Cambridge O-Level Environmental Management: Energy Resources — Practice Questions (5014, 2027-2029)

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs — examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available free from your board.

Related: Energy Resources study guide (2027-2029)

Note: these questions follow the 2027-2029 edition of 5014, where energy is sub-topics 1.4-1.6 of Topic 1 Natural resources. If you sit 5014 in November 2026 in Mauritius, you sit the 2025-2026 edition instead, where energy is its own topic; use the 2025-2026 Energy and the Environment practice questions.

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Section A

1. State whether each of the following is renewable (non-finite) or non-renewable (finite): coal, biomass, nuclear power, tidal power. [4]

2. Explain why nuclear power is classified as non-renewable even though it does not burn a fuel. [2]

3. Describe how a hydro-electric power station generates electricity. [3]

4. Describe the formation of coal. [3]

Section B

5. Explain two factors that can increase a country’s demand for energy. [4]

6. (a) State the difference between blue hydrogen fuel and green hydrogen fuel. [2] (b) Describe how a ground source heat pump provides heating. [2]

7. A country is choosing between a new coal-fired power station and a large solar farm. Discuss the benefits and limitations of each option, and recommend one. [6]

Section C

8. (a) Define fracking. [1] (b) Discuss the benefits and limitations of fracking. [6]

9. In a town, solar panels produce 50 MW at 15:00 and 5 MW at 18:00, when electricity demand is highest. (a) Calculate the percentage fall in solar output between 15:00 and 18:00. Show your working. [2] (b) Explain how battery storage could help the town meet its evening demand. [2]

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Answers

1. Coal: non-renewable [1]. Biomass: renewable [1]. Nuclear power: non-renewable [1]. Tidal power: renewable [1].

2. Nuclear power uses uranium, which is mined and is a finite resource [1]; the classification depends on whether the resource is used up faster than it is replaced, not on whether it is burned [1].

3. Water is stored behind a dam [1]; it flows down through pipes and turns turbines [1]; the turbines drive generators that produce electricity [1].

4. Plants in swamps die and fall into waterlogged, low-oxygen conditions, so they do not fully decay [1]; the material is buried under layers of sediment [1]; heat and pressure over millions of years turn it into coal [1].

5. Any two, 2 marks each (factor [1], explanation [1]): human population size — more people need more energy for homes, transport and food production [1] [1]; personal and national wealth — richer households own more appliances and vehicles [1] [1]; industry — industrial growth needs energy for machinery and manufacturing [1] [1]; transport — more vehicles and journeys use more fuel [1] [1]; climate — very cold or very hot conditions increase demand for heating or cooling [1] [1].

6. (a) Blue hydrogen is produced from natural gas [1]; green hydrogen is produced using renewable resources [1]. (b) It transfers heat from the ground [1] into the building for heating, using electricity to run the pump [1].

7. Coal — benefit: reliable output that can be adjusted to demand, day and night [1]; limitation: releases carbon dioxide and air pollutants, and coal is finite [1]. Solar — benefit: no emissions during generation and no fuel cost [1]; limitation: no output at night and less in cloudy weather [1]. Recommendation with a reason [2]: for example, the solar farm, because it does not add to climate change or depend on a finite fuel [1], provided battery storage or another source covers the night [1]. (Credit a reasoned recommendation of coal, for example for a country with its own coal and little sunshine.)

8. (a) The extraction of natural gas or petroleum from shale rock by hydraulic fracturing [1]. (b) Two benefits [2]: for example, access to gas that could not otherwise be extracted [1]; increased national energy supply and fewer imports, or jobs and tax income [1]. Two limitations [2]: for example, large volumes of water are used [1]; risk of ground water contamination, or small earthquakes [1]. Reasoned conclusion [2]: for example, fracking can improve energy security in the short term [1], but because it is still a fossil fuel it adds to greenhouse gases, so it is not a long-term solution [1].

9. (a) (50 − 5) / 50 × 100 [1] = 90% [1]. (b) Batteries store surplus electricity generated by the solar panels during the day [1] and release it in the evening, when solar output is low and demand is high [1].

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Where marks are usually lost

• Classifying nuclear power as renewable.
• Leaving out biomass, or not knowing it is a biofuel.
• Saying blue hydrogen is “made from water” or green hydrogen “from gas” — it is the other way round.
• Giving only benefits in a “discuss” answer, or no recommendation when one is asked for.
• Calculating a percentage change from the new value instead of the original value.