ENERGY SOURCES

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The Sun
Most of our energy resources on the Earth come from the Sun

Forms of energy coming from sun:

o The Sun heats up the atmosphere, creating wind and producing waves

o Water evaporated by the Sun falls as rain, filling up reservoirs

o Plants grown using sunlight form the basis for fuels – both biofuels and fossil fuels

Forms of energy not coming from the Sun:

o Geothermal – This comes from heat produced in the Earthʼs core

o Nuclear – This comes from elements which make up a small proportion of the
Earth's crust

o Tidal – This comes (mainly) from the gravitational attraction of the Moon
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 Solar Cells
• Solar cells transfer energy from sunlight
electrically producing a current, and therefore
generating electrical power

• Solar cells, sometimes called photovoltaic cells,

are made of semiconducting materials

• Energy generated can be stored in batteries for

later use

Advantages Disadvantages
 Clean  The production is low during winters and on
 Renewable cloudy days.
 Reliable  Installation and the initial cost of the materials
 Free energy because it can be trapped easily. are expensive.
 Space consumption is more.
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 Solar Panels
• Solar panels transfer energy from sunlight to the
thermal store of the solar panels which is used to heat
water in the pipes

• Solar panels can be used to warm domestic water

supplies

Solar furnaces
• Consist of large curved mirrors that focus the sun's
rays on to a small area

• Solar Furnaces are used to boil water, generating

enough steam to turn turbines and generate electricity
in a power station

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Fossil Fuels
• Fossil fuels are buried flammable geologic deposits of organic
substances such as dead plants and animals that got deposited
under several thousand feet of silt.

• These deposits decayed with the passage of time and got

converted to natural gas, coal and petroleum due to the extreme
heat and pressure inside the earth’s crust

Types of Fossil Fuels

 Coal
 Natural gas
 Crude oil

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 Advantages of Fossil Fuels Disadvantages of Fossil Fuels

 Fossil fuels can generate a large amount of  Fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide when burnt
electricity at a single location. which is a primary source of pollution.

 They can be found very easily.  They are a non-renewable resource

 They are cost-effective.  Combustion of fossil fuels makes the

environment more acidic.
 Transportation of oil and gas can be done easily
through pipelines.  Extraction of fossil fuels is dangerous and
destroys landscape
 They have become safer over time.

 Despite being a finite resource, it is available in

plenty.

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Fossil fuels are used for:
i. Transport
ii. Generating electricity
iii. Heating

Electricity generation of coal through a

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power station
 Bio Fuels
 Biofuel is an inexhaustible, biodegradable fuel manufactured from Biomass

 Plants take in carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, but carbon dioxide is released back into the
atmosphere when biofuels are burned
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Nuclear Fuel
 Energy stored in the nucleus of atoms can be released
when the nucleus is broken in two and this is known
as nuclear fission

 Nuclear power stations use fission reactions to heat

water, to turn turbines to generate electricity

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Wave & Tide Power
 The rise and fall of waves or the tide can be used to turn a turbine and generate
electricity

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Hydroelectric Dams
 When water is stored above ground level it has
energy in its gravitational potential store

 This energy can be transferred to kinetic energy if

the water is allowed to flow down the slope

 Flowing water turns the turbine to generate

electricity

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 Geothermal Energy
 Geothermal energy is heat that is generated within the
Earth. (Geo means “earth,” and thermal means “heat”
in Greek.)

 Geothermal energy is the heat produced deep in the

Earth's core.

 Geothermal energy is a clean, renewable resource that

can be harnessed for use as heat and electricity.

Advantages Disadvantages
 Renewable resource  Few suitable locations on Earth so small scale
production of electricity
 Reliable source of energy
 Can result in the release of greenhouse gases
 Geothermal power stations are usually small from underground
compared to nuclear or fossil fuel power
stations  Expensive to build
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PRESSURE IN LIQUIDS

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Pressure in liquids
 When an object is immersed in a fluid, the fluid will
exert pressure, squeezing the object

 This pressure is exerted evenly across the whole

surface of the fluid and in all directions

 The pressure exerted on objects in fluids creates

forces against surfaces

 These forces act at 90 degrees (at right angles) to the

surface

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Cont.…
 The pressure of a fluid on an object will increase with:
a) Depth within the fluid
b) Increased density of the fluid
 The pressure is more accurately the difference in
pressure at different depths h in a liquid, since the
pressure changes with the depth

 The pressure due to a column of liquid can be

calculated using the equation:
Δp = ρgΔh
Where,
Δp = change in pressure in pascals (Pa) Where 1 Pa = 1 N/m
ρ = density of the liquid in kilograms per metre cubed (kg/m )
g = gravitational field strength on Earth in newtons per kilogram (N/kg)
Δh = change in height of the column in metres (m)

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