Dynamic Earth Resources 12

What minerals is used in drywall?

Gypsum and salt

What are the top two uses for salt in the United States?

Chemicals and road deicing

What important metal’s ore originates by weathers?

Aluminum

What is a metal that was highlighted as being obtained from placer deposits?

Gold

How do placer deposits form?

Highlighted way in which igneous processes create ore deposits?

Material that accumulates to make oil (and natural gas) vs. coal

Oil - buried algae & plankton in a basin (0.5 mm diameter)

Coal - land plant material (swamps)

Under what conditions does natural gas form? (relative to oil)

Formed higher temps and methane

Four things necessary to have an economic oil deposit

Source, reservoir, seal, trap (domes and anticlines)

What kinds of folds can make traps for oil/natural gas?

Domes and anticlines

Where is the lower-quality coal (less efficient, more polluting) being mined, the Appalachians or Wyoming?

Shifting from the Appalachians to Wyoming

What is the leading renewable energy technology for electricity (US)?

Wind and solar are the cheapest for new electricity power plants

Fossil fuel resource that the US is the leader in reserves? (But not leading producer)

Coal (china is the #1 producer)

Two fossil fuel resources that the US is a leading producer, but not the leader in reserves

Natural gas (4th in reserves), oil (3rd behind Venezuela and Saudi Arabia)

Country with most oil reserves

Venezuela

Recent changes in US electricity production one declining technology, two rapidly growing (fairly general categories)

Declining - coal

Growing - natural gas and renewable energy

What is the process of “fracking”?

putting a solution down into shale causing it to crack and then makes it easier to get oil and natural gas that was harder to get originally

Top two states in oil production

1 Texas 2 New Mexico

Negatives of tar sands as a fossil fuel resource

• destructive mining practices

• Requires energy and water to process

• More CO2 released in processing

What are two cheapest energy technologies for new electrical power facilities?

Wind and solar

What fossil fuel is most efficient?