- Current section: An introduction to energy resources
- Learning outcomes
- 1 Energy use
- 2 Energy, work, power and efficiency
- 3 Sources of energy from the natural environment
- 4 Fossil fuels
- 5 Nuclear energy
- 6 Concentrating, storing and transporting energy
- 7 Renewable and non-renewable energy supplies
- 8 Summary
- 9 Glossary
- Acknowledgements
The home of free learning
from The Open University
from The Open University
Alternatively you can skip the navigation by pressing 'Enter'.
Energy resources: An introduction to energy resources
Hide summary
Energy resources are essential for any society, be it one dependent on...
Energy resources are essential for any society, be it one dependent on subsistence farming or an industrialised country. There are many different sources of energy, some well-known such as coal or petroleum, others less so, such as tides or the heat inside the Earth. Is nuclear power a salvation or a nightmare? This unit provides background information to each resource, so that you can assess them for yourself.
By the end of this unit you should be able to:
- understand the difference between energy and power, and their units and prefixes;
- state the relative contributions of different natural energy sources to the global energy budget;
- describe the contribution of photosynthesis to the carbon cycle, and distinguish the terrestrial and marine parts of the cycle;
- discuss the issues involved in concentrating, storing and transporting energy;
- recognise which energy resources have a low energy density, and which have a high energy density;
- distinguish between renewable and non-renewable energy resources.
- Duration: 8 hours
- Published on: Friday 16th March 2012
- Level: Intermediate
- Posted under: Environmental Science
Energy resources: An introduction to energy resources
An introduction to energy resources
Understanding energy resources involves considering all types of energy source from various scientific and technological standpoints, with a focus on the uses, limitations and consequences of using energy that is available to humanity. This unit sets the scene by considering how much energy human society uses and the basic concepts of energy, work, power and efficiency, then briefly investigates the different types of energy available, their sources and renewability.
This unit is from our archive and is an adapted extract from Earth's physical resources: origin, use and environmental impact (S278) which is no longer taught by The Open University. If you want to study formally with us, you may wish to explore other courses we offer in this subject area [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .
Archive content
This is an extract from an Open University course which is no longer available to new students. If you found this interesting you could explore more free Environmental Science course units or view the range of currently available OU Environmental Science courses.
Other pages You might like
Try: Culture and Climate Change
Every generation faces challenges that previous generations could scarcely imagine....
Try: Energy resources: Hydropower
Hydroelectric energy is ultimately solar energy converted through evaporation of water,...
Study: Environment: sharing a dynamic planet
Gain an understanding of today’s challenging environmental issues by exploring key...
Try: Bottled Water
Have you ever wondered where bottled water comes from and what impact this has on the...
Try: The frozen planet
This unit is a general introduction to the frozen planet, including the temperature in...
Study: Certificate of Higher Education in...
This certificate combines aspects of science, technology and social science to explore...
Try: Mediating Change: Culture and Climate...
Every generation faces challenges that previous generations could scarcely imagine....
Try: Eutrophication
Managing eutrophication is a key element in maintaining the earth's biodiversity....
Study: Cell biology
Cell biology explores the origins of cells and the generation of cell diversity, as well...
Try: Water in Ethiopia
In Ethiopia, 65% of people don’t have access to clean drinking water. In this album we...
Try: Achieving public dialogue
There are a wide range of interactions between ‘science’ and ‘the public’....
Study: Practical environmental science
Explore the natural world through practical activities ranging from the use of...
Comments
Be the first to post a comment
Copyright & revisions
No significant updates yet
Copyright information
- Creative-Commons: The Open University is proud to release this free course under a Creative Commons licence. However, any third-party materials featured within it are used with permission and are not ours to give away. These materials are not subject to the Creative Commons licence. See terms and conditions. Full details can be found in the Acknowledgements section.
Feeds
If you enjoyed this, why not follow a feed to find out when we have new things like it? Choose an RSS feed from the list below. (Don't know what to do with RSS feeds?)
Remember, you can also make your own, personal feed by combining tags from around OpenLearn.
Alternative Formats
Tags, Ratings and Social Bookmarking
S278_2
About this site
Views
Votes
Comments
Tags
- climate change (373)
- business (277)
- diaries (194)
- bottom line (169)
- food (168)
- Rough Science (162)
- internet (147)
- BBC Two (145)
- BBC Radio 4 (140)
- BBC (133)
- Scotland (121)
- points for debate (120)
- listings (120)
- children (116)
- Bang goes the Theory (116)
- Creative Climate (116)
- English Civil War (115)
- astronomy (108)
- Thinking Allowed (104)
- religion (98)
- marketing (94)
- 20th century (94)
- Charles I (93)
- communication (92)
- evolution (92)
- research (89)
- sustainability (89)
- architecture (86)
- energy (83)
- nutrition (78)
OpenLearn Links
