Where resources are, and renewable vs nonrenewable energy

Grade 9 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Card F, where U.S. coal is mined, 2022 (EIA): Wyoming 41% (Western region, Powder River Basin); West Virginia 14% (Appalachian); Pennsylvania 7% (Appalachian); Illinois 6% (Interior); Kentucky 5%. These five states mined 73% of U.S. coal. About 63% of U.S. coal came from surface mines, which remove the soil and rock above a coal seam; U.S. law requires the land to be reclaimed. Card G, renewable energy in 2025 (EIA), share of U.S. renewable use: biomass 55%; wind 18%; solar 16%; hydropower 10%; geothermal 1%. Biomass is wood, biofuels and waste burned for heat, fuel and electricity. Card H, from the earlier charts: renewable sources are 9% of U.S. energy use and about 24% of U.S. electricity. U.S. electricity in 2025: natural gas 41%; nuclear 18%; coal 17%; wind 11%; solar 7%; hydropower 6%. Natural gas and coal are fossil fuels; nuclear and renewable sources are not.

2. 1.

   Wyoming mined 41% of U.S. coal in 2022; West Virginia and Pennsylvania, both Appalachian, mined 14% and 7%. Which comparison is fair, Esme asks?

   • Appalachia mined more than Wyoming, since two states, 21% together, outnumber the one state
   • Wyoming mined about twice as much as the whole Appalachian region, since 41% is about twice 21%
   • Wyoming's 41% is about twice the 21% of the two Appalachian states shown, but other Appalachian states are not listed
   • Wyoming's 41% and the Appalachian 21% add to 62%, which is the share of the nation's coal from the biggest two regions
3. 2.

   Jun says coal mining 'permanently destroys the land'. What do the cards support?

   • Surface mining removes soil and rock, but U.S. law requires reclamation, so 'permanently' goes further than the card
   • Wrong: the reclamation law means mining leaves the land exactly as it was before the mine opened
   • Wrong: most U.S. coal comes from underground mines, which leave the surface land untouched
   • Right: surface mining removes the soil and rock above the seam, and land that has been removed cannot be restored once the mine has closed
4. 3.

   A headline says wind is America's top renewable source. Using Cards G and H, which reading reconciles the cards, Kira asks?

   • Wind leads on both cards, since a source that leads electricity leads in all renewable energy too
   • Wind leads renewable electricity, but biomass leads all renewable energy use, 55% against wind's 18%
   • The two cannot be compared, since one card shows electricity and the other shows all energy use
   • Biomass leads electricity as well, since a 55% share is the largest and so leads in every use
5. 4.

   Wind is 18% of U.S. renewable use (Card G), and renewables are 9% of all U.S. energy use (Card H). About what share of all energy use is wind, Luz asks?

   • About 18%, the share on Card G, since that is the share of energy use shown for wind
   • About 27% of U.S. energy use, which is more than a quarter of everything people use
   • About 11%, wind's share of electricity, since the electricity chart gives wind's size in the economy
   • About 1.6%: wind is 18% of the 9% that renewable sources supply, and 18% of 9% is about 1.6%

6. Use this

   Card J, Veldia (an invented country, made up for practice). Three options for new electricity. A gas plant: burns with fewer emissions than coal, but leaks of gas add methane. A wind farm: no emissions in operation, but blades can harm birds and bats. A dam: no direct air pollutants, but its lake would flood a valley where 3,000 people live, who would be resettled; dams can also block fish migration. The town council sets two rules: (1) no emissions while operating; (2) no one's home is flooded.

7. 5.

   Veldia's council applies two rules. Which option meets both, using Card J, Milo asks?

   • The wind farm and the dam together, since each makes power without burning fuel in operation
   • The gas plant, which burns with fewer emissions than coal, so it passes the first rule in practice
   • The dam, which makes no direct air pollutants, and a valley of 3,000 people could move elsewhere
   • The wind farm, which has no emissions in operation and floods no one's home, so it meets both rules

8. Use this

   Card F, where U.S. coal is mined, 2022 (EIA): Wyoming 41% (Western region, Powder River Basin); West Virginia 14% (Appalachian); Pennsylvania 7% (Appalachian); Illinois 6% (Interior); Kentucky 5%. These five states mined 73% of U.S. coal. About 63% of U.S. coal came from surface mines, which remove the soil and rock above a coal seam; U.S. law requires the land to be reclaimed. Card G, renewable energy in 2025 (EIA), share of U.S. renewable use: biomass 55%; wind 18%; solar 16%; hydropower 10%; geothermal 1%. Biomass is wood, biofuels and waste burned for heat, fuel and electricity. Card H, from the earlier charts: renewable sources are 9% of U.S. energy use and about 24% of U.S. electricity. U.S. electricity in 2025: natural gas 41%; nuclear 18%; coal 17%; wind 11%; solar 7%; hydropower 6%. Natural gas and coal are fossil fuels; nuclear and renewable sources are not.

