Social Studies Vocabulary Project
By: Evan Kopytek
Vocabulary Words Choice #3: Natural Resource, Natural Gas, Geothermal Energy, and Hydroelectricity
Natural Resource
A Natural Resource is anything that you can use that comes entirely from nature. Natural Resources are considered either renewable which means they can be found again and regenerate or nonrenewable which means they are limited or they take a very long time to regenerate. One natural resource that is becoming scarce is the fossil fuel, oil, and it takes a very long to form so it is considered nonrenewable. Not all reasorces are natural, one example is rubber and it is made with oil, a natural resource, but is made in a factory, and processed so it is considered a man made product. Oil has affected Saudi Arabia in a very positive way, since lots of people need it around the world they started to export it and now they are making a huge profit off of it.
Natural Gas
Natural Gas is a fossil fuel meaning that it was formed from remains of plants, animals, and different types of gases, these remains then get covered in rock and put against high heat and pressure which forms natural gas over long periods of time. The energy that was once in the plants and animals then gets stored in the form of chemical bonds which are found in natural gas. Natural Gas is typically used in house holds for heating, and cooking. When oil runs out natural gas will probably be a resort to profits in Saudi Arabia to ease the economic collapse.
Geothermal Energy
Geothermal Energy is energy that comes from earths interior. This energy comes from underground resivors of steam and very hot water. The resivors can be tapped meaning they drill a hole into the underground resivor to extract the steam and hot water to turn turbines and generate electricity. This can also be used to heat buildings and homes. 70% of Iceland's electricity and heating comes from Goethermal Energy and Geothermal power plants, as shown in the picture. This is and very reasourcful way of power but it can be very expensive to follow through with.
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is power or electrictiy generated by water. This power is made from the gravitational pull of flowing or falling water that spins turbines to generate electricity. Hydroelectricity is a common way of generating electricity today but it is not very affective to dry and arid climates like Saudi Arabia.