Earth’s Natural Resources

QUESTION 1

1. Coal deposits were formed when ancient plants died and were buried in sediment layers. After burial in sediment layers, what happened next to change them to coal?
   

   		addition of water to form hydrocarbon molecules
   		compression by extreme pressure over millions of years
   		reaction with acids in the environment

3 points

QUESTION 2

1. Many experts predict that our oil supplies will run out in the next few decades. Describe two factors that may extend our world oil supplies and two factors that may more rapidly deplete our world oil supplies.
   

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5 points

QUESTION 3

1. The largest exporter of oil in the world is
   

   		Saudi Arabia
   		Japan
   		Kuwait

3 points

QUESTION 4

1. Describe what oil shale is and explain the advantages and disadvantages associated with its use and extraction.
   

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4 points

QUESTION 5

1. Why can lignite only be used close to the area in which it is found?
   

   		It has such a low energy content that transporting it is not worth it.
   		It has toxic metals in it that prevent it from being legal to ship.
   		It is too heavy to transport out of the area from which it is mined.

3 points

QUESTION 6

1. Coal is burned to produce steam in an electrical power plant. The steam is then used to
   

   		turn a motor called a turbine
   		convert mechanical energy to electrical energy
   		extract atoms from the coal

3 points

QUESTION 7

1. Which of the following gases is the major byproduct of fossil fuel combustion?
   

   		water vapor
   		methane
   		carbon dioxide

3 points

QUESTION 8

1. Fossil fuel combustion removes deeply stored carbon from the land and releases it to the atmosphere.
   

   True False

2 points

QUESTION 9

1. Of the two nuclear processes, fusion and fission, which one is used to generate commercial nuclear power? Why is the other one not used?
   

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4 points

QUESTION 10

1. What happens to a uranium-235 atom when it is bombarded with neutrons? How is this process used to generate nuclear power?
   

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4 points

QUESTION 11

1. After uranium is mined from the ground, it is leached to produce a substance called ______.
   

   		yellowcake
   		uranium hexafluoride
   		reactor fuel

3 points

QUESTION 12

1. The process that increases the amount of fissionable uranium-235 in nuclear fuel is called
   

   		amping
   		leaching
   		enrichment

3 points

QUESTION 13

1. Control rods can be taken away from a nuclear reactor to make the fission reaction
   

   		take place at lower temperatures
   		convert to a fusion reaction
   		go faster

3 points

QUESTION 14

1. The part of a nuclear reactor that spins because of exposure to heat energy in steam is the
   

   		control rod
   		turbine
   		generator

3 points

QUESTION 15

1. What happens during the process of decommissioning a nuclear power plant?
   

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5 points

QUESTION 16

1. Using nuclear fuel emits less sulfur and mercury into the environment than does using fossil fuels.
   

   True False

2 points

QUESTION 17

1. What is the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy? Give two examples of each.
   

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4 points

QUESTION 18

1. Wind farms are ideally located in areas with
   

   		steady winds at a speed of about 13 mph
   		intermittent winds with speeds well over 50 mph
   		steady but slow winds less than 10 mph

3 points

QUESTION 19

1. The worldwide leading source of renewable energy is
   

   		wind power
   		solar power
   		hydropower

3 points

QUESTION 20

1. Energy derived from hot fluids and rocks beneath Earth’s surface is called
   

   		hydropower
   		solar power
   		geothermal power

3 points

QUESTION 21

1. Wind power is most practical when wind speeds are over 55 mph.
   

   True False

2 points

QUESTION 22

1. Describe two advantages and two disadvantages associated with the use of geothermal power.
   

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5 points

QUESTION 23

1. As long as wind turbines are manufactured correctly, they do not generally pose a threat to birds.
   

   True False

2 points

QUESTION 24

1. An ore is a rock that
   

   		contains enough of a mineral resource to be economically profitable
   		contains any amount of a mineral resource
   		contains no waste materials, but is made entirely of a pure mineral substance

3 points

QUESTION 25

1. Most mining deaths take place in
   

   		open pit mines
   		strip mines
   		subsurface mines

3 points

QUESTION 26

1. In _______, the mineral ore is taken out of a surface hole layer by layer, and the hole just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
   

   		open pit mining
   		mountaintop removal
   		drift mining

3 points

QUESTION 27

1. What type of mining is commonly used to extract coal from the Appalachian area of the United States?
   

   		shaft mining
   		mountaintop removal
   		open pit

3 points

QUESTION 28

1. What type of subsurface mining involves digging deep underground tunnels and then sending workers down in cages?
   

   		shaft mining
   		hard rock mining
   		drift mining

3 points

QUESTION 29

1. Acid mine drainage can develop when rainwater seeps through
   

   		mine tailings
   		mineral ore
   		overburden

3 points

QUESTION 30

1. Acid mine drainage forms when water reacts with _____ in discarded mining materials.
   

   		nitrogen
   		mercury
   		sulfur

3 points

QUESTION 31

1. Acid mine drainage contains sulfuric acid, which can kill or harm wildlife.
   

   True False

2 points

QUESTION 32

1. Collapsing underground mines can fracture natural gas pipelines.
   

   True False