9. 6.

   Noah's note: 'Renewable sources supply 24% of U.S. energy, a quarter of everything we use.' Which fix fits Card H?

   • Renewable sources supply about 24% of electricity but 9% of all energy use, since electricity is part of the total
   • Change 'energy' to 'power plants', since 24% is the share of coal and gas that renewables replaced
   • Keep it, since electricity is the biggest use of energy and so its share stands for the whole country and for the other uses
   • Change 24% to 9% and keep the claim, since a quarter and 9% describe the same large part
10. 7.

    Solar makes 7% of U.S. electricity (Card H) and is 16% of renewable use (Card G). Which statement for solar is right, Ren asks?

    • Solar is 7% of electricity and 7% of all energy use, since one source has one share on every chart
    • Solar is 7% of electricity and 16% of all energy use, since renewable use is the same as energy use
    • Solar is 7% of electricity but about 1.4% of all energy use, since 16% of the 9% renewable share is 1.4%
    • Solar is about 0.6% of all energy use, since 9% of its 7% electricity share gives the figure
11. 8.

    Tala says more than half of U.S. electricity comes from fossil fuels. Is that supported by Card H?

    • Yes: natural gas, 41%, and coal, 17%, are the fossil fuels and together they add to 58%, more than half
    • No: natural gas, the largest source, is just 41%, so fossil fuels are under half of the total
    • Yes: natural gas, 41%, and nuclear, 18%, add to 59%, which is more than half of electricity
    • No: nuclear and renewables make 42%, which is close enough to half that the claim is too uncertain

12. Use this

    Card K, Norland (an invented country, made up for practice). Coal beds lie in the far north, 800 km from the cities. Strong, steady winds blow along the west coast, 200 km from the cities. A sunny desert lies in the south, 500 km from the cities. Power lines cost more the longer they are. Solar farms make power in daylight; wind farms make power when the wind blows. Coal is nonrenewable; wind and sunlight are renewable.

13. 9.

    Norland wants a renewable source with the shortest power line to its cities. Which site fits Card K, Ari asks?

    • Coal in the far north, 800 km away, since coal is the plentiful source that feeds the nation's cities
    • Solar in the south, 500 km away, since a desert sun is a steady and certain source of power each day
    • Wind on the west coast, 200 km away, the shortest line of the two renewable options
    • Solar and wind together, since a pair of renewable sources makes the line cost the same for either

14. Use this

    Card F, where U.S. coal is mined, 2022 (EIA): Wyoming 41% (Western region, Powder River Basin); West Virginia 14% (Appalachian); Pennsylvania 7% (Appalachian); Illinois 6% (Interior); Kentucky 5%. These five states mined 73% of U.S. coal. About 63% of U.S. coal came from surface mines, which remove the soil and rock above a coal seam; U.S. law requires the land to be reclaimed. Card G, renewable energy in 2025 (EIA), share of U.S. renewable use: biomass 55%; wind 18%; solar 16%; hydropower 10%; geothermal 1%. Biomass is wood, biofuels and waste burned for heat, fuel and electricity. Card H, from the earlier charts: renewable sources are 9% of U.S. energy use and about 24% of U.S. electricity. U.S. electricity in 2025: natural gas 41%; nuclear 18%; coal 17%; wind 11%; solar 7%; hydropower 6%. Natural gas and coal are fossil fuels; nuclear and renewable sources are not.

15. 10.

    Bo's note: 'Coal is mined mostly in Appalachia, since West Virginia is the second-largest coal state.' Which fix fits Card F?

    • Change 'mostly' to 'entirely', since Appalachia's coal comes entirely from surface mines at the top of seams
    • Keep it, since West Virginia's 14% is the second-largest share and so Appalachia leads the nation
    • Wyoming alone, 41%, mined about twice as much as West Virginia and Pennsylvania together, 21%, so Western mines lead
    • Change 'Appalachia' to 'Pennsylvania', since West Virginia and Pennsylvania together mine more than any one state on the list