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Renewable Energy Exploration Worksheet

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Renewable Energy Exploration Worksheet

Read the information and complete the activities. Use evidence from the information and your own science knowledge.

Read: Powering a community

A small coastal community in Aotearoa New Zealand is planning how to meet its electricity needs. Solar panels change light energy from the Sun into electrical energy. Wind turbines use moving air to turn blades connected to a generator. A hydroelectric station uses moving or falling water to turn a turbine. These sources are renewable because sunlight, wind and flowing water are naturally replenished. Renewable does not mean impact-free. A dam can change river habitats, and turbines need suitable windy sites. Solar panels produce less electricity at night and on cloudy days. Coal, oil and natural gas are non-renewable fossil fuels: they take millions of years to form, and burning them releases greenhouse gases. Geothermal energy uses heat from inside Earth; it is renewable when managed so that heat and water resources are not used faster than they recover. A community can make its energy supply more reliable by combining sources, saving energy and storing extra electricity in batteries.

Investigate and decide

1.Which energy source changes sunlight directly into electrical energy?

A. A wind turbine
B. Solar panels
C. A hydroelectric station
D. A geothermal station

2.Sort each source into renewable or non-renewable: wind, coal, geothermal, oil, sunlight, natural gas, flowing water, and nuclear fuel.

3.True or false? Coal is renewable because people can find new deposits of it.

TrueFalse

4.Complete the energy change: moving air turns a wind turbine, which drives a generator. The generator changes energy into energy.

5.Match each renewable source to how it can generate electricity.

Solar
Wind
Hydroelectric

Moving air turns turbine blades
Sunlight is changed into electrical energy
Moving or falling water turns a turbine

6.A sunny day is followed by a cloudy night. Why might a community need another energy source or battery storage as well as solar panels?

7.Give one environmental impact a hydroelectric dam could have, and one way planners might reduce that impact.

8.Why do fossil fuels release greenhouse gases when they are burned, while sunlight and wind do not need to be burned to generate electricity?

9.A community has a windy ridge, a sunny open area and a river. Suggest a sensible combination of two renewable electricity sources for it. Explain one benefit of using both.

10.In your own words, explain how kaitiakitanga could guide a community when it chooses how to produce and use energy.