Natural Resources and Energy Sources Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards defining key natural resources, energy concepts, renewable and non-renewable sources from the lecture transcript.

Natural Resources

Anything that can be taken from the ground that have value both as money and as products.

Renewable Resources

Resources that can be replenished.

Non-renewable Resources

Resources that cannot be replenished.

Replenish

To renew or make new again.

Biomass

Organic material made from plants, animals, and microorganisms.

Ethanol

A fuel made from grains using biomass, the production of which causes food prices to rise.

Geothermal Energy

Energy generated inside the Earth where temperatures hotter than the sun's surface are produced by the slow decay of radioactive particles in all rocks.

Hydropower

Energy derived from moving water.

Solar Power

Energy that uses the power of the sun's rays that reach the Earth.

Wind Power

Energy system where turbine blades connected to a drive shaft turn an electric generator to produce electricity.

Petroleum (Crude Oil)

A non-renewable fuel found in underground reservoirs, formed in oceans from plant and animal remains, with the majority turned into gasoline.

Reservoirs

Underground areas where crude oil is usually found.

Methane

The main ingredient in natural gas.

Natural Gas

A cleaner non-renewable fossil fuel formed in oceans from plant and animal remains, composed mainly of methane.

Coal

A combustible sedimentary rock composed mostly of carbon and hypocardens; the most abundant fossil fuel produced in the US and the highest $CO_2$ producer.

Nuclear Fusion (as described in text)

A process where atoms are split apart, releasing energy that power plants use to produce electricity without generating greenhouse gases.