5th Grade Science Fossil Fuels

What is geothermal energy?

"Geo" means "from the earth," and "thermal" means "heat," so this type of energy is found under the earth. Geothermal power plants use heat from deep inside the Earth to generate steam to make electricity.

What is solar energy?

"Solar" is the Latin word for "sun." The primary source of all energy on Earth is from the sun. Solar power is generated directly from sunlight. Solar power can be used for heat energy or converted into electric energy.

What are biofuels?

Biofuels, sometimes called biomass, is any material made by plants and animals that we can covert into energy.

How are fossil fuels formed?

Fossil fuels are energy sources that were formed when ancient plants and organisms were subject to intense heat and pressure over millions of years.

What is hydroelectric energy?

Hydropower is a clean, renewable and reliable energy source which converts kinetic energy from falling water into electricity.

How was oil formed?

Oil was formed from the remains of animals and plants that lived millions of years ago. Over the years, the remains were covered by layers of mud. Heat and pressure from these layers helped the remains turn into what we today call crude oil. Oil is a thick, black, gooey liquid also called petroleum. To get oil out, a well is dug.

What are some examples of non-renewable resources?

Oil, coal, and natural gas

How was coal formed?

We mine for coal and the energy in coal comes from energy that was stored in plants that lived hundreds of millions of years ago.

Where does natural gas come from?

When the dinosaurs and the plants they ate died, the remains were buried under many layers of rock and soil. Over time, heat and pressure created by the layers of earth turned the animal and plant matter into natural gas and petroleum (oil). Natural gas is found near oil in the ground. It's pumped, just like oil, from wells.

What are some renewable resources?

Wind energy, solar energy, biofuels, geothermal energy, and hydroelectric energy

What is wind energy?

Wind power is energy that is generated directly from the wind. It is considered a renewable energy source because there is always wind on the Earth and we aren't "using up" the wind when we make energy from it.