Lesson video

My name is Mrs. Gulliver, and today I'm really excited that you're joining me for this geography lesson.

Let's see what we're going to find out about today.

Today's lesson is about identifying renewable and non-renewable energy sources, and this is from our unit on natural resources.

By the end of today's lesson, you are going to be able to identify renewable and non-renewable energy sources and understand the difference between them.

I know that some of this learning might be new, and it might be a bit tricky, but that's okay.

I'm here with you throughout that whole lesson to help you.

This lesson is going to build upon some of our prior knowledge about neutral resources and what they are.

We've got four key words for us to think about for this lesson.

I'm going to say them first and then I'll give you a chance to practise saying them as well.

So it's my turn, and the first word is finite.

Well done.

Hydroelectric.

Brilliant.

Geothermal.

Great.

And our final word is unsustainable.

Well done.

Some of those are quite tricky, aren't they? Let's see what these words mean.

So finite.

A resource that is finite has a limit, or an end and will run out.

Hydroelectric power generates electricity by using water.

Geothermal energy comes from heat, which is contained within the Earth's crust.

And an unsustainable resource is one that is being used more or faster than it can be replaced or regrown.

Our lesson today is going to be in two parts.

First of all, we're going to find out about the energy resources, and then we're going to be finding out about problems with some of our non-renewable energy resources.

So let's get cracking finding out about these energy resources.

Energy is the power used to make things work.

For example, to provide heat or light or to operate machinery.

Do you know where all energy on earth comes from? Turn to the person next to you and have a think.

Well done.

Did you say that all energy on earth comes from the sun? That's quite remarkable, isn't it? That the sun provides all our energy in one way or another to everything on Earth.

We're going to find out a bit more about how the sun can provide all that energy.

So as we said, all energy on Earth comes directly or indirectly from the sun, and all living organisms need energy to survive.

So humans, plants, animals, we all need to collect and gather our energy from somewhere.

Plants need sunshine to grow.

So plants, a living thing, collect their energy directly from the sun to help them grow.

That's not the same for us or animals.

But as we can see here, we also get our energy indirectly from the sun.

A living thing like a rabbit will collect its energy from plants, perhaps.

It'll eat the plants, and the plants will have got their energy from the sun.

So the energy was transferred from the sun to the tree or the plant, and then that energy was transferred to a living thing such as a rabbit, or it could equally be a human that would collect the energy from a plant.

So the sun is the source of energy for everything on Earth.

Non-living things have also collected their energy from the sun.

And we're going to have a look at example of a non-living thing, coal, which has also gained its energy from the sun.

So everything starts with its energy from the sun, and the sun gives out heat and light energy.

Millions of years ago, plants would've used the sun's energy to create food and to grow.

Over time, these plants and leaves would've died and some of them fell into swamps, and gradually they got buried under layer, upon layer, upon layer of rocks and soil.

Now, over an awful long period of time, millions of years, in fact, the heat and pressure from all of these layers hardened that dead vegetation, they hardened the dead plants and leaves and turned it into coal.

So coal is an energy resource that we use now, but it's still collected its energy that it can produce from the sun.

That's quite fascinating.

I'd like you to take time to have a think of all the different ways you may have used energy today.

And remember, electricity is one of the sources of energy that we use in our lives today.

Have a little think.

We use energy in so many different ways in our lives.

Here are some of the examples that I thought of.

We might have used energy in transport to get to work or school, whether that was powering your car, which would've been oil or perhaps it was electricity used to power a train or a tram or a tube to get you to school.

We use electricity to light up our buildings and our rooms. We also use energy to power our devices, whether that's a laptop, a television, or a phone.

So lots of communication things we rely on energy for as well.

We rely on energy for heating.

Often, our central heating at home is fueled by gas or oil, energy resources that can help us provide heat at home.

We use energy so that we can cook.

This example would be using gas to boil a pan of water so that it can cook some food in it.

I think there's an egg in that pan, but there are many different things that we use energy to cook.

And the final thing I thought of, we might use energy so that we can have a wash.

Perhaps we would be using energy to warm up some water so that we could have a nice bubbly bath to make sure that we're clean.

So we're using energy in our everyday life all the time.

I've got my first check of the day for you.

