National and global energy resources — AQA GCSE Physics
Test yourself on National and global energy resources with AQA GCSE practice questions.
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National and global energy resources explained
Learn the list, because questions expect the exact resources named: fossil fuels, meaning coal, oil and gas; nuclear fuel; bio-fuel; wind; hydroelectricity; geothermal; the tides; the Sun; and water waves.
Read the full explanation
Fossil fuels and nuclear fuel are finite, so they are non-renewable, while the rest are replenished as they are used. They are not interchangeable in practice: fossil fuels dominate transport and heating, nuclear and fossil fuels give reliable electricity on demand, and wind, solar and waves depend on the weather. Burning fossil fuels and bio-fuels releases carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming; coal and oil also release sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain. Nuclear fuel releases no carbon dioxide but leaves radioactive waste.
A renewable energy resource is one that is being (or can be) replenished as it is used.
A renewable resource is one that is being replenished, or can be replenished, as it is used, so it will not run out: wind, hydroelectricity, geothermal, the tides, the Sun, water waves and bio-fuel, since crops regrow. A non-renewable resource is finite, meaning there is a fixed amount and using it uses it up: coal, oil, gas and nuclear fuel. The examiner wants replenished or replaced for the first and finite or limited supply for the second. Answers such as it will never run out, it has an infinite supply or it is sustainable are ignored, because they describe the consequence rather than the property. Being renewable says nothing about reliability or cleanliness: bio-fuel is renewable yet releases carbon dioxide, and wind is renewable yet unreliable.
The uses of energy resources include: transport, electricity generation and heating.
Energy resources are used for three things, and the specification names them: transport, electricity generation and heating. The mix differs sharply between them. Transport still runs largely on oil products, petrol and diesel, with electricity and hydrogen growing; electricity generation uses a mixture of gas, nuclear, wind, solar, hydroelectricity and bio-fuel; heating in homes is mostly gas, with electricity and heat pumps taking a growing share. Because the uses differ, so do the problems: transport emissions are spread over millions of vehicles, while power station emissions come from a few large sites. Reducing demand matters too, since efficient appliances need a smaller energy input for the same useful output, so less electricity has to be generated.
Students should be able to: describe the main energy sources available distinguish between energy resources that are renewable and energy resources that are non-renewable compare ways that different energy resources are used, the uses to include transport, electricity generation and heating understand why some energy resources are more reliable than others describe the environmental impact arising from the use of different energy resources explain patterns and trends in the use of energy resources.
This objective pulls the whole topic together. You need to name the resources, sort them into renewable and non-renewable, and compare them across transport, electricity generation and heating. Reliability is a separate axis: fossil fuel and nuclear stations generate on demand, and tidal power is reliable because it is predictable. However, wind and solar depend on the weather and are unreliable. This is why the National Grid keeps fossil fuel stations running below capacity to provide spare capacity for rapid response to shortfalls and emergency shutdowns. Environmental impact is a third axis: carbon dioxide from burning, radioactive waste from nuclear, flooded valleys from hydroelectricity, and visual impact from wind. Trends follow from these: coal falling, gas and renewables rising as costs drop and targets tighten.
Students should be able to: consider the environmental issues that may arise from the use of different energy resources show that science has the ability to identify environmental issues arising from the use of energy resources but not always the power to deal with the issues because of political, social, ethical or economic considerations.
Science can measure and predict what an energy resource does to the environment: the carbon dioxide released when fossil fuels burn and its link to global warming, the sulfur dioxide that causes acid rain, the radioactive waste that stays hazardous for thousands of years, the valleys flooded by hydroelectric dams, the habitats and views affected by wind farms. What science cannot do is decide what happens next, because that depends on politics, cost, ethics and public opinion. Closing coal stations raises bills and costs jobs; nuclear power divides opinion; wind farms meet local objections. So the National Grid still keeps fossil fuel stations running below full output to cover shortfalls, an economic and practical decision resting on scientific evidence but not settled by it.
Your focus
- Name three energy resources that release no carbon dioxide at the point of use and one that does.
- Classify each named resource as renewable or non-renewable and justify the classification.
- Explain why replacing petrol cars with electric cars does not remove carbon dioxide emissions entirely.
Show all 20 objectives
- Match a named resource to the use for which it is currently most important.
- Define renewable and non-renewable using replenished and finite.
- Sort a list of resources into renewable and non-renewable with a reason for each.
- Explain why calling a renewable resource one that never runs out fails to earn the mark.
- Distinguish being renewable from being reliable or from producing no carbon dioxide.
- Name the resource that supplies most of the energy used for transport and the one used for most home heating.
- Explain why encouraging efficient appliances reduces the amount of electricity that must be generated.
- Compare the resources used for heating a home with those used to power a car.
