Energy Resources

A natural resource that can be converted by humans into other forms of energy in order to do useful work.

Nonrenewable Resources

Cannot be replaced after they are used

or

Can be replaced only over thousands or millions of

years.

Fossil Fuels

Most important nonrenewable resource

Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are the most common.

Energy resources that formed from the buried remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago.

Energy from fossil fuels forms from the sun’s energy.

Coal: is burned to produce steam to run electric generators.

Petroleum: supplies us with gasoline, kerosene, and wax.

Natural Gas: used in heating systems and in stoves and ovens

Renewable Resources

Can be used and replaced in nature over a relatively short period of time.

Solar

Hydro

Wind

Geothermal

Biomass

Solar: sunlight can be converted into electrical energy through solar cells. Found in calculators or used in a home for electrical energy or thermal energy that heats the house.

Hydro: Potential energy of water in a reservoir is converted into kinetic as the water flows downhill through a dam. Falling water turns a turbine in a dam which converts kinetic energy into electrical energy…called hydroelectricity.

Wind: caused by the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface, which creates currents of air. Kinetic energy of wind turns the blades of a windmill. It converts kinetic energy into electrical energy.

Geothermal: Results for the heating of the Earth’s crust. Water turns to steam which is then used to turn a generator to produce electrical energy.

Biomass: Organic matter (plants, wood, and waste) are burned to release energy.