Where does all energy on Earth come from? A, fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas.

B, electricity, or C, the sun.

I'll give you a moment to have a think.

Great, well done.

All energy on Earth comes from the sun.

Now we've found that all energy on Earth comes from the sun and we've got many different energy resources.

And these energy resources can be classified as renewable, we can replace them and reuse them, or non-renewable, they're resources which we cannot replace or reuse.

Our renewable resources we can reuse, and they will not run out.

Can you think of any renewable energy resources? Here's the renewable energy resources that I thought of.

We've got solar power, an energy resource that we collect from the sun.

Like we said, that actually is the source of all energy on Earth.

We can also collect wind power, and we can use wind power to generate electricity.

We can also collect wave and tidal power.

And again, we can collect these, and they can generate electricity for us to use to power things.

Hydroelectric power is the use of water to create electricity.

Biomass is formed from dead leaf and animal matter that we can burn to create energy.

And finally, geothermal energy, like we thought about at the beginning of the lesson.

This is energy from the heat within the Earth's surface that we can collect to power things and to create energy.

So all of those resources are renewable.

They will not run out, and we can use them again and again or replace them very easily.

Our non-renewable resources, however, are finite.

There is a limit to those resources and they will run out.

Fossil fuels are an example of non-renewable resources.

I wonder if you can remember what fossil fuels are.

Let's have a look.

So fossil fuels that are non-renewable energy resources include coal, oil, and natural gas.

We've also got some other non-renewable resources, and they are uranium and plutonium, and they are used to fuel nuclear power plants.

And they're also an example of a non-renewable resource.

I've got another check for you.

I've got these six images of a mix of renewable and non-renewable energy resources.

I've got solar power, wind power, nuclear power, oil, biomass, and geothermal energy.

What I'd like you to do is to sort these resources into those which are renewable and those which are non-renewable.

Great job.

I'm sure that you sorted them in this way.

So our renewable energy resources are solar power, geothermal energy, wind power, and biomass.

And our non-renewable energy resources are those nuclear power and oil.

Great thinking.

Here's our first task for today.

I would like you to match the words on the left in bold to they're correct definitions.

They're all jumbled up at the moment.

Then I'd like you to label each of the energy resources as renewable or non-renewable.

The second part of your task is for you to list three ways that your life would be different if you didn't have access to energy resources.

We had a good old think of all the ways we use energy in our lives every day.

So just think how it would be different if you couldn't have all of those uses of energy in your life.

Good luck.

I'm sure you'll do some great geography work.

I'm sure that you managed to match up these energy resources with their correct definitions.

Here's showing you the correct terms to match the definitions.

And then in my far right-hand column, I've also labelled them as non-renewable and renewable.

So our fossil fuels are non-renewable energy resources.

Geothermal energy is renewable, and biomass is also renewable.

I had to think about how my life would be different if I didn't have access to energy resources.

These were five things I thought of.

You might have included some of the same, or yours may have been different.

I thought that when it's dark, we might need to light candles so that we can see what we're doing.

We wouldn't be able to just switch the lights on.

It would also be difficult to know what the time is, as there wouldn't be batteries or electricity for clocks and watches.

That might make it difficult to get to school and lessons on time.

I also might need to start growing vegetables in my garden or go to a farm to collect food if I wouldn't have a fridge to store it in.

Because fridges are obviously powered by energy, electricity.

I might not be able to take the train, bus or car to school.

I'd need to walk or ride a bike.

And finally, if I wanted to cook, I might not be able to just switch my oven on.

I would have to perhaps light a fire each time, as I wouldn't have access to ovens, microwaves, or toasters.

So there were some of my thoughts, and I'm sure you had some great ideas about how your life would be different as well.

We're moving on to the second part of our learning today.

We're going to be finding out some of the problems with non-renewable energy resources.

Now, most energy that is used in the UK comes from non-renewable and unsustainable energy sources.

So these are resources that are being used up faster than they can be replaced or regrown.

You can see from the pie chart that the blue section is the energy that we use in the UK that comes from renewable energy resources.

And this is a very small part compared to the amount of energy used in the UK from non-renewable sources.

Those non-renewable sources mainly being coal, oil, and natural gas, or fossil fuels.

