Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels: Fossil fuels are formed from the buried remains of plants and animals over a period of millions of years. They produce large amount of energy on burning. Natural resources are divided into two types:

1. Inexhaustible natural resources: Those resources which are unlimited in nature and cannot be exhausted by human activity like sunlight, air.

2. Exhaustible natural resources: Those resources which are limited and can be exhausted by human use in millions of years like coal, petroleum, forest.

Advantages of Fossil Fuel:

This technology is globally developed.

Fossil fuels are cheap and reliable.

Limitation of Fossil Fuels:

They are a finite resource.

They are often cheap because of subsidies.

They undergo combustion to make the environment acidic.

They can damage the environment through human error.

They can contribute to public health issues.

Inexhaustible renewable resourcs : Those natural resourcs which can be replenished or reproduced easily. For example, sunlight is a resource which will never run out as the sun is expected to last for another 5 billion years. Oxygen is renewable because it is replaced in the atmosphere as plants release oxygen during photosynthesis.

Many of the inexhaustible resources gets replenished with time quickly. But some of the inexhaustible resources are also depleting as they take longer time to replenish like ground water etc.

Exhaustible resources : Those natural resources that get replenished for mankind. For example sources like fossil fuels, top fertile layer of soil, minerals, forests etc.

Coal, Petreloum and natural gas: They are very important natural resources, and play a vital role in modern society. They are found in the earth's crust Their easy availability and specific characteristics make them very important in the growth of industry. At present they are the chief sources of energy worldwide.

Sample Questions

(More Questions for each concept available in Login)

Question : 1

Besides the risk of pollution, fossil fuels also pose a risk of ____________________-
A. Global warming	B. Water pollution	C. Leakage	D. Explosion
Right Option : A
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Question : 2

Fossil fuel is an exhaustible natural resource. True or False
A. True	B. False	C. xx	D. xx
Right Option : A
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Question : 3

Which of the following are correct : (a) Fossil fuels are cheap and reliable. (b) Fossil fuels undergo combustion to make the environment acidic. (c) Fossil fuels can damage the environment through human error.
A. Only (a) and (b) are correct	B. Only (b) and (c) are correct.	C. Only (a) and (c) are correct.	D. All of these.
Right Option : D
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