Grade level: 4th – 5th grades
Skills: Subtractions (4 digits)
Related environmental issues: Energy
To meet our energy demands, our country has built energy facilities using non-renewable energy sources (such as coal, natural gas, and oil) and renewable energy (such as wind and solar). Once those facilities get old, they need to be retired. The table below shows the United States’ plan by energy sources by 2021. The table illustrates how much of energy generation capacity will be added and retired by 2021.
- Calculate the difference between addition and retirement for each energy source and fill in the blanks.
- Energy generation capacity of which energy source will decrease the most by 2021?
- Energy generation capacity of which energy source will increase the most by 2021?
Sources: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 2018. Office of Energy Projects Energy Infrastructure Update
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Answer keys
1.
2. Coal (Coal is the only energy source whose capacity will decrease by 2021)
3. Natural Gas