And our energy sources being wind power, solar power, sorry, and hydroelectric power.

A quick check then.

True or false? Most of UK energy is produced by renewable energy resources.

True or false? Well done.

That is false.

Let's have a look at the statements, and see which one we should use to justify our answer.

A, most of UK energy is produced by fossil fuels, especially oil and natural gas, which are non-renewable.

Or B, most of UK energy is produced by nuclear power, which is non-renewable.

Well done.

Most of the UK energy is produced by fossil fuels, especially oil and natural gas.

And these are non-renewable energy resources.

Now a problem with us using so many non-renewable energy resources are that these are unsustainable.

We had a quick look at the word unsustainable in our key words.

Can you remember what does unsustainable mean? Turn to the person next to you or jot down a few ideas.

Well done.

Jun is here to help us and he says, "Resources that cannot continue being used at the same rate or they will run out.

Scientists estimate fossil fuels are likely to run out in the next 50 years." So fossil fuels are an example of an unsustainable energy resource.

We can't continue using them at the same rate because they will run out.

They are limited in the amount of fossil fuels that we have.

And there are problems with using these non-renewable energies sources, especially fossil fuels.

We have to burn fossil fuels for them to produce energy.

We use coal, oil and natural gas to produce energy in industry and our everyday lives.

And as we saw earlier, we use them for the majority of energy consumption in the UK.

We use fossil fuels to power our cars and our aeroplanes.

So every time you get in the car, if it's a petrol car and you are travelling somewhere, you are using a non-renewable fossil fuel.

And the same with if you are going on a plane to a lovely holiday.

Unfortunately, that also uses non-renewable fossil fuels.

We also use them in our heating and cooking every day.

We are burning fossil fuels to heat our homes, heat our water, and to cook with.

We also use non-renewable fossil fuels in power stations and factories to generate electricity.

So lots of our everyday activities involve us burning fossil fuels, non-renewable energy sources.

When we burn fossil fuels, it can cause local air pollution.

Can you think why this might be a problem? Sofia's telling us, "Air pollution can make my asthma worse, and sometimes I find it hard to breathe.

For some people, air pollution can also be linked to heart disease and other health problems." So a common problem for an area if it experiences local air pollution from burning fossil fuels is that it can make people's asthma worse.

Perhaps you've got asthma, and you've experienced that as well.

For some other people, air pollution may also be linked to them having heart disease and other health problems. So there are health impacts to us using non-renewable fossil fuels.

It is however, possible to take action to reduce air pollution and improve air quality in local areas and around schools.

Can you think of any ways that air quality around schools could be improved? You might have seen this sign.

Perhaps you've got school streets around your school, or perhaps in the neighbourhood where you live, or you may never have seen a school street sign.

School streets have recently been introduced to many streets around schools and they prohibit, they do not allow cars and motorbikes to travel down those streets and roads in certain times, normally around morning drop off and school pickup.

And the schools that have introduced school streets around their schools have seen many benefits from the school street scheme.

The main one being that there is less traffic around the schools and therefore, they're experiencing better air quality.

So those children who've got asthma are having a far easier time with their breathing, and they're not experiencing worse asthma, because their school is now a school street.

There also is less traffic, which means there's been a reduction in the road dangers, and school streets have been made safer places for people to walk to school.

Finally, school streets have also encouraged people to make healthy choices about travelling to school.

If you can't get your car to drop you off straight at school, now more and more people are choosing to walk, scoot, or cycle to these schools.

So they have it making healthier life choices about that travel as well.

So although fossil fuels can provide some problems in a local area through creating air pollution, there are actions that we can take to reduce those problems. I've got a check for you to fill in some of these gaps.

And as you can see, I've provided you with the six missing words at the bottom here.

And you need to choose which of those words sits in which gap.

So I'll read the passage for you, and then you can pause the video and work out which word goes where.

So when we, hmm, non-renewable fossil fuels, it produces, hmm.

Fossil fuels can power and hmm, as well as be used to, hmm, our homes and our food.

Pause the video and have a go at fitting those correct words in the correct places.

Well done.

I'm sure that your passage looks the same as mine.

When we burn non-renewable fossil fuels, it produces energy.

Fossil fuels can power cars and planes as well as be used to heat our homes and cook our food.

