Where resources are, and renewable vs nonrenewable energy

Grade 9 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Card A, U.S. energy use by source, 2025 (EIA, preliminary): petroleum 37%; natural gas 36%; coal 9%; nuclear (uranium) 9%; renewable sources 9%. Card B, U.S. electricity by source, 2025 (EIA), with one trade-off each: natural gas 41%, burns with fewer emissions than coal or oil, but leaks of it add methane to the air; nuclear 18%, no air pollution while operating, but leaves radioactive waste to store; coal 17%, plentiful and fairly cheap to produce, but mining changes the land; wind 11%, no emissions or cooling water, but blades are noisy and can harm birds and bats; solar 7%, no air pollution while operating, but panels take energy and materials to make; hydropower 6%, no direct air pollutants, but dams can block fish migration. Renewable sources together make about 24% of U.S. electricity; petroleum makes about 0.7%. Card C: people use energy for transportation, heating, factories and electricity, so electricity is one use of energy. EIA calls a source nonrenewable when its supply is limited to what can be mined or extracted and takes a very long time to form; nuclear is listed as nonrenewable. Renewable sources replenish naturally but are limited by how much flows at a time.

2. 1.

   Renewable sources are 9% of energy use (Card A) but about 24% of electricity (Card B). What explains the gap, Jun asks?

   • Electricity is only part of energy use, and renewable sources are a larger share of that part than of the whole
   • The charts disagree about renewable sources, so a mistake lies in one of the two lists of shares
   • Renewable sources supply 24% of all U.S. energy, since 24% is the larger and more recent figure here
   • The gap shows wind and solar replaced coal in power plants, since coal's share of energy use is only 9%
3. 2.

   A town swaps a coal power plant for a nuclear one. Which trade-off swap fits Card B, Kira asks?

   • It gives up cheap, plentiful coal and mining's land changes for no air pollution in operation but waste to store
   • It gains cheap, plentiful fuel and avoids mining, since nuclear fuel comes up from the ground just like coal does
   • It gains no air pollution and gives up nothing, since nuclear has no costs once the plant is built
   • It trades one kind of air pollution for another, since both burn fuel to make steam for power
4. 3.

   A planner says switching from coal to natural gas solves the emissions problem. What do the cards support, Luz asks?

   • Gas leaks add methane, which cancels the lower emissions, so switching gains nothing in the air
   • Gas burns with fewer emissions than coal, so switching removes the emissions problem from the plant
   • Gas is a renewable source, so switching from coal to gas gives clean power from a source that renews
   • Gas burns with fewer emissions than coal, but leaks add methane, so the gain is real without being complete
5. 4.

   Which statement compares wind and hydropower fairly using Card B, Milo asks?

   • Neither harms wildlife, since both are renewable sources and renewable sources replenish naturally
   • Hydropower makes more electricity, 6% against 11%, since a dam can keep running through the day and night
   • Wind makes more electricity, 11% against 6%, and each harms a different kind of wildlife
   • They make about the same electricity, so the wildlife harm decides, and both have the same harm
6. 5.

   A headline says wind makes nearly half of U.S. renewable electricity. Is that supported by Card B, Noah asks?

   • Yes: wind is 11% of electricity and renewables together are about 24%, so wind is about 46% of them
   • No: wind is 11% and renewables are 24%, so wind is about a quarter of renewable electricity at most
   • No: wind is 11%, so it is about a tenth of renewable electricity, which is a much smaller part
   • No: shares of electricity cannot be divided by one another, so no such headline can be checked
7. 6.

   Pia's note: 'Nuclear makes no air pollution, so it is a renewable source.' Which fix fits the cards?

   • Change nothing, since a source that makes no air pollution must also replenish itself over time
   • Change 'no air pollution' to 'waste', since waste to store is what makes a source nonrenewable
   • Nuclear makes no air pollution in operation but is nonrenewable, because its supply is limited to mined uranium
   • Change 'nuclear' to 'natural gas', since gas is the source with the fewest emissions on the chart of electricity sources
8. 7.

   Ren's note: 'Natural gas is 41% of electricity, so it is 41% of all U.S. energy.' Which fix fits Cards A and B?

   • Natural gas is 36% of electricity and 41% of energy use, since the charts list the shares in swapped order
   • Natural gas is 41% of electricity, so it is about 41% of 36% of all energy use, which is 15%
   • Natural gas is 41% of electricity and the same 41% of energy use, since electricity is where gas is burned
   • Natural gas is 41% of electricity but 36% of all energy use, since the two shares have different totals
9. 8.

   Solar and nuclear both make no air pollution while operating. What separates their trade-offs on Card B, Zee asks?

   • They do not differ, since both have no operating pollution and so neither has a cost to weigh
   • Solar's cost is waste to store and nuclear's cost is the energy and materials it takes to make fuel
   • Nuclear's cost comes when the plant is made, and solar's comes later, in the panels that must be stored
   • Solar's cost comes when panels are made, using energy and materials; nuclear's comes later, in waste to store
10. 9.

    Natural gas leads electricity (41%) and ranks second in energy use (36%, with petroleum 37%). Which reading is right, Ari asks?

    • Petroleum leads energy use by a large margin, since a source that ranks first is far ahead of the rest
    • Gas leads electricity clearly, while petroleum leads energy use by only a point, a small gap
    • Gas leads all energy use as it leads electricity, since the shares of both charts rank the sources the same way
    • The two ranks conflict, so a mistake lies in one chart, since gas cannot rank first and second
11. 10.

    Bo's note: 'Wind and solar have no environmental costs.' Which fix fits Card B?

    • Change it to 'wind and solar are the most costly sources', since each has a cost listed on the chart
    • Change it to 'wind has costs but solar has no cost', since blades are the one thing that harms wildlife on the list
    • Keep it, since a source with no emissions has no costs for the land, the animals, the water or the materials it needs
    • Wind and solar make no operating emissions, but blades can harm birds and bats and panels need energy and materials