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.

   Petroleum is 37% of U.S. energy use on Card A but about 0.7% of electricity on Card B. What does that suggest, Esme asks?

   • Petroleum is on its way out, since its share of electricity has fallen below 1% in recent years
   • Most petroleum is used to make electricity, since it is the biggest source of energy use overall
   • Most petroleum goes to uses other than making electricity, since electricity is just one use of energy
   • One of the two cards must be wrong, since the same fuel cannot be 37% in one place and 0.7% in another
3. 2.

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

   • The gap shows wind and solar replaced coal in power plants, since coal's share of energy use is only 9%
   • The charts disagree about renewable sources, so a mistake lies in one of the two lists of shares
   • Electricity is only part of energy use, and renewable sources are a larger share of that part than of the whole
   • Renewable sources supply 24% of all U.S. energy, since 24% is the larger and more recent figure here
4. 3.

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

   • 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
   • It gains cheap, plentiful fuel and avoids mining, since nuclear fuel comes up from the ground just like coal does
   • It gives up cheap, plentiful coal and mining's land changes for no air pollution in operation but waste to store
5. 4.

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

   • Gas burns with fewer emissions than coal, so switching removes the emissions problem from the plant
   • Gas leaks add methane, which cancels the lower emissions, so switching gains nothing in the air
   • Gas burns with fewer emissions than coal, but leaks add methane, so the gain is real without being complete
   • Gas is a renewable source, so switching from coal to gas gives clean power from a source that renews
6. 5.

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

   • They make about the same electricity, so the wildlife harm decides, and both have the same harm
   • Neither harms wildlife, since both are renewable sources and renewable sources replenish naturally
   • Wind makes more electricity, 11% against 6%, and each harms a different kind of wildlife
   • Hydropower makes more electricity, 6% against 11%, since a dam can keep running through the day and night
7. 6.

   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%, 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
   • No: wind is 11% and renewables are 24%, so wind is about a quarter of renewable electricity at most
8. 7.

   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 'nuclear' to 'natural gas', since gas is the source with the fewest emissions on the chart of electricity sources
   • Nuclear makes no air pollution in operation but is nonrenewable, because its supply is limited to mined uranium
   • Change 'no air pollution' to 'waste', since waste to store is what makes a source nonrenewable
9. 8.

   Hydropower counts as renewable, yet Card B lists a cost for dams. Tala asks how both can be true.

   • Hydropower is renewable when no dam is built, so a dam makes it nonrenewable by definition
   • Hydropower is not truly renewable, since a source that has a cost to wildlife cannot be called renewable under the EIA definitions
   • Renewable sources have no costs, so Card B's note on dams must be an error in the list of trade-offs
   • Renewable describes a supply that replenishes; it does not mean harmless, and dams can block fish migration
10. 9.

    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
    • 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
    • Solar's cost is waste to store and nuclear's cost is the energy and materials it takes to make fuel
11. 10.

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

    • 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
    • Petroleum leads energy use by a large margin, since a source that ranks first is far ahead of the rest
    • The two ranks conflict, so a mistake lies in one chart, since gas cannot rank first and second