17.1 Energy Resources and Fossils

Converts motion into electrical energy

• electric generator

• acid precipitation

• oil refinery

• coal

Most abundant fossil fuel in the world

• wood

• coal

• fossil fuels

• oil refinery

Coal, oil, and natural gas

• electric generator

• renewable energy

• acid precipitation

• fossils fuels

Converts petroleum into fuels

• oil refinery

• coal

• acid precipitation

• electric generator

Results from burning high-sulfur coal

• acid precipitation

• oil refinery

• coal

• fossil fuels

Oil and natural gas are formed from the

• migration of complex carbohydrate molecules to nonporous rock formations.

• decay of tiny marine organisms that accumulated on the bottom of the ocean millions of years ago.

• burning of high-sulfur, low-grade uranium.

• decay of plants that lived in swamps hundreds of thousands of years ago.

Inside the combustion chamber of a coal-fired power plant

• electricity is generated.

• burning fossil fuels releases energy in the form of heat.

• the turbine sets the generator in motion.

• steam is directed against turbine blades and causes the blades to turn.

Most of the energy consumed in the United States is used for

• residential electrical needs

• commercial electrical needs

• transportation

• industrial purposes

The energy needs of the United States in the 1990s have

• risen dramatically

• fallen dramatically

• risen slightly

• fallen slightly

True or False. Non-renewable energy comes from sources that will run out or will not be replenished in our lifetimes—or even in many, many lifetimes.

• True

• False