So fossil fuels do have a lot of uses, and that's why they are so well used in the UK to produce energy.

Now, which of the below are a problem caused by burning fossil fuels? A, plastic pollution is found in the oceans.

B, poor air quality can affect the health of people, or C, local parks and countryside are getting polluted with litter.

Well done.

It's B.

Poor air quality can affect the health of people.

Another problem with non-renewable energy resources is that when we burn these non-renewable fossil fuels, whether that's to power our planes and cars or heat our houses, greenhouse gas are released.

Do you know how this impacts the planet? Have a look at the diagram, and see if it makes sense to you.

Well done, the Earth absorbs energy from the sun.

As we know everything on Earth gets its energy from the sun and some of that heat escapes back to space.

However, greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap the heat that warms Earth.

And as we burn non-renewable fossil fuels, we are adding more and more greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.

And this means that more and more heat is being trapped, and our Earth is getting warmer.

Think about a greenhouse that you might have in your garden, or perhaps you've seen a greenhouse.

Greenhouses absorb and trap heat as well.

The more the sun shines on them, the more the heat and warmth is trapped by the glass.

And that's a bit like what is happening in our atmosphere.

As we put more greenhouse gases into our atmosphere from burning fossil fuels, they are trapping more of the sun's heat.

And like we said, that means the Earth is getting warmer.

And our world has gradually been getting hotter due to our human actions due to burning fossil fuels, and non-renewable energy is a significant cause of this climate change.

Have you learned about some of the problems with climate change, or do you know some of the problems with climate change? Turn to your partner and have a think.

You can pause the video.

I'm sure you thought of lots of great ideas.

One of the problems with climate change is that ice is melting in polar regions.

This means that some animals are losing their habitats and a safe place to live, and also losing their habitats so that they can't find food.

It also means that sea levels are rising.

As this ice is melting, it's adding to the seas, and the level of water in the sea is rising.

And this affects many coastlines.

Actually some settlements where people live are completely disappearing underwater, and people are being left without homes.

It also means that settlements where people live close to the coast also have a greater chance of flooding.

And then finally, climate change has also meant there's been a rise in extreme weather, causing droughts, where places don't experience enough water, and also the other extreme, causing more floods, where there's too much water in different places around the world.

So climate change has been causing problems to do with melting ice, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather.

Here's a check.

Which of the below are problems caused by climate change? A, melting ice, B, extreme weather, or C, plastic pollution.

Well done.

Melting ice is a problem caused by climate change, as is extreme weather.

Great work.

Here's our final task of the day.

As we saw earlier in the lesson, in 2022, only about 20% of energy used in the UK came from renewable energy sources.

I would like you to write a short letter to your local MP, member of Parliament, or to the Prime Minister explaining what you've learned about the problems caused by burning fossil fuels and what you think should be done about it.

I've even written an introduction that you could use.

Have a go.

I'm sure you'll write a very convincing letter.

Well done.

Did you include a paragraph on pollution in your letter? I talked about burning non-renewable energy resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas, causing air pollution.

This can affect the air quality in local areas, which impacts on the health for many people.

It can cause some respiratory problems such as asthma and heart disease.

I also included a paragraph on climate change.

Burning fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases, which are contributing to climate change.

Climate change is causing ice in polar regions to melt, which is leaving some animals without a safe habitat to hunt and live in.

Sea levels are also rising as the melted ice runs into the seas.

Some coastal areas and islands are increasingly likely to get flooded or even disappear underwater completely, which will leave some people without homes.

You have done so much brilliant geography learning today.

Thank you so much for joining me for this lesson on identifying renewable and non-renewable energy resources.

We have found that the sun directly or indirectly is the source of all energy on Earth.

We learned that non-renewable energy sources are finite.

They have a limit and will run out, and are mostly fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas.

We learned that renewable energy sources include solar power, hydroelectric power, which is power generated by water and geothermal power, which is power created from heat within the Earth's crust.

We also learned that non-renewable energy sources are unsustainable.

We cannot carry on using them at the rate we are, or they will run out.

And we learned that non-renewable energy resources have a negative impact on the environment.

Great work today.

I hope to see you soon for another geography lesson.