Coal and solar energy diagrams for essay

Coal vs. Solar Energy

By: Adam Youssef

Most people conflict about what resource for energy is best although all of them have their advantages and disadvantages. Non-renewable sources have been used for hundreds of years although they pollute the environment. People have recently started turning to renewable resources because they have noticed that non-renewable source are running low and destroying our planet. Coal has been the most commonly used non-renewable source for a long time. It is also the most pollutant. Solar energy is the most powerful renewable resource and doesn’t pollute the Earth at all. Is coal or solar energy the better resource? How come?

                Coal is created from the remains of plants and trees (fossilized). Coal has several advantages. People get the energy stored inside the rock by making it go through the process of combustion (burning). Coal is the most abundant (has a lot of) source of energy in the world. Coal is not as expensive as the other resources. Coal can be transported easily without any need to be cautious of any dangers. Coal can be stored for as long as needed. The electricity created by coal is useful and dependable (can be used, not in need of a lot of coal for a good amount). Although there are many advantages, there are a lot of disadvantages too. Coal mining is very dangerous. Coal pollutes both the air when it is burnt. It pollutes the water because coal mining increases erosion (the removal of rock particles by wind, water, ice or gravity). So, whenever there is runoff at a coal mining spot, water pollution is happening. Burning coal has caused acid rain (when carbon is released and joins the water in the clouds, rain will now be water AND carbon).  Coal is depleting and we might run out of it because the rate of consumption (use) is surpassing the rate of creation. Coal mining affects the health of miners and could cause fatalities.

                Solar energy is what many people have started to look forward to because it is non-pollutant and gives off a lot of energy. Solar cells never really stop working but just lose a bit of their effectiveness (Ex: 2010:100% 2020:90%). Solar panels have to be changed after many decades (minimum of 30 years). After paying the amount for the installation of the panels, the cost of electricity is free (no electricity bill). When solar cells are collecting the solar energy, neither sound nor smell is generated. Although solar energy seems like the solution to the greenhouse effect but it also has disadvantages. Buying a solar panel set is VERY expensive. The solar panels need to be on a large area to collect enough electricity and energy for use. Solar panels are most efficient when the sun is fully exposed.

No energy can be created at night and the panels are partially effective whenever it is a cloudy and rainy day. Solar energy doesn’t have many disadvantages.

                People have converted to solar energy to save the Earth although it is not very efficient. Others continue to use coal because they believe giving up this efficiency then it would be a waste. There will always be a conflict between which of these two resources are better but we will always know that coal is a harmful resource. That is why people should convince leaders to follow the right way and use the less and harmless resource instead of taking “easy way out” and using coal.

References:

Prentice Hall: Earth Science: Gave me a basic knowledge about both coal and solar energy

Dr. Balaraman and Ms. Agwuebo: Gave me an overall knowledge and better undersatanding about the 2 resources.

Info on Storyjumper:Gave me a majority of  advantages for solar energy than advantages for coal

http://fossil-fuel.co.uk/coal/advantages-of-coal: gave me more advantages about coal than I knew about.

http://fossil-fuel.co.uk/coal/the-disadvantages-of-coal: Added about 1 or 2 disadvantages to coal

http://www.solar-energy-advantages-blog.com/: Gave me advantages about solar energy that I had never heard of.

Science Fair

Topic: Erosion
Question
How does the slope angle affect the rate of erosion and why?
Hypothesis
 I believe that more particles will get eroded the steeper the slope .

Independent Variable:
Amount of water being poured
Dependant Variable:
Amount of soil being carried away
Control Variable:
Box

Introduction:
Erosion has shaped the Earth for years, breaking down large particles. Erosion occurs in many ways (root wedging, ice wedging…) but the most common is simply liquid carrying away particles.
This experiment was done to see if the amount of water flowing would affect the amount of erosion and why.  To conduct my experiment I used a box, a bunch of sand or soil filling the box up half way and some water. I conducted this experiment because erosion interests me and I would like to know more.

Background Research:
Source 1: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/EnvSci_p012.shtml
Andrew Olson says that erosion is a natural disaster although it is not noticed. It takes about 500 years to create an inch of soil. The disposal of soil is occurring faster than it is being created which means that after a long period of time, there might no longer be any soil.

Source 2: http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2006/Projects/J0801.pdf
Clint Akarmann is trying to save soil from water erosion and try to see which surface would prevent the soil from being carried away. His answer was that grass and trees hold the soil together and keep it in place which prevents a lot of oil to get carried away by water erosion. So, bare soil would be easily eroded because nothing is holding it together.

