SCI 1

ENERGY SOURCES
ENERGY

- Energy is capacity to do work. Energy can be changed from one form to another but it neither
be created nor be destroyed.

ENERGY SOURCES

- An energy resources is something that can produce heat, power life, move objects, or produce
electricity matter that store energy is called fuel.
CLASSIFICATION OF ENERGY

RENEWABLE ENERGY
- The sources of energy which are renewed again to again at a faster rate in nature are known
as renewable energy resources.

- Example – Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Hydro Energy ,Biomass Energy.

SOLAR ENERGY
- Solar energy is available in large amount, because ultimate sources of energy in an ecosystem
is sun. Thus considered major future sources of energy.

- It is incident on green plants, they carry out photosynthesis in the presence of CO2, water and
sunlight and make their own food, thus maintain life. Their death produces biomass.

- Example – Solar light

PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL

- Photovoltaic cell is phenomenon that conversion of solar energy to electricity.

HYDRO ENERGY
- Water is made to fall from height to rotate turbine, which help generate electricity, is known
ashydro energy.
APPLICATION

- Hydro power use the energy for moving water for a variety of useful application,
hydroelectricity generates electricity by the gravitational force of falling water. It use water in
dams to drive turbines and generates which turns Mechanical energy into Electrical energy.
WIND ENERGY
- Wind is allowed to rotate the blades of wind mills, which rotates turbines to generate electricity.

APPLICATION

- The wind is a free clean and in exhaustible energy sources. It has served human kind well for
many centuries by propelling ships and driving, wind turbines to grind grain and pump water.

- DENMARK was the first country to use wind for generation of electricity.

BIOMASS
 India is an agriculture based country. Agriculture and dairy farming produced large amount of
biomass.

- Example - Agricultural waste and Cow Dung

 Dead organic matter or dead plant and animal parts are known as Biomass.

- Example - wood, leaf parts and crop residue.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

- Uses hot water and steam from earth to turn turbines and generate electricity
- Can be utilized by home owners
- Cons: Exhaustible, rare to find suitable spot
TIDAL ENERGY

- Traps incoming tidal waters and releases the water during low tide to generate electricity
- Cons: Requires 8 meter tidal range
- Requires suitable coastline

NON RENEWABLE ENERGY

- These energy resources are formed inside the earth crust at very high temperature and
pressure, take a very long passage of time in their formation. Thus they are present in limited
amount in nature’s reservoir.
- Example – coal, petroleum, natural gas, timber, nuclear fuel.
- These included two types of energy resources - Fossil fuel, Nuclear Energy.
FOSSIL FUEL
- Fossil fuel are found inside the earth crust where they have formed through heat and
compression of forest waste and other organic matter, which got buried due to Earthquake
and landslide etc.

CLASSIFICATION OF FOSSIL FUEL

 Solid ( Coal )
 Liquid (Petroleum)
 Gaseous ( Natural gas )
COAL
- Coal is the most abundantly found fossil fuel in the world. It contain Carbon, Water, Sulphur,
and Nitrogen. Coal meets 70% of the total energy needs of the world around. It is used for
cooking, industry, and thermal power plant.
PETROLEUM
- Petroleum is a natural underground fossil energy resources. It is formed due to decomposition
of micro plankton deposited upon the sea beds, lakes, and river for millions of years. The
decomposition takes place by the action of bacteria under lack of O2, called crude oil.

NATURAL GAS
- It is a mixture hydrocarbon gases trapped under the earth surface. It is a mainly consisting of
methane (CH4), Propane (C3H8), and Butane (C4H10).

Natural gas can used in two different forms:

 LPG – ( Liquefied Petroleum Gas )

 CNG – (Compressed Natural Gas)

NUCLEAR ENERGY
- It present nuclear power. It is a highly developed alternative far energy production in place of
coal.

Nuclear energy can divided by two processes:

 NUCLEAR FISSION
 NUCLEAR FUSION

NUCLEAR FISSION
- The heavy nucleus on bombardment with neutron splits into lighter nuclei (Barium and krypton)
releases large amount of energy. One amu of U235 yield energy equal to burning of 15 metric
tons of coal.
NUCLEAR FUSION
- Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei come close enough to form
one or more different atomic nuclei and subatomic particles (neutrons and / or protons ) .The
difference in mass between the products and reactants is manifested as the release of
large amounts of energy.

