Where resources are, and renewable vs nonrenewable energy

Grade 9 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Card A, U.S. energy use by source, 2025 (EIA, preliminary; total about 96 quadrillion Btu): petroleum 37%; natural gas 36%; coal 9%; nuclear (uranium) 9%; renewable sources 9%. Card B, definitions (EIA): a source is nonrenewable when its supply is limited to what can be mined or extracted and it takes a very long time to form; EIA lists nuclear energy, which uses mined uranium, as nonrenewable. Renewable sources replenish naturally but are limited by how much flows at a time, such as sunlight, wind or flowing water. Card C: people use energy for transportation, heating, factories and electricity.

2. 1.

   Esme reads Card A. Which pair of sources together supplies more than half of U.S. energy use?

   • Natural gas and coal together, since both are burned and 36% plus 9% is the most after petroleum
   • Petroleum and natural gas together, since 37% plus 36% is 73%, which is more than half the total
   • Petroleum alone, since it is the largest single share and so must be over half of the total
   • Coal, nuclear and renewable sources together, since three sources outnumber the two largest ones
3. 2.

   Card B lists nuclear energy. Is it renewable, Jun asks?

   • Renewable: it makes no air pollution while running, and a source that runs clean is renewable
   • Renewable: nuclear and renewable sources both supply 9%, so they are the same group of sources
   • Nonrenewable: uranium is mined, so its supply is limited to what can be extracted from the ground
   • Neither group: nuclear is a different kind of source from the renewable and nonrenewable ones listed
4. 3.

   Which of these is renewable under Card B, Kira asks?

   • Petroleum, since it is the largest share of U.S. energy use and will remain in supply for a long time
   • Natural gas, since new gas forms underground all the time and so replaces what is used
   • Wind, since it replenishes naturally even though only the wind blowing at a given moment can be used
   • Coal, since there is so much of it in the ground that the supply is practically unlimited
5. 4.

   Renewable sources and coal are each 9% on Card A. Luz says they supply about the same energy. Is that right?

   • No: one share is renewable and the other is not, so the two cannot be compared in amount
   • No: renewable sources include several kinds, so together they supply more than one source such as coal, which has one kind
   • Yes: each is 9% of the same total of about 96 quadrillion Btu, so each supplies about 9 quadrillion Btu
   • No: coal is one source, while the renewable share is spread thin among several, so coal supplies more
6. 5.

   About what share of U.S. energy use comes from nonrenewable sources, using Cards A and B, Milo asks?

   • About 91%: everything except the 9% from renewable sources, with nuclear counted as nonrenewable
   • About 73%: petroleum and natural gas, the two biggest sources of energy use for the nation
   • About 9%: the share of nuclear, which is the one nonrenewable source that is not burned
   • About 82%: petroleum, natural gas and coal, the three sources people call fossil fuels
7. 6.

   Noah says Card A shows petroleum supplies 37 quadrillion Btu. What does Card A actually support?

   • About 36 quadrillion Btu, because 37% is a share of the total of about 96 quadrillion Btu
   • 37 quadrillion Btu, because a percent on the chart is the same number as the amount of energy
   • About 3.7 quadrillion Btu, because a share of 37% is a tenth of the total, not a larger part
   • About 59 quadrillion Btu, because the rest of the total is 96 minus 37 and that rest is petroleum
8. 7.

   Card B calls renewable sources 'limited by how much flows at a time'. What does that mean for wind, Pia asks?

   • The wind is limited to the 9% share on Card A, which a larger share would remove
   • The wind will keep coming back, but at any moment only the wind blowing then can be turned into power
   • The wind will slowly run out, so each year there is a little less of it to use for power
   • The wind is limited to the places where fossil fuels were mined, so it follows the same map

9. Card D, the map of Sundal (an invented country, made up for practice)

   In the west, a dry plateau with clear skies on most days; in the center, broad plains where steady wind blows; in the east, a river that drops steeply through a valley; under the northern hills, coal beds; most people live in cities on the south coast. Notes: a solar farm needs sunlight; a wind farm needs steady wind; a dam needs flowing water and a drop; coal is mined where the beds lie. Moving coal or electricity over long distances adds cost.

10. 8.

    A company will build one solar farm in Sundal. Which site fits Card D best, Ren asks?

    • The western plateau, where skies are clear on most days and sunlight reaches the panels
    • The central plains, where steady wind blows across the open land and a farm would not lack for power
    • The eastern valley, where the river drops steeply and moving water could be put to work there
    • The northern hills, where the coal beds lie and the ground is already being worked for energy

11. Use this

    Card A, U.S. energy use by source, 2025 (EIA, preliminary; total about 96 quadrillion Btu): petroleum 37%; natural gas 36%; coal 9%; nuclear (uranium) 9%; renewable sources 9%. Card B, definitions (EIA): a source is nonrenewable when its supply is limited to what can be mined or extracted and it takes a very long time to form; EIA lists nuclear energy, which uses mined uranium, as nonrenewable. Renewable sources replenish naturally but are limited by how much flows at a time, such as sunlight, wind or flowing water. Card C: people use energy for transportation, heating, factories and electricity.

12. 9.

    What does 'nonrenewable' mean in Card B, Ari asks?

    • A source that pollutes the air when it is used, whatever it is made of or how fast it forms
    • A source that has already run out of supply, so nothing is left in the ground to use
    • A source whose supply is limited to what can be mined or extracted and takes a very long time to form
    • A source supplying a small share of U.S. energy use, since small shares cannot be replaced quickly

13. Card D, the map of Sundal (an invented country, made up for practice)

    In the west, a dry plateau with clear skies on most days; in the center, broad plains where steady wind blows; in the east, a river that drops steeply through a valley; under the northern hills, coal beds; most people live in cities on the south coast. Notes: a solar farm needs sunlight; a wind farm needs steady wind; a dam needs flowing water and a drop; coal is mined where the beds lie. Moving coal or electricity over long distances adds cost.

14. 10.

    Sundal's central plains and western plateau cannot hold a dam. Why does Card D say so, Bo asks?

    • A dam needs coal beds nearby to supply it, and only the northern hills have those
    • A dam needs clear skies, which the plateau has, but the plateau is dry so it fails there
    • A dam needs steady wind to turn it, and the plains and plateau have winds that are too gentle
    • A dam needs flowing water and a drop, and only the river in the eastern valley has both