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?

   • Coal, nuclear and renewable sources together, since three sources outnumber the two largest ones
   • 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
3. 2.

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

   • Renewable: nuclear and renewable sources both supply 9%, so they are the same group of sources
   • Neither group: nuclear is a different kind of source from the renewable and nonrenewable ones listed
   • 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.

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

   • Yes: each is 9% of the same total of about 96 quadrillion Btu, so each supplies about 9 quadrillion Btu
   • No: one share is renewable and the other is not, so the two cannot be compared in amount
   • No: coal is one source, while the renewable share is spread thin among several, so coal supplies more
   • No: renewable sources include several kinds, so together they supply more than one source such as coal, which has one kind
5. 4.

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

   • 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
   • About 91%: everything except the 9% from renewable sources, with nuclear counted as nonrenewable
6. 5.

   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
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 will keep coming back, but at any moment only the wind blowing then can be turned into power
   • The wind is limited to the 9% share on Card A, which a larger share would remove
   • The wind is limited to the places where fossil fuels were mined, so it follows the same map
   • The wind will slowly run out, so each year there is a little less of it to use for 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 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 northern hills, where the coal beds lie and the ground is already being worked for energy
   • The eastern valley, where the river drops steeply and moving water could be put to work there
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. 9.

    Most Sundal people live on the south coast, far from the northern coal beds. What follows from Card D, Zee asks?

    • Coal must be carried or its power sent a long way to reach the cities, and long distances add cost
    • Coal can be mined near the cities instead, since mining can happen wherever coal is needed
    • Coal will cost less than other sources, since it is plentiful and the cities are not far away
    • Cities should not use coal, since a source far from its users cannot supply them

12. 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.

13. 10.

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

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