The Impact of Humanactivities on Natural Resources

Our Resources are beneficial

n A natural resource is anything from nature that we can use for our benefit.

n These include: living organisms, water, land, wood, fossil fuel, minerals, wind, and sunlight.

Renewable Resources
A renewable resource is easily replaced in nature.
Non-renewable Resources
n A non-renewable resource is used up faster than it can be replaced.

n Oil, natural gas and coal are all non – renewable resources. Human activities impact natural
resources.

n Human beings find use for water, plants animals minerals and fossil fuels.

n The overuse of renewable and non – renewable resources have a negative impact on these
resources and limits the global availability.

Energy
- The burning of fossil fuels increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and also
leads to depletion of fuel sources.
Deforestation
- We cut down trees for timber to make furniture and paper and paper products. Some of these
practices leave the forest floor bare and increases the possibility for flooding due to soil
erosion. Some living organisms also lose their habitat.
Water Activities
- Saltwater and freshwater resources are used for transportation by sea of cruise ships or goods
for industry, recreation, cooking and hydro-energy generation.
Fishing
- Animals from the marine environment are hunted as food by other animals and humans. Over-
fishing can lead to a reduction in animal numbers and human activities lead to pollution of
marine waters and destruction of habitat.
POLLUTION
Air Pollution
- The release of harmful substances that are difficult to remove from the environment is called
pollution.
- We pollute the air with many greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide,
nitrogen dioxide, methane and chlorofluorocarbons. They contribute to global warming.
Global Warming
- Global warming causes rise in global temperature and changes in rainfall patterns. This can
cause droughts in some places, floods in others, erosion of beaches and destruction of
habitats.
- Global warming impacts negatively due to erosion of beaches and coral reefs.
- As a result, less money is generated from tourism which is a major product of many countries.
Water Pollution
- Nitrates from organic fertilizers, phosphates from detergents, organic wastes and solid wastes
are the main pollutants of freshwater. Nitrates and phosphates accumulate and cause
eutrophication. Eutrophication decreases the amount of oxygen present in the water.
- Marine waters are usually polluted by oil spills from oil rigs or from Ships during transfer across
the sea. The oil can be harmful to plant and animal life in the waters.
Solid Waste Pollution
- The sea may also be polluted by solid waste from land due to bad sanitary practices of
humans. When people dump garbage into gullies and drains these have the potential to enter
the sea.
- Solid non – biodegradable waste may accumulate in the marine environment and cause
physical damage to plant life.
- Organic waste matter from untreated sewage and factory effluents also pollute the coastal
waters of many countries. Many chemicals may become absorbed into the tissues of aquatic
animals and hence move up the food chain via consumers of these animals.
- Pesticides used by farmers are harmless in small amounts. However these can remain on
plants and enter the food chain and accumulate in body tissue when these plants are eaten
repeatedly by animals and humans.
 GEOLOGICAL TIMESCALE

HISTORY OF THE EARTH

- Earth’s history began about 4.6 billion years ago.
- Formed the same time as the solar system.

DETERMINING THE AGE OF THE EARTH

 Aristotle (384-322BC) – thought that the Earth was in perpetual existence.
 Lucretius (15-99BC) – believed that the Earth had not existed for a long time based on the
absence of accounts prior to the Trojan War.
 James Usher of Ireland – believed that the Earth was 4004 BC.
 Nicolas Steno (1660’s) – formulated the modern concepts of deposition of horizontal strata.
 James Hutton (1700’s) – proposed the principle of uniformitarianism (states that the physical,
chemical, and biological processes that work today are the same forces that have worked in
the geologic past.
- “The present is the key to the past.”
 During the 19th Century, geologists used observational evidence, suggesting that the Earth
was 100 million years old since at that time radioactivity was not yet understood and it was
only the development of the modern quantum mechanics.
 In 1926, the radiometric time scale was adapted by the National Academy of Science, and
resulted that the Earth is 4.6 billion years old

RELATIVE DATING
- tells us the sequence in which events occurred, not how long ago they occurred.
- a method of showing the sequence of events
 Numerical Date - the specific number of years that have passed since and event took place
- can’t be determined without radioactivity
 Strata - rock layers, from the Latin word stratum
 Stratigraphy - science that deals the characteristics of layered rocks and how these rocks are
used to trace the Earth’s history

STRATIFIED ROCKS
- Widely known as Sedimentary Rocks, formed by sediments that resulted from
weathering of rocks.
- If rock layers are no longer horizontal, it means they are already distributed by the
forces within. The layers are already deformed due to faulting, tilting, and volcanic
intrusions.

