Lesson Y8-U06-L07

Y8-U06-L07 Fossil Fuels vs Renewables: A Difficult Trade-Off Quiz: KS3 Geography, Unit 12

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y8-U06-L07, Fossil Fuels vs Renewables: A Difficult Trade-Off: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Geography (National Curriculum), Unit 12: Year 8: Resources: Feeding and Powering the World, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Why are fossil fuels described as reliable?

    • They can only be used in windy places on the coast
    • They can run at any time, day or night, so their supply is steady
    • They need no storage because they release power very slowly
    • They are made from sunlight that never weakens or stops

  2. What is a main disadvantage of burning fossil fuels?

    • They make the wind blow less often over nearby cities
    • They stop working as soon as the weather turns cold
    • They cost nothing to extract from the ground
    • They release carbon emissions that warm the planet

  3. Which of these releases almost no carbon emissions?

    • Oil
    • Coal
    • Natural gas
    • Solar power

  4. What does the term 'intermittent' mean for an energy source?

    • Made from dead plants and animals over millions of years
    • Very cheap to build and run for many years
    • Not steady or always on, like wind power when the wind stops
    • Able to store electricity in giant batteries for decades

  5. What does 'trade-off' mean?

    • A choice where you gain one thing but have to give up another
    • A deal where two countries share their energy for free
    • A short lesson on how to read a pie chart
    • A price paid to a power station for each unit of electricity

  6. Carbon released per unit of electricity (g CO2 per kWh): coal 820, gas 490, solar 48, wind 12. Which source releases the most?

    • Wind, at about 12 grams
    • Gas, at about 490 grams
    • Solar, at about 48 grams
    • Coal, at about 820 grams

  7. Carbon released per unit of electricity (g CO2 per kWh): coal 820, gas 490, solar 48, wind 12. Which source releases the least?

    • Solar, at about 48 grams
    • Coal, at about 820 grams
    • Gas, at about 490 grams
    • Wind, at about 12 grams

  8. Coal made up about 28 percent of UK electricity in 2010 and about 1 percent in 2023. What happened to coal's share?

    • It fell sharply, from about 28 percent to about 1 percent
    • It fell from about 47 percent down to about 28 percent
    • It rose steadily, from about 28 percent to about 47 percent
    • It stayed at about 28 percent throughout the whole period

  9. Renewables made up about 9 percent of UK electricity in 2010. Roughly what share had they reached by 2023?

    • About 25 percent
    • About 37 percent
    • About 43 percent
    • About 9 percent

  10. Renewables rose from about 9 percent of UK electricity in 2010 to about 43 percent in 2023. By how much did they rise?

    • About 52 percentage points
    • About 43 percentage points
    • About 34 percentage points
    • About 24 percentage points

  11. In the UK, which source made up about 47 percent of electricity in 2010 and about 35 percent in 2023?

    • Nuclear
    • Coal
    • Gas
    • Renewables

  12. Which of these is a cost of switching to renewables?

    • Renewables need the oceans to be drained before any building
    • Renewables produce more carbon dioxide than coal stations do
    • Building wind and solar farms costs a lot of money up front
    • Renewables make fossil fuel jobs more secure for workers

  13. Why do renewable sources sometimes need backup or storage?

    • Because wind and solar are intermittent and their output varies with the weather
    • Because renewables burn more fuel than coal stations do
    • Because renewables produce too much electricity at all times, so the surplus must be stored away safely
    • Because renewables can only be built inside large cities

  14. Why might a coal town lose out when its power station closes?

    • It can lose jobs, even though the air becomes cleaner
    • It gains coal jobs from the new wind farms built nearby
    • It has to pay for air filters to be fitted in every home
    • It is forced to stop using all forms of electricity

  15. Which statement fairly compares fossil fuels and renewables?

    • Fossil fuels are reliable but high-carbon; renewables are clean but can be intermittent
    • Both run out eventually and both are cheap to build and run
    • Fossil fuels are clean and never run out; renewables are high-carbon and unreliable
    • Both are reliable and both release almost no carbon emissions

  16. A solar farm emits about 48 g CO2 per kWh and a gas station about 490 g per kWh. Roughly how many times more carbon does gas release per unit?

    • About 10 times
    • About 20 times
    • About 5 times
    • About 2 times

  17. What is a benefit of renewables that fossil fuels lack?

    • They run reliably at all times regardless of the weather
    • They need no building cost or land at any point
    • They release almost no carbon emissions and will not run out
    • They produce power from carbon dioxide stored underground

  18. A country relies almost entirely on wind power and has no storage. What is the main risk?

    • Wind would become a fossil fuel after several years of use
    • Turbines would need coal to heat water before they could spin
    • Carbon emissions would rise sharply above coal levels
    • Power may fail on calm days, so the lights could go out

  19. Which is the best justification for keeping some gas power in a mix that is mostly renewable?

    • Gas releases no carbon, so it is cleaner than wind and solar
    • Gas removes the need for any turbines in the energy mix
    • Gas can be switched on quickly when wind and solar output drops
    • Gas is renewable because it is made from living plants

  20. Why is switching to renewables described as a difficult trade-off?

    • Renewables give guaranteed power but never need any building work
    • Renewables give reliable power but release more carbon than gas does, so they are never a choice for countries
    • Renewables give cheap power but need coal stations to run all year
    • Renewables give cleaner power but can be intermittent and cost a lot to build up front

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