GCSE · Chemistry · Edexcel · Spec 1CH0

Fossil fuels as non-renewable

Petrol in a car, gas in a Bunsen burner: both come from fossil fuels that took millions of years to produce. Burn them and they're gone.

Chemistry · Fuels

Renewable or non-renewable?

Pick an item, then pick a side. Your test: could it be replaced in our lifetime?

Still to sort

Renewable (0)

Not used up, or can be replaced in our lifetime.

Where the line is: If it can be replaced in our lifetime, it goes here.

Non-renewable (0)

Cannot be replaced or regenerated in our lifetime, so it's finite.

Where the line is: Using less of it only makes the reserves last longer. It still can't be replaced in our lifetime.

10 of 10 still to sort.

Ten things to sort. Pick a side first, then read why.

Exam line: Give the reason, not just the label: it can't be replaced in our lifetime.

Watch out: Petrol, kerosene, diesel oil and methane don't sound like fossil fuels. They're non-renewable because of where they come from: crude oil or natural gas.

UK note

This topic sits in the Fuels section of the Edexcel GCSE Chemistry (1CH0) specification.

Why finite?

Reason it through

Why will fossil fuels run out if we keep using them?

Link 1 of 4

First link · your turn

Start with how they're made. How long does it take to produce a fossil fuel?

Locked — reveal the link above first

Predict, then check

Two things could change: how fast we use fossil fuels, and whether we find new reserves.

Suppose we use fossil fuels more slowly, and we also discover new reserves. What happens to how long the reserves last?

Chemistry · Fuels

Lasts longer, or renewable?

A news story says: 'People are cutting their fossil fuel use, and new oil fields keep being found.'

Which is closest to what you think this means for fossil fuels?

If we use less of a fossil fuel, it becomes renewable.If we find new reserves of oil, oil becomes renewable.Both only make reserves last longer. Fossil fuels are still non-renewable.

How sure are you?

I'm sureI think soI'm guessing

If we use less of a fossil fuel, it becomes renewable.

This is a common misconception

Using less makes the reserves last longer, but it doesn't make a fossil fuel renewable. Renewable is about whether it can be replaced in our lifetime, and a fossil fuel can't be, because it takes millions of years to be produced.

If we find new reserves of oil, oil becomes renewable.

This is a common misconception

New reserves add to what's left, so supplies last longer. But the oil in them still can't be replaced in our lifetime. It's still non-renewable.

Both only make reserves last longer. Fossil fuels are still non-renewable.

This matches the evidence

Yes. Using less and finding more both stretch the reserves, but fossil fuels still can't be replaced or regenerated in our lifetime, so they stay finite.

Lasts longer is not the same as renewable. Non-renewable means it can't be replaced in our lifetime.

Chemistry · Fuels

Write it, then check it

Explain why petrol is described as a non-renewable fuel. [4 marks]

Your answer

0 words · your answer stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

The mark scheme

Petrol is obtained from crude oil (by fractional distillation). (1 mark)
Crude oil is a fossil fuel that took millions of years to form. (1 mark)
It cannot be replaced (or regenerated) in our lifetime. (1 mark)
So it is finite and will run out if we keep using it. (1 mark)

Model answer

Petrol is obtained from crude oil by fractional distillation. Crude oil is a fossil fuel that took millions of years to form, so it cannot be replaced in our lifetime. That makes it finite: it will run out if we keep using it.