 The Basic Principles in Relating Rocks

 Nicolas Steno (mid-1600’s)
- studied the positions of sediments in sedimentary rocks.
- he found that the sequence of solid particles that settled on the seabed was determined
by their weight.
- largest & heaviest (first), smallest & lightest (last)
- A Danish physician (1638-1687), described how the position of a rock layer could be
used to show the relative age of the layer.
- He devised the three main principles that underlie the interpretation of geologic time:
 1. Superposition – states that in an undisturbed sequence of stratified rocks, each layer
is older than the on above it and younger than the one below it.
2. Original Horizontality – states that sediments are deposited in flat layers. Thus, if the
rock still remains in horizontal layers, it means that it is not yet disturbed and still has its
original horizontality.
3. Original Lateral Continuity - Originally deposited layers of rock extend laterally in all
directions until either thinning out or being cut off by a different rock layer.

 During the early 1800‟s, English Geologist, Charles Lyell published a book called
“Principles of Geology,” which became a very important volume in Great Britain. It
included all of Hutton’s ideas, and presented his own contemporary ideas such as:

4. Cross-cutting Relationships – stated that when a fault or a dike that cuts through
another rock or when magma intrudes to the rock, that fault or magma is younger than
the rock.
5. Inclusions – states that a rock mass that contains pieces of rocks (inclusions), are
younger than other rock masses.

6. Unconformities - states that rock layers that formed without

interruption are conformable.
- describes a layer of rock that has been
deformed or eroded before another layer is deposited,
resulting in rock layers that are mismatched.

Different Types:
 Disconformity – a sedimentary layer that is deposited
over an eroded sedimentary layer
 Angular Conformity – a sedimentary layer deposited
over an eroded, tilted, or folded rock
 Nonconformity – a sedimentary layer deposited over
an eroded igneous or metamorphic rock.

RELATIVE AGE DATING

 “Relative Age” – means the age of one object compared to the age of another, not the exact
age of an object.
 Correlation of strata by rock unit type (lithology) or fossil type (biology) using species,
composition, or texture leads scientists to extrapolate relationships over large areas of land.
 Age Dating - All six of the original stratigraphic principles may be applied to determine the
age of a rock.
 Relative ages can also be determined using Lyell‟s principle of cross-cutting relationships.
FOSSILS
 Fossils - the remains of extinct plants and animals embedded in sedimentary rocks.
- most important inclusions in interpreting the geologic past
- important indicators of time
- have a major role in correlating rocks in various places in the past
 Paleontology – science that deals with the study of fossils

TYPES OF FOSSILS
1. True Form Fossils – are the actual remains that did not change through time like teeth
bones, and shells of animals.
2. Petrified Fossils – fossils that turned into stone were formed when all or a part of an
organism were replaced by minerals.
3. Molds and Casts – preserve the form and shape of the organism.
 Molds – are formed when organisms buried in sediments decay or dissolve
 Casts – when minerals are deposited within the mold
4. Carbonized Fossils – result from a process undergone by leaves and delicate animal
forms, through which they were covered with fine sediments.
5. Amber – the hardened resin of ancient trees where insects are preserved

PRINCIPLE OF FOSSIL SUCCESSION

 William Smith (1800)
- he formulated the principle of fossil succession
- states that the fossils of organisms succeed one another in a specific and well-established
order, and that any geologic time can be recognized by the kind of fossil present.

 Fossil Succession – is based on the observation that certain groups of animals and plants
lived during certain periods of time throughout Earth’s history.

INDEX FOSSILS
- are fossils of organisms found in most places in the planet but lived for a short period.
- useful for dating rock layers since they are fossils of organisms that were common, that lived in
many areas, and existed only during a specific span of time.
- useful for correlating rock layers from widely separated regions
- Biostratigraphically useful species are known as index fossils (or guide fossils) because they
can be used as guides for recognition of chronostratigraphic units.
- Fossils found in many rock layers have lived for long periods of time and cannot be used as
index fossils.

 The time span of organisms is measured by Radioactive Dating.

