Question

Explain why fossil fuels are exhausted natural resources.

Answer 1

Hint: Firstly lets see how fossil fuel is formed, it is formed by the natural process like the decomposition of buried dead organisms, plants that get deposited under thousands of feet, these are containing organic molecules that release energy on combustion. It is also found that such organisms and their resulting fossil fuels typically have an age of millions of years.

Step by step solution of answer:
- Basic information - as we know that fossil fuels are present in limited quantity On earth’s surface and the new mineral growth from the dead remains of animals as well as plants will need a lot of time to form under high temperature and pressure. And, such extreme conditions can’t be prepared in a laboratory.
- Burning of fossil fuels- when fossil fuels are burned then the carbon and hydrogen atom of the methane molecule, reacts with the oxygen present in air and will lead to formation of carbon dioxide and water molecules. You can see the reaction here,
\[C{{H}_{4}}+2{{O}_{2}}\to C{{O}_{2}}+{{H}_{2}}O+ Energy\]

- Now let's see, are Fossil Fuels Renewable or nonrenewable-
Actually, fossil fuels are a non-renewable source of energy i.e., once used they cannot be replaced. Most of the energy used by us is obtained by the burning of fossil fuels. These fossil fuels are used up at a faster rate by us. With the increased demand for the production of various energies nowadays, fossil fuel energy is declining. It is found very difficult to replace them. That is why they are known as a non-renewable source of energy.
And therefore we can conclude that we keep fossil fuels under the category of exhaustible natural resources.

Additional information:
Disadvantages-There are many more disadvantages of fossil fuels seen like-
- As we have discussed that these emit carbon dioxide when burnt, which is a major greenhouse gas and the primary source of pollution which can lead to global warming.
- It is also seen that combustion of fossil fuels makes the environment more acidic. This has led to unpredictable and negative changes in the environment.
-It is also found that harvesting of fossil fuels also causes fatal diseases among the people. For e.g., the coal miners often suffer from Black Lung Disease.
-Advantages:
-We on our daily basis can see that there are many advantages of fossil fuels are found like,
fossil fuels can generate a large amount of electricity at a single location.
-They can be found very easily. For example, we can see that nowadays, petrol is available at each and every place.
-They are cost-effective.

Note:
- As we have already discussed much about fossil fuels, it is to be noted that due to the limited time and limited quantity to renew it, we keep fossil fuels under the category of exhaustible natural resources.