Start from the fuel, hop back to crude oil, then bring in the millions of years and the running out.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

What you need to know

Coal, natural gas and crude oil are fossil fuels, and they take millions of years to be produced.
Fossil fuels are non-renewable: they cannot be replaced or regenerated in our lifetime.
That makes them finite: limited quantities that will run out if we keep using them quicker than they regenerate.
Have a goYour mate Sam says: 'Coal is non-renewable because there's hardly any of it.' Sam sounds very sure. What's the real reason?
It takes millions of years to be produced and we use it quicker than it can be regenerated, so it can't be replaced in our lifetime.
Non-renewable is about whether something can be replaced in our lifetime, not about how big the pile looks today.
Renewable resources aren't used up, or can be replaced in our lifetime. Think wool, silk and sunlight.
Have a goOdd one out: wool, silk, sunlight, coal. Which one, and why?
Coal. It's a non-renewable fossil fuel; wool, silk and sunlight are renewable.
Renewable resources aren't used up or can be replaced in our lifetime, and coal can't be replaced in our lifetime.
Petrol, kerosene and diesel oil are non-renewable, because they're all obtained from crude oil.
Have a goA mystery fuel is obtained from crude oil. Renewable or non-renewable, and what's your one-line reason?
Non-renewable: it comes from crude oil, which can't be replaced in our lifetime.
A fuel obtained from crude oil shares crude oil's problem: it can't be replaced in our lifetime.
Methane is found in natural gas, so it's a non-renewable fuel too.
How long reserves last depends on our rate of use and on discovering new reserves.
Using less, or finding more, makes reserves last longer. It doesn't make them renewable.

The big picture

Coal, natural gas and crude oil are fossil fuels. They take millions of years to be produced and we use them quicker than they can be regenerated, so they can't be replaced in our lifetime. That makes them non-renewable and finite. Petrol, kerosene and diesel oil (from crude oil) and methane (found in natural gas) are non-renewable too. Using less, or finding new reserves, only makes reserves last longer.

Key points

1Coal, natural gas and crude oil are fossil fuels. They take millions of years to be produced; crude oil, for example, formed from dead plankton.

2Fossil fuels are non-renewable and finite: they cannot be replaced or regenerated in our lifetime, and they'll run out if we keep using them quicker than they regenerate.

3Renewable resources, such as wool from sheep, silk from silk worms and sunlight used by solar panels, aren't used up or can be replaced in our lifetime.

4Petrol, kerosene and diesel oil are obtained from crude oil, and methane is found in natural gas, so all four are non-renewable fuels.

5How long fossil fuel reserves last depends on the rate of use and on the discovery of new reserves. Reducing use makes them last longer, but they stay non-renewable.

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Worked example

Problem

The methane burning in a Bunsen burner: is it renewable or non-renewable? Build a full-credit reason.

⚠ Watch out

Thinking that using less fossil fuel, or finding more of it, makes it renewable. Those only make the reserves last longer. Non-renewable means it can't be replaced in our lifetime, and that doesn't change.

🧠

Memory hook

Millions of years to make, far quicker to use. 'Lasts longer' is not the same as 'renewable'.

✓

Check yourself

Cover the screen. In two linked sentences, explain why kerosene is non-renewable. Then say in one sentence why finding a new oil reserve doesn't make oil renewable.

Flashcards

(13)

Name the three fossil fuels.

Coal, natural gas and crude oil.

How long do fossil fuels take to be produced?

Millions of years.

What did crude oil form from?

Dead plankton, over millions of years.

What does non-renewable mean?

It cannot be replaced or regenerated in our lifetime.

What does finite mean?

It exists in limited quantities on Earth and will run out if we keep using it.

Why do finite resources run out?

We use them quicker than they can be regenerated, and once used they can't be replaced.

What does renewable mean?

Not used up, or can be replaced in our lifetime.

Give three renewable resources.

Wool (from sheep), silk (from silk worms) and sunlight (used by solar panels to generate electricity).

Where do petrol, kerosene and diesel oil come from?

They're all obtained from crude oil.

What is crude oil, and how is it split into fuels?

A mixture of different hydrocarbons, separated into fractions by fractional distillation.

Where is methane found, and what is it used for?

In natural gas. It's used for cooking and in Bunsen burners.

What two things decide how long fossil fuel reserves last?

The rate at which we use them, and the discovery of new reserves.

We cut our fossil fuel use. Are they now renewable?

No. The reserves last longer, but they're still non-renewable.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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Renewable or non-renewable?

Lasts longer, or renewable?

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