AQA GCSE Physics: National and Global Energy Resources — Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, in the style and at the standard of the examination. They are not reproduced past-paper questions — examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available free from your board.

Related: National and Global Energy Resources study guide

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Section A

1. Define what is meant by a non-renewable energy resource. [2]

2. State whether nuclear fuel is renewable or non-renewable. [1]

Section B

3. State the three main purposes energy resources are used for. [3]

4. Explain why wind and solar power are described as less reliable than fossil fuels or nuclear power. [2]

5. A student claims that “renewable energy resources have no environmental impact.” Explain why this statement is incorrect, giving one example. [3]

6. State the general trend in the UK’s use of fossil fuels versus renewable resources for electricity generation over recent decades. [2]

7. A power station burns natural gas to generate electricity.

(a) State whether natural gas is a renewable or non-renewable resource. [1] (b) Give one environmental issue associated with burning natural gas. [1] (c) Give one economic or social issue that might be considered when deciding whether to build a new gas power station. [1]

8. List the main renewable energy resources named in the specification. [3]

9. Explain why nuclear power is sometimes chosen over renewable resources for large-scale, reliable electricity generation, despite producing radioactive waste. [3]

10. A country wants to reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels for energy security reasons. Suggest two different types of energy resource it could invest in instead, and give one reason for each choice. [4]

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Answers

1. A non-renewable energy resource is one that is being used up faster than it can be replaced [1], meaning it will eventually run out [1].

2. Non-renewable [1].

3. Generating electricity, heating (including industry, transport and domestic/National Grid use), and transport (fuels for vehicles) [1] [1] [1].

4. Wind and solar power depend on weather conditions (wind speed, sunlight) [1], so they cannot generate electricity reliably on demand the way fossil fuels or nuclear power can, which are available whenever needed regardless of weather [1].

5. The statement is incorrect because “renewable” only means the resource will not run out, not that it is free of environmental impact [1]. For example, large-scale hydro-electric installations can flood land and disrupt river ecosystems, and wind farms can have a visual impact and affect local wildlife [1] [1] — renewable resources still bring genuine environmental, economic or social issues.

6. The use of fossil fuels for electricity generation has been decreasing, while the use of some renewable resources has been increasing, over recent decades [1] [1].

7. (a) Non-renewable (a fossil fuel) [1]. (b) Burning natural gas releases carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change (accept air pollution) [1]. (c) Any reasonable answer, e.g. the cost of building and running the power station, or local opposition/job creation in the surrounding area [1].

8. Any three of: bio-fuel, wind, hydro-electricity, geothermal, the tides, the Sun (solar), water waves [3].

9. Nuclear power can generate electricity reliably, on demand, regardless of weather conditions [1], unlike wind or solar, and produces very large amounts of electricity from a relatively small amount of fuel [1]. The trade-off is that it produces radioactive waste requiring long-term, careful storage [1], which is the environmental issue set against its reliability advantage.

10. Any two, with a linked reason each: nuclear power, since it does not depend on imported fossil fuels and can generate reliably [1] [1]; wind or solar power, since the country’s own weather resources (wind, sunlight) are domestically available and do not need to be imported [1] [1]; bio-fuel or geothermal, if locally available, for similar energy-security reasons [1] [1] (any two distinct, reasonably justified resources gain full credit).

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Where marks are usually lost

• Confusing “renewable” with “clean” or “free of environmental impact” — a resource can be both renewable and still cause genuine environmental issues.
• Forgetting that nuclear fuel is non-renewable, despite not being a fossil fuel in the usual sense.
• Giving a vague environmental answer (“it’s bad for the environment”) rather than a specific, named issue (e.g. “releases carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change”).
• Naming only one of the three uses (electricity, heating, transport) when a question asks broadly what energy resources are used for.
• Describing reliability in vague terms rather than linking it directly to weather-dependence for wind and solar specifically.
• Treating reliability and environmental impact as if they were the same judgement, rather than two separate factors that can point in opposite directions for the same resource.

Approaching energy resources questions

This sub-topic rewards specificity over general impressions: an examiner wants a named resource, a named use, and a named, mechanism-based issue (carbon dioxide and climate change, not just “pollution”), rather than a broad statement that a resource is “good” or “bad” for the environment. When asked to compare resources, structure the answer around the same three lenses the specification itself uses – renewable versus non-renewable, reliability, and environmental/economic/social impact – since exam questions are built directly around this same three-way structure.

Reliability and environmental impact are genuinely separate dimensions, not two ways of saying the same thing – nuclear power is reliable but has a waste-storage issue, while wind power has comparatively few environmental drawbacks but is unreliable. A strong answer keeps these two dimensions distinct rather than collapsing them into a single “good vs bad” judgement about a resource.