- Evaluate the claim that switching to electric transport removes carbon dioxide emissions.
- Compare two energy resources on reliability, environmental impact and suitability for a named use.
- Explain why the National Grid keeps fossil fuel stations operating below their maximum output.
- Describe a trend in UK energy resource use and give a reason for it.
- Justify which resource is most suitable for a stated situation using data provided.
- Identify the environmental issue associated with a named energy resource and its cause.
- Explain why identifying a problem scientifically does not by itself solve it.
- Give a political, social, ethical or economic reason for continuing to use a resource with known drawbacks.
- Evaluate a proposed change in energy policy using both scientific evidence and other considerations.
National and global energy resources exam tips
Marking Points
- one mark for naming a resource from the specification list rather than a vague category
- one mark for classifying that resource correctly as renewable or non-renewable
- one mark for stating a use, such as transport, electricity generation or heating
- one mark for a correct environmental consequence, such as carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels
- one mark for defining renewable as being replenished or replaced as it is used
- one mark for defining non-renewable as finite or of limited supply
- one mark for correctly sorting named resources into the two groups
- one mark for a distinction that does not confuse renewable with reliable or with clean
- one mark for naming transport, electricity generation or heating as the use in question
- one mark for matching a resource to that use, such as oil for transport or gas for heating
- one mark for stating that a more efficient device wastes less energy for the same useful output
- one mark for linking reduced demand to less electricity generated or a smaller environmental impact
- one mark for naming the resources being compared and classifying them correctly as renewable or non-renewable
- one mark for a reliability point, such as tidal power being reliable because it is predictable
- one mark for a named environmental impact tied to a specific resource, such as carbon dioxide from fossil fuels
- one mark for describing a trend in use with a reason, such as falling coal use to cut greenhouse gas emissions
- one mark for identifying an environmental issue with the resource named
- one mark for stating that scientists can identify or measure the issue
- one mark for a political, social, ethical or economic reason why the issue is not resolved
- one mark for a balanced conclusion that recognises evidence and decision making are different things
Examiner Tips
- 💡Use the specification names, since coal, oil and gas score where fossil fuels alone may not in a name one question.
- 💡Where a question mentions carbon dioxide, fossil fuels for electricity generation and transport are the two big sources to discuss.
- 💡Keep hydroelectricity, tides and waves distinct in your answer; the examiner treats them as separate resources.
- 💡Use the words replenished and finite; they are the two the mark scheme is built around.
- 💡Give the property first and the consequence second, as the property is where the mark sits.
- 💡In a two-mark define question, answer both halves even if only one appears in the stem.
- 💡Answer efficiency questions with waste less energy or need a lower input for the same output, then add the demand consequence.
- 💡Keep the three uses separate in longer answers so each scores its own point.
- 💡Lower energy bills and lower carbon dioxide emissions are both credited, so give one of each where two marks are available.
- 💡Build long answers along three axes: reliability, environmental impact and cost or practicality.
- 💡For spare capacity, the accepted reasons include rapid response to sudden demand increases and covering emergency shutdowns, not conserving fuel.
- 💡Quote figures from any graph or table you are given; comparisons with numbers reach the higher level.
- 💡Use the four words from the specification, political, social, ethical and economic, to structure the second half of an answer.
- 💡Name the pollutant and its effect together, such as sulfur dioxide causing acid rain.
- 💡Finish with a judgement when the command word is evaluate, since a list of points alone stalls at the middle level.
Common Mistakes
- writing electricity or batteries as an energy resource, when they are ways of transferring or storing energy
- treating bio-fuel as producing no carbon dioxide when burned
- calling nuclear fuel renewable because there is a lot of uranium
- confusing tidal and wave power, which are driven by different things
- answering that a renewable resource will not run out, which is ignored in the mark scheme
- using the word sustainable as the definition of renewable
- calling a resource non-renewable because it is running out quickly rather than because it is finite
- assuming every renewable resource releases no carbon dioxide, which bio-fuel does when burned
- answering that efficient devices use less electricity, which is ignored without the wasted energy or demand link
- assuming electricity is a resource rather than something generated from other resources
- claiming electric vehicles remove emissions entirely, ignoring how the electricity was generated
- listing uses without saying which resources actually serve them
- treating all renewables as unreliable, when tidal and hydroelectric generation are reliable
- describing environmental impact only as pollution without naming the pollutant or the specific effect
- explaining spare capacity as a way to conserve fuel rather than as a rapid response to shortfalls and shutdowns
- giving a trend without a reason, which scores no explanation mark
- arguing that scientists should simply ban a resource, which ignores the decision making part of the question
- giving pollution as the issue without naming the pollutant or its effect
- treating cost as a scientific objection rather than an economic one
- listing only drawbacks when the question asks for a balanced evaluation