Good Science Victorian Curriculum Year 7

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCES
7.2
NON-
RENEWABLE
RESOURCES
LEARNING INTENTION
At the end of this lesson I will be
able to describe some features
and examples of non-renewable
resources.
KEY TERMS
finite
limited in size or amount
fossil fuel
a natural fuel formed over
millions of years from the
remains of living things
LITERACY LINK
READING
Quickly scan these two pages,
reading the headings and
considering the images. What
can you predict about this text?
What do you think it will be about
and include? Also consider what
you may already know about
this topic.
NUMERACY LINK
UNITS
Electricity is often measured in
kilowatt hours (kWh), which is
the amount of energy that would
be used in one hour by 1000 1 W
lamps. By multiplying the number
of kilowatt hours by 3 600 000
they can be converted to joules,
another measure of energy.
Convert 15 kWh into joules.
1
2
Non-renewable resources run out or are not replenished
in a human life span.
Fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil, as well as rocks and
minerals, are some examples of non-renewable resources
that humans use. Some of these resources take thousands
or even millions of years to form.
Fossil fuels include coal, oil and gas
Fossil fuels include coal, crude oil and natural gas. These resources are
produced from the remains of ancient plants and animals, in processes
that take hundreds of millions of years. While fossil fuels are still being
formed today, they are being removed and used at a rate that is much
faster than they are being restored.
Coal is formed from the remains of ancient swamps. This plant matter
builds up over time and doesn’t decay. As the plant matter is buried,
heated and squashed under tonnes of soil, the water and impurities are
squeezed out and it slowly changes into coal.
Oil and natural gas are formed from the remains of tiny marine
organisms, such as algae and plankton, that die and sink to the bottom
of the ocean. Conditions at the bottom of the ocean stop them from
breaking down, so the remains build up in the sediment. This happens
over millions of years. As the sediments are buried, heated and
squashed, the remains undergo chemical reactions that produce oil
and natural gas.
Fossil fuels are often burnt to provide heat energy. In power plants,
this heat energy is used to change water into steam, which then spins
large, fan-like machines called turbines. The use of fossil fuels creates
large amounts of carbon dioxide which is released into the environment.
This increase in carbon dioxide gas leads to air pollution as well as
climate change.
How are fossil fuels formed?
Nuclear fuels are rare and finite
Nuclear fuels are used to power nuclear power stations, which operate
similarly to coal power stations in that they produce heat that turns
a turbine to generate electricity. The most common nuclear fuel is
uranium, which is mined in 19 countries including Australia.
Only very small quantities of uranium are needed to power a nuclear
power plant, but uranium is still considered non-renewable because it
is a finite resource – there is only a limited amount available on Earth.
The use of nuclear power is a controversial issue. If something does
go wrong, the effects can be long-lasting and extremely dangerous.
Why is uranium considered non-renewable?
106 GOOD SCIENCE VICTORIAN CURRICULUM 7