Term: 2 Science: Class 3

The City School

Handout Number: Science 2.10.f
Topic: Energy and its resources (Common Sources and Uses of Energy)

Learning Objectives:
f: identify natural resources (plants, animals, water, air, land, forests, and soil)

Natural resources can broadly be classified on their availability — they are classified into renewable
and non-renewable resources.
Non-renewable
Nonliving things make up another kind of natural resource. These resources, such as soil, stone, oil,
and gases, can take thousands or millions of years to form. They are considered nonrenewable
because people use them faster than they can form.
Positives
1. Efficient - burning a small amount of oil, gas, or coal, or reacting a small amount of uranium releases a lot of
energy.
2. Convenient - can be used whenever (they don’t rely on certain environmental conditions e.g. lots of wind)
they can be transported easily
3. Well established – humans have been using fossil fuels for the past 200 years so our towns and cities are
built to make transporting and using fossil fuels easy
4. Relatively cheap to generate electricity
Negatives
1. Release large amounts of carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere.
2. Acid rain
3. Mining for coal and drilling for oil harm the environment.
4. Harmful radioactive waste from nuclear power
a. Oil and gas
To generate electricity, oil and gas are burnt in power plants to heat water and produce steam. This steam
(which has kinetic energy) then drives the blades of a turbine (mechanical energy). The turbine is attached to
a generator and when it spins it produces electricity (electrical energy).
b. Coal can be burned for heating or electricity in the same way as oil and gas
c. Nuclear power
Fuels are not burnt to release energy; they are involved in
nuclear reactions where atoms are split to release large
amounts of energy as heat. The rest of the process of generating
electricity is then the same as in coal oil and gas.

Nuclear power plant

 Term: 2 Science: Class 3

Renewable resources
Many of the natural resources people need to survive are renewable. Renewable resources—such as
sunlight, water, and air—cannot be used up. Once renewable energy resources are established (i.e. once
wind turbines, solar panels, etc. have been constructed) they do not release harmful gases into the atmosphere
so they can be used to mitigate climate change.
Generating electricity from renewable sources is more complicated than from fossil fuels so it requires lots of
new technology which can be expensive to develop.
Plants and animals are also renewable resources. Normally living things replace themselves through
reproduction. But such human activities as hunting, logging, building, and polluting can cause whole
groups of living things to disappear forever.

1. Wind turbines essentially work in the opposite way to a fan,

instead of using electricity to make wind they use the wind to
make electricity.
Negative impact: One major issue that people have with wind
turbines is that they can ruin the look of the landscape; they
can also be harmful to birds that might fly into them.

2. Solar the primary source of all energy on planet Earth is

from the sun - plants get energy from the sun for
photosynthesis. Solar cells are used to turn sunlight directly
into electricity. It is really expensive to buy solar panels.

3. Geothermal energy is heat energy from the Earth. To

use geothermal energy to generate electricity or heat,
water is pumped into hot rocks
through pipes. When this water
comes back up to the surface it can
be used directly to heat people’s
homes, or the steam can be used to
generate electricity using a turbine
and a generator. It is only found in a
few areas of the world.

4. Hydroelectric power harnesses

electricity from running water.

Term: 2 Science: Class 3

Hydroelectric dams are built to store large amounts of water in reservoirs. When electricity is needed,
allowed to escape through pipes in the dam. The water flows downwards under the influence of gravity and
turns turbines linked to generators. Hydroelectric power is more reliable than wind and solar power,
although it does depend on enough rain. Hydroelectric dams are very expensive to build. When a dam is
built, a huge area is flooded to make a lake which displaces the people and animals living there.

5. Biofuels are fuels produced from crops like rapeseed and sugar cane. They release less Carbon dioxide
than burning fossil fuels directly. There are ethical issues surrounding the use of biofuels. For example, crops
that could be used to feed people are being used to provide raw materials for biofuels instead.
Conservation of natural resources
Many natural resources can be used up, so we must use them wisely. We can conserve natural resourc
es by following the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
 Many people fear that humans are destroying the world’s natural resources.
 Clearing land for farming and building wipes out forests and the animals that live there.
 Cars and factories use huge amounts of oil every day. They also release poisonous chemicals
that pollute the air, water, and soil.

Many people are working to conserve or save, natural

resources. In addition, scientists are working on ways to
produce energy and goods without causing pollution or
using up valuable natural resources.
Why Conserve Energy?
Look around the room right now. How many things can you see that use energy? Your list might
include:
Computer, Electric lights, Fan, Heater or air conditioner, Clock, Microwave, Stove
Anything that plugs into the wall or runs on batteries uses energy. Other things that use energy include
cars, factories, heaters, and air conditioners. People use a lot of energy every day! And we keep using
more and more energy. If people keep using more and more energy, 20 years from now we'll be using
almost one and a half times as much energy as we are now, every day.
Using so much energy is a problem because it's hard on the planet. One big source of energy is oil, but
using oil for energy makes a lot of dangerous smoke. The smoke from burning oil can make the air dirty
and make people sick. Also, the way we get a lot of our coal and oil is by drilling for it. Drilling for coal
and oil is hard on the land, the sea, and animals and people that live near the drilling. If everyone used
less energy, we could use less oil, and our air would be cleaner. That's the point of energy conservation.
The word 'conservation' means 'saving.' Energy conservation means saving energy, or not using more
energy than you need. It doesn’t mean using any energy at all. It just means using less energy.