Source 3: http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2005/Projects/J0621.pdf
Tera M. Hoove discusses which rock would erode the fastest from water erosion. She finds out that sandstone is easily eroded while it will take many years for granite to erode. The Permeability of the rock affects the speed of water erosion.

Science Brochure

Penguins

Penguins cannot fly due to their tiny wings and huge bodies. Penguins are heavier than the heaviest flying birds. Penguins do not have hollow bones unlike most flying birds which adds to their weight. Most flying birds have hollow bones to be lightweight. Also, flying birds have curved wings while penguins have straight wings(like flippers). Curved wings keep the flying birds aloft and keeps air under it's wings while straight  wings are more suitable underwater where they can be used as propellers. If ever a penguin attempted to fly, it's wings would need to flap 35 times every second. A penguin cannot generate that much energy at once.

Flying is not suitable for penguins because they eat fish that live deep down in the depths of the ocean. Flying would not be an advantage to help them fish.

Fossil Description Because Of Area In Rock(based on the book: Prentice Hall, Earth Science pg 322)

Number 1
Site 1:
A: Ammonite and Trilobite
B: Shells, Ammonite and Fish
C: Layer of extrusive rock
D: Dinosaur and plants
E: Layer of Extrusive rock
F: Dinosaur, Plants and Birds
G: Mammals, Plants and Birds

Site 2:
V: Layer of intrusive rock
W: Shells, Ammonite and Fish
X: Layer of extrusive rock
Y: Dinosaurs, Birds and Plants
Z: Mammals, Birds and Plants

Analyze ad Conclude: Site 1
Number 1:
Layers A and B in the book (Earth Science on page 322) show that the land it is demonstrating used to be covered with tons of water.  My proof is that fish and ammonites lived there (both of these creatures live in deep bodies of water).  In layer D, the water must have dried up or “moved” somewhere else because there are dinosaur footprints (that means it lived on land) and plant/ tree leaves. This means that throughout time, the water must have evaporated or found a pathway leading it somewhere else which allowed land animals and plants to grow. But, there were still some swamps or maybe lakes because without them, fossilization would not occur.

Number 2:
Layer A is the oldest. I know because it is farther away from the surface which means many other layers of rock were created on top of it. I also know because the organism fossils in that layer have been extinct for millions of years.

Number 3:
Layer G formed the most recently. I know because it is nearest to the surface and has not been covered by another layer. Also, the fossils of the animal types are similar to most of the animals that are living today.



Number 4:
I believe there are no fossils in layers C and E because the lava (extrusion) melts anything in its way so no fossils could form because they got molten and became hot lava and then cooled AS A ROCK.

Number 5:
The types of fossils located in layer F are those of land and flying organisms. They are the fossils of dinosaurs, plants and birds.

Number 6: Site 2
Layer B might have formed at the same time as layer W because both have the exact fossil (fish, shells…) in the representation.

Number 7:
There is a gap in the middle of Site 2 (between layers X and Y). I believe that is so because there is where there are 2 layers of difference between it and site 1. Maybe during that period of time, no animal could survive in that are so they moved to another are or there were no nearby swamps or lakes to allow fossilization to happen.

Number 8:

Intrusion V is older than layer Y. My prediction is that the process of magma cooling (intrusion) started during the time of layer W but ended near the end of the Y layer.





Number 9:
In the beginning, Site 2 was covered with an immense amount of water. For some reason, there was less water in the area so the sea creatures to start dying. There was enough water for fossilization to happen. Then another group of species started to live there but a volcano must have erupted and killed them all. The corpses melted and became one with the lava and soon cooled to become hard rock. Then, another group of species started to live in this area. These were land and flying creatures. The same process happens for these organisms. The land becomes unsuitable for the organisms to live in and they die but the geography is suitable for fossilization. This process will continue repeating itself for millions of years onward.

Fossilization

Chain of Events

Animal dies and falls into swamp Animal is covered by silt or mud Fine mud blocks out oxygen for decomposing bacteria Decomposition is very slow, taking thousands of years Fossil forms

For a fossil to be created, the body should be near a swamp, lake… First an animal dies and sinks to the bottom of the lake. Then layers of silt and/or mud start to cover the body. Soon the whole body will get completely covered and the mud will block oxygen from entering or reaching the body. The body cannot be decomposed because no bacteria can reach the body. That is because bacteria survives only where there is oxygen. The body becomes a fossil. After many years of weathering and erosion, the fossil will reach the surface and paleontologists will examine it.