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 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
   • Petroleum and natural gas together, since 37% plus 36% is 73%, which is more than half the total
3. 2.

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

   • Neither group: nuclear is a different kind of source from the renewable and nonrenewable ones listed
   • 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
   • Renewable: it makes no air pollution while running, and a source that runs clean is renewable
4. 3.

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

   • Natural gas, since new gas forms underground all the time and so replaces what is used
   • Petroleum, since it is the largest share of U.S. energy use and will remain in supply for a long time
   • 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.

   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
6. 5.

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

   • About 3.7 quadrillion Btu, because a share of 37% is a tenth of the total, not a larger part
   • 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 59 quadrillion Btu, because the rest of the total is 96 minus 37 and that rest is petroleum
7. 6.

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

8. 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.

9. 7.

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

   • The eastern valley, where the river drops steeply and moving water could be put to work there
   • The central plains, where steady wind blows across the open land and a farm would not lack for power
   • The western plateau, where skies are clear on most days and sunlight reaches the panels
   • The northern hills, where the coal beds lie and the ground is already being worked for energy
10. 8.

    Sundal wants one renewable and one nonrenewable source. Which pair of sites fits Card D, Tala asks?

    • The eastern valley for coal and the northern hills for a dam, with the two sources placed at each other's sites
    • The western plateau and the central plains, which suit solar and wind, and both of those are nonrenewable
    • The eastern valley for a dam, which is renewable, and the northern hills for coal, which is nonrenewable
    • The northern hills for coal and the southern cities for gas, since gas is cleaner than coal

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 supplying a small share of U.S. energy use, since small shares cannot be replaced quickly
    • A source whose supply is limited to what can be mined or extracted and takes a very long time to form
    • 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

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