Natural Resources Flashcards
(18 cards)
Any natural material that is used by humans, such as water, petroleum, minerals, forests, and animals
Natural Resource
A natural resource that can be replaced at the same rate at which the resource is consumed
Renewable Resource
A resource that forms at a rate that is much slower than the rate at which it is consumed
Nonrenewable Resource
The process of recovering valuable or useful materials from waste and scrape
Recycling
A nonrenewable energy resource formed from the remains of organisms that lived long ago
Fossil Fuel
A liquid mixture of complex hydrocarbon compounds
Petroleum
A mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons located under the surface of the earth, often near petroleum deposits
Natural Gas
A fossil fuel that forms underground from partially decomposed plant materials
Coal
Precipitation, such as rain, sleet, or snow, that contains a high concentration of acids, often because of the pollution of the atmosphere
Acid Precipitation
Urban air pollution composed of a mixture of smoke and fog produced from industrial pollutants and burning fuels
Smog
A the energy released by a fission or fusion reaction; the binding energy of the atomic nucleus
Nuclear Energy
The energy released when a chemical compound reacts to produce new compounds
Chemical Energy
The energy received by Earth from the sun in the form of radiation
Solar Energy
The use of a windmill to drive an electric generator
Wind Power
Electrical energy produced by the flow of water
Hydroelectric Energy
Plant material, manure, or any other organic matter that is used as an energy source
Biomass
A mixture of gasoline and alcohol that is used as a fuel
Gasohol
The energy produced by heat within Earth
Geothermal Energy