 Trilobites - are a commonly used index fossil because they are easy to recognize

ABSOLUTE DATING
- Sometimes called numerical dating
- Gives rocks an actual date or date range in number of years
- Most absolute dates for rocks are obtained with radioactive or radiometric methods.
- Radioactive minerals in rocks are used as geological rocks.
RADIOMETRIC DATING
- defined as a method used to establish how old an object is by measuring the amount of
radioisotope the object contains against the decay product it contains.
 Isotopes – are atoms of the same element having the same number of protons but with
different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei
 Radioactive Decay – is the process of radioactive isotopes break down overtime into another
form
 Parent Isotope – unstable radioisotope
 Daughter Isotope – decay product
 Half-life – is the length of time for half of the atoms in a sample of a radioactive element to
change from an unstable form into another form.
 Radiocarbon Dating – is the use of the decay carbon-14, an isotope carbon, to date events in
the past.

GEOLOGICAL TIMESCALE
- The geologic time scale divides up the history of the earth based on life-forms that have
existed during specific times since the creation of the planet. These divisions are called
geochronologic units
- Most of these life-forms are found as fossils, which are the remains or traces of an organism
from the geologic past that has been preserved in sediment or rock. Without fossils, scientists
may not have concluded that the earth has a history that long precedes mankind.
- The earliest time of the Earth is called the Hadean and refers to a period of time for which we
have no rock record, and the Archean followed, which corresponds to the ages of the oldest
known rocks on earth. These, with the Proterozoic Eon are called the Precambrian Eon. The
remainder of geologic time, including present day, belongs to the Phanerozoic Eon.

The Geologic Time Scale is divided by the following divisions:

 Eons: Longest subdivision; based on the abundance of certain fossils
 Eras: Next to longest subdivision; marked by major changes in the fossil record
 Periods: Based on types of life existing at the time
 Epochs: Shortest subdivision; marked by differences in life forms and can vary from continent
to continent.
PRECAMBRIAN (4.54 Ga to 541 Ma)
- The Precambrian is not a formal interval of geologic time. It represents all of Earth history prior
to beginning of the Phanerozoic Eon. It was once thought that Precambrian rocks were devoid
of fossils, but we now know that is incorrect.

HADEAN EON
- Named for Hades, the mythological Greek underworld. There are no Hadean-aged rocks.
Fossil Record:
• No evidence of life.
Earth History:
• Oldest known rock (Acosta Gneiss, Northwest Territories, Canada; 4.0 Ga)
• Development of atmosphere and oceans.
• Oldest known mineral grain (zircon; 4.4 Ga)
• Formation of Earth's crust and differentiation of interior.
• Formation of the Earth (accretionary phase; 4.54 Ga).

ARCHEAN EON
- Name from the Greek word arkhē, which means the beginning or origin.
Fossil Record:
• Oldest known fossils (stromatolites formed by prokaryotic cyanobacteria; 3.5 Ga).
• Oldest chemical evidence of life (3.8 Ga).
Earth History:
• Rocks of this age are rare.
• Cooling of Earth's interior.
• Numerous small "protocontinents" covered the Earth.
• Little to no free oxygen.

PROTEROZOIC EON
- Name means earlier ("protero-") life ("-zoic").
- No life possible as the Earth initially forms 4.6
- billion years ago.
- Simple, single-celled forms of life appear 3.8 billion years ago, becoming more complex and
successful over the next 3 billion years: Prokaryotes then Eukaryotes
- Cyanobacteria begins producing free oxygen
- (photosynthesis)
- Land masses gather to make up a continent called “Rodinia”

Fossil Record:
• First trace fossils (Russian; 550 Ma).
• First macroscopic multicellular life (Ediacarans, some of which may have been animals; ~575-
541 Ma).
• First micoscopic multicellular life (Doushantuo embryos, 635 Ma).
• First eukaryotes (algae called acritarchs; 2.0 Ga).
Earth History:
• Supercontinent of Pannotia (formed ~650 Ma; broke apart ~550 Ma).
• Major ice age at end of eon ("Snowball Earth"); much of Earth may have frozen over (~700
Ma).
• Formation of Laurentia (proto-North America) by suturing of protocontients (1.3 to 1.0 Ga)
• Grenville Orogeny results in formation of supercontinent Rodinia (formed ~1.3 to 1.0 Ga; broke
apart ~750 Ma).
• Increasing levels of atmospheric oxygen due to photosynthetic life.
• Development of banded iron formations (BIFs), which are important for steel industry.
• Accretion of protocontinents into larger continents (30-40% modern amount of continental crust
by 2.5 Ga).

