Get Energized! What is energy? Renewable Energy Sources Conserving Energy! Nonrenewable Energy Sources Get Energized!

Get Energized!

What is energy?

Renewable Energy Sources

Conserving Energy!

Nonrenewable Energy Sources

Get Energized!

What Is Energy?????

What is energy?

Energy is all around you! • You hear energy as sound, you see energy as light, you

can feel energy as heat or wind.

• Living organisms need energy for growth and movement.

• You use energy when you hit a tennis ball, lift an object, or move in any way.

But what is energy? Energy is the ability to do work or cause changes in matter.

What is energy?

• Energy comes from many different resources.

• Natural resources are things made by nature that people need or use.

• All of Earth’s resources can be placed into two categories: renewable and nonrenewable resources.

Where do we get energy?

Nonrenewable energy resources

Nonrenewable Resources


Nonrenewable energy resources are being used up faster than new ones can be made. Fossil fuels are nonrenewable energy resources.

Fossil fuels formed millions of years ago from the remains of dead plants and animals.

Where does the chemical energy stored in oil and natural gas come from?

The chemical energy stored in coal comes from trees and plants that lived millions of years ago.

Fossil fuels, like coal, oil and natural gas, are energy resources that store chemical energy.

Dead animals!

Is electricity a type of fuel?

Electricity is a type of energy, NOT a type of fuel.

In a power station fossil fuels can be burned to generate electricity.


What type of energy is electricity?

Put the following types of energy in the correct order to show how electricity is generated in a power station.

heat energy

electrical energy

stored chemical energy

mechanical energy


Electricity is electrical energy.

stored chemical energy

heat energy

mechanical energy

electrical energy

Do you know your fossil fuels or are you a fossil fool?

1. Burning fossil fuels can be useful because it releases a lot of—

a) energy

b) films

c) music

2. Fossil fuels are made from—

a) melted rock

b) old bones

c) decayed plants and animals


Do you know your fossil fuels or are you a fossil fool?

1. Burning fossil fuels can be useful because it releases a lot of—

a) energy

b) films

c) music

2. Fossil fuels are made from—

a) melted rock

b) old bones

c) decayed plants and animals


3. Nonrenewable energy resources—

a) cannot be used up

b) are used faster than they can be replaced

c) take about 50-100 years to be replaced

4. Coal is a—

a) nonrenewable resource

b) renewable resource

c) inexhaustible resource


3. Nonrenewable energy resources—

a) cannot be used up

b) are used faster than they can be replaced

c) take about 50-100 years to be replaced

4. Coal is a—

a) nonrenewable resource

b) renewable resource

c) inexhaustible resource


6. Burning fossil fuels affects the environment by creating—

a) pollution

b) oxygen

c) sunflowers

5. Which of the following lists contains only nonrenewable energy resources?

a) coal, biomass, hydropower

b) coal, petroleum, uranium

c) hydropower, wind, geothermal


6. Burning fossil fuels affects the environment by creating—

a) pollution

b) oxygen

c) sunflowers

5. Which of the following lists contains only nonrenewable energy resources?

a) coal, biomass, hydropower

b) coal, petroleum, uranium

c) hydropower, wind, geothermal


7. Fossil fuels are non-renewable energy resources because they cannot be—

a) repaired

b) replayed

c) replaced

8. Some scientists think a bad side-effect of burning fossil fuels is—

a) cold weather

b) global warming

c) more homework

7I Fossil fuels – Are you a fossil fool?

7. Fossil fuels are non-renewable energy resources because they cannot be—

a) repaired

b) replayed

c) replaced

8. Some scientists think a bad side-effect of burning fossil fuels is—

a) cold weather

b) global warming

c) more homework

7I Fossil fuels – Are you a fossil fool?

Renewable energy resources

Renewable Energy Resources

Renewable energy resources will not run out and can be replaced. But all energy resources have an environmental impact.


The following renewable energy sources are used in the United States to heat buildings and produce electricity.

Hydropower is energy obtained from moving water.The water turns large turbines which produce electricity.


Biomass is fuel that comes from plants and animals. Biomass is burned to produce heat and electricity.

Geothermal energy is heat from melted rock deep below Earth’s surface and can be used to heat buildings and produce electricity.

Wind energy is used to turn large turbines. These turbines produce electricity.

Solar energy is energy from the sun in the form of light and heat. Solar energy can be captured to heat buildings and produce electricity.

Advantages of using biomass

Contains energy absorbed from the sun


Is a renewable energy resource

Can be burned to heat buildings and make electricity

Can be used to make ethanol, a cleaner fuel than gasoline

Contains less energy than fossil fuels so more must be burned to obtain an equal amount of electricity

Disadvantages of using biomass

Can pollute the air and smells bad when burned

Transported by large trucks that can pollute the air and require large amounts of gasoline to run

Advantages of using hydropower

Is the cheapest way to make electricity



Do not pollute the air

Lakes formed by dams can be used for recreational purposes

Building dams can flood parts of the land and disturb habitats

Disadvantages of using hydropower

Are not many good locations left in the US to build dams for hydropower

Advantages of using geothermal energy

Comes from heat inside the Earth



Can be heat buildings and make electricity

Can be used to make ethanol, a cleaner fuel than gasoline

Plants are very expensive to build

Disadvantages of using geothermal energy

Geothermal steam can contain dangerous chemicalsMust be used where it is found—cannot be transported over long distances

Found in many places in the US

Advantages of using solar energy

Comes from the sun



Can be captured to heat buildings and make electricityIs clean and free to use

Only available when the sun is shining

Disadvantages of using solar energy

Solar power plants are more expensive to maintain

Hard to capture

Found everywhere

Cannot be transported, must be used at source

Advantages of using wind energy

Caused by the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface by the sun



Wind turbines capture wind energy to make electricity

Making electricity from the wind is very cheap

Wind farms take up a lot of space

Disadvantages of using wind energy

Not every area has enough wind to make electricity

Cannot be transported, must be used at source

Conserving Energy

Conserving energy

Decide if these statements about conserving energy at home are true or false.

Did you know that the energy needed to run a home for a year creates more of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide than an average car?!

Conserving energy

1. The amount of heat lost annually through roofs and walls is enough to heat 1 million homes for a year!

FALSE! Roofs and walls lose enough heat

to warm 3 million homes a year! How could this energy be saved?

2. Each year US households use $1 billion worth of electricity a year on cooling and freezing food.

3. An energy efficient washing machine needs half the energy of an old, inefficient model and cuts water consumption considerably.

TRUE! Fridges use a lot of energy so don’t treat them like any other cupboard. If you open a fridge door for one minute, it takes three minutes for it to cool down which uses up energy.

4. Each energy efficient light bulb uses a quarter of the energy used by a regular bulb and saves about $8 per year on electricity.

5. If everyone in the United States installed just one energy saving light bulb the amount of carbon dioxide saved would fill the Royal Albert Hall in London 1000 times.FALSE! The amount of carbon dioxide saved would

fill the Royal Albert Hall 3000 times!! If everyone does a little bit to save

energy, together they can help a lot!

TRUE! Energy efficient bulb might cost more than regular bulbs but overall they save energy and money! How many energy efficient

bulbs do you have at home?

FALSE! An energy efficient washing machine uses one third of the energy of an old, inefficient model.

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Get Energized! What is energy? Renewable Energy Sources Conserving Energy! Nonrenewable Energy Sources Get Energized!