AP®︎ Environmental Science: Topic 6.1 Flashcards

An energy resource in finite supply that is consumed much faster than natural processes can replace it on a human timescale

An energy resource naturally replenished at or near its rate of consumption, allowing repeated use without exhausting a fixed stock

Coal, petroleum, and natural gas formed from ancient organic matter over millions of years; finite fuels consumed far faster than they form

Energy released by splitting uranium nuclei; nonrenewable because reactors consume uranium from finite ore deposits

Renewable energy from continually arriving solar radiation, whose capture does not meaningfully reduce future sunlight

Renewable energy from moving air continually generated by uneven solar heating and influenced by Earth’s rotation

Renewable energy from flowing water replenished by the solar-driven hydrologic cycle

Renewable energy from recurring tidal motion caused by gravitational interactions among Earth, the Moon, and the Sun

Energy from Earth’s internal heat; renewable on human timescales, though a local reservoir can be depleted by excessive use

Recently living material used for energy; potentially renewable when biological regrowth replaces it at or near the harvesting rate

An accumulated quantity of an energy resource that can be drawn down, such as a coal deposit, oil field, or uranium ore

Energy that continually arrives or recurs, such as sunlight, wind, flowing water, or tides

A form that transports usable energy rather than supplying primary energy; electricity’s renewable status depends on the source that generated it