PHANEROZOIC EON
PALEOZOIC ERA
- supercontinent Pangaea was formed due to the collision of Gondwana and Laurasia
- the beginning of the Cambrian period
- Gondwana - South America, Africa, Australia, Antartica, India, and parts of China
- Laurasia - North America, Europe, and Siberia

Cambrian Period
- "Age of Trilobites"
- the supercontinent Rodinia began to break into smaller continents
- the mass extinction of trilobites and nautiloids happened
- marine invertebrates and delicate coelenterates evolved
- Explosion of life
- All existing phyla come into being at this time
- Life forms in warm seas as oxygen levels rise enough to support life
- Dominant animals: Marine invertebrates (trilobites and brachiopods)

Ordovician Period
- many volcanoes and mountains formed during this period
- the first time that global cooling and glaciation, and frequent volcanic activities were observed
- North America went under shallow seas
- ended in huge extinction due to glaciation
- The 1st animals with bones appear, though dominant animals are still trilobites, brachiopods
and corals
- The beginning of the construction of South Carolina
- A very cold time in Earth‟s history: there was a great extinction due to ice caps in present-day
Africa
- Four main continents: Gondwana, Baltica, Siberia and Laurentia
Silurian Period
- caledonian mountains of Scandinavia rose, and coral reefs were formed
- the first jawed fishes, anthropods and millipedes appeared
- a rise in sea level occured worldwide
- First land plants appear and land animals follow
- Laurentia collides with Baltica and closes Iapetus Sea.
- Coral reefs expand and land plants begin to colonize barren land.
- First millipede fossils and sea scorpions (Euryptides) found in this period

Devonian Period
- the Acadian mountains of New York rose during this period, and the erosion of mountain
resulted in the deposition of much sediments in seas
- "Age of fishes"
- new insects like springtails appeared
- a mass extinction event occurred near the end of the Devonian period which was probably due
to glaciation or meteorite impact Mississippian Period
- the Appalachian Mountains of North America were formed - first winged insects appeared
- Pre-Pangea forms.
- Dominant animal: fish
- Oceans still freshwater and fish migrate from southern hemisphere to North America.
- Present-day Arctic Canada was at the equator and hardwoods began to grow.
- Amphibians, evergreens and ferns appear
- The Acadian Orogeny, leading to S.C.
- metamorphism

Mississippian Period
- First seed plants appear
- Much of North America is covered by shallow seas and sea life flourishes (bryoza, brachipods,
blastoids)

Pennsylvanian Period
- the first reptiles, ferns, mayflies, and cockroaches appeared
- Modern North America begins to form
- Ice covers the southern hemisphere and coal swamps formed along equator.
- Lizards and winged insects first appear.

Permian Period
- "Age of amphibians"
- the continents merged into a single super-continent, Pangaea
- ended with the largest mass extinction
- trilobites went extinct, together with all animal families, almost all marine species, and many
trees perhaps caused by glaciation or volcanism
- Last period of the Paleozoic
- Pangea forms. Reptiles spread across continents.
- The Appalachians rise
- 90% of Earth‟s species become extinct due to volcanism in Siberia. This marks the end of
trilobites, ammonoids, blastoids, and most fish.
MESOZOIC ERA
- supercontinent Pangaea was formed due to the collision of Gondwana and Laurasia
- the beginning of the Cambrian period
- Gondwana - South America, Africa, Australia, Antartica, India, and parts of China
- Laurasia - North America, Europe, and Siberia
The Three Periods of Mesozoic Era:
Triassic Period
- First dinosaurs appear
- First mammals- small rodents appear
- Life and fauna re-diversify
- Rocky Mountains form.
- First turtle fossil from this period
- Pangea breaks apart

Jurassic Period
- Pangea still breaking apart
- Dinosaurs flourish “Golden age of dinosaurs”
- First birds appear
- North America continues to rotate away from Africa

Cretaceous Period
- T-Rex develops
- First snakes and primates appear
- Deciduous trees and grasses common
- First flowering plants
- Mass extinction marks the end of the Mesozoic Era, with the demise of dinoaurs and 25% of
all marine life.
CENOZOIC ERA
- First horses appear and tropical plants dominate (Paleocene)
- Grasses spread and whales, rhinos, elephants and other large mammals develop. Sea level
rises and limestone deposits form in S.C. (Eocene)
- Dogs, cats, and apes appear (Oligocene)
- Horses, mastadons, camels, and tigers roam free in S.C. (Miocene)
- Hominids develop and the Grand Canyon forms (Pliocene)

Quaternary Period
 Modern humans develop and ice sheets are predominant- Ice age (Pleistocene)
 Holocene Humans flourish (Holocene)