Renewable and Nonrenewable Energy Resources

Vocabulary flashcards covering renewable and nonrenewable energy sources, fossil fuel types, subsistence fuels, and extraction/refinement methods based on AP Environmental Science lecture content.

Renewable Energy Sources

Energy sources that can be replenished naturally at or near their rate of consumption and reused.

Nonrenewable Energy Sources

Energy sources that exist in fixed amounts on Earth and cannot easily be replaced or regenerated.

Potential Renewables

Renewable energy sources that can run out if overused, such as biomass (wood, charcoal, ethanol).

Nondepletable Renewables

Renewable energy sources that do not run out if overused, such as solar, wind, and geothermal energy.

Fossil Fuels

Fossilized remains of ancient biomass that take millions of years to form, including coal, oil, and natural gas.

Nuclear Energy

Energy generated from uranium or other radioactive fuels.

Subsistence Fuels

Biomass fuel sources that are easily accessible and gathered by hand (such as wood, charcoal, and dried animal manure), commonly used in developing countries for home heating or cooking.

Peat

Partially decomposed organic matter (often ferns or other plants) found in wet, acidic ecosystems like swamps, bogs, and moors that can be dried and used as a biomass fuel.

Anthracite

The most valuable and highest quality form of coal, formed under high pressure and time, possessing the highest energy density.

Natural Gas

A fossil fuel composed mostly of methane ($\text{CH}_4$) found on top of trapped oil deposits; considered the cleanest fossil fuel because it produces the fewest air pollutants and least $\text{CO}_2$ when burned.

Crude Oil (Petroleum)

A liquid fossil fuel formed from decaying organic matter trapped under rock layers and compressed over time, primarily used for transportation.

Tar Sands

A combination of clay, sand, water, and bitumen from which petroleum can be recovered through energy- and water-intensive extraction processes.

Bitumen

A thick, sticky, semi-solid form of petroleum found in tar sands that must be heated with steam to melt into liquid oil.

Fractional Distillation

The industrial process where crude oil is heated in a furnace and vapor passes into a column where different hydrocarbons separate based on their boiling points.