Natural Resources

Biomass Material from living things, such as plants and animals, that is used as a source of fuel.

Electricity generationRefers to any one of the several types of energy that is transformed into electricity

Fossil fuel A fuel produced by living plant materials that have been buried and changed by heat and pressure under layers within the earth over millions of years of time. Natural gas, petroleum, and coal are examples of fossil fuels.

Hydroelectric power Energy is generated by moving water which turns the blades of a turbine, which generates electricity.

Non-renewable energy Energy obtained from sources such as fossil fuels and from minerals, such as uranium ores. Once used, these sources are no longer available to furnish energy.

Key Vocabulary

Non-renewable resources Materials that cannot be easily or quickly replaced by natural systems, such as petroleum, coal, natural gas, and many minerals.

Nuclear energy A type of potential energy that is stored in the nucleus of an atom.

Key Vocabulary

Power plant A facility that transforms energy into electricity and distributes it to the surrounding

Renewable resource A source of material that can easily be produced again and again in nature, such as wood, solar and hydroelectric power, and food crops.

Renewable energy Energy sources that are not “used up” or that can be replaced. These include passive and active solar heating, wind and hydroelectric energy, and biomass energy sources.

Solar energy Energy that comes from the sun.

Turbine Any of many machines that use kinetic energy from moving wind, water, steam, or gas to generatemechanical energy. A turbine is made of paddles, buckets, or blades attached to a wheel that turns toproduce mechanical energy.

Wind energy Energy from the wind that causes a turbine to turn in order to generate electricity.

Consider all the forms of generating energy that were discussed in the presentation and answer the following analysis questions.

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Type of energy facility Advantage Disadvantage

In your science notebook, copy the table below. Use the table to answer the question on the next slide.

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