric power.
This energy is used for
Directly for heating
To turn turbines to generate electricity

15. Tidal Power
Tidal power is harnessed by constructing a dam across the mouth of a bay in coastal areas with a large tidal ranger. The strong in-and-out flow that results drives turbines and electric generators.
Advantage = renewable
Disadvantage = limited sites available with enclosed bays and large tidal range