New
New
Year 11
Edexcel B

Developing unconventional oil/gas sources in sensitive or remote areas

I can explain the environmental costs associated with developing unconventional sources of oil and gas - oil from tar sands and gas from shale.

New
New
Year 11
Edexcel B

Developing unconventional oil/gas sources in sensitive or remote areas

I can explain the environmental costs associated with developing unconventional sources of oil and gas - oil from tar sands and gas from shale.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Unconventional sources of oil and gas include shale gas and tar sands.
  2. Unconventional sources of oil and gas are increasingly being exploited.
  3. There are environmental costs associated with developing new unconventional oil and gas sources.

Keywords

  • Unconventional - sources of oil and gas that are relatively difficult to extract because the oil and gas is trapped and cannot flow freely towards an oil well or a gas well

  • Water quality - whether what is in a supply of water (e.g. its chemical or biological contents) make it suitable for a particular kind of use

Common misconception

Fracking only uses water which means its environmental impacts are harmless.

In fact fracking fluid includes toxic chemicals and sand as well as water, which can have serious environmental impacts if they get into groundwater or are spilled. The wastewater left over from fracking also needs to be stored carefully.


To help you plan your year 11 geography lesson on: Developing unconventional oil/gas sources in sensitive or remote areas, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Watching a video to show the processes involved in converting tar sands to oil and extracting gas from shale rocks can help students understand the challenges involved in making use of unconventional oil and gas sources.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is meant by 'access to energy'?
How quickly energy is used
The cost of building power stations
Correct answer: The ability of people to obtain and use energy
The number of power cuts in a region
Q2.
Which of these is a reason why some countries have more energy resources than others?
Correct answer: Their geology contains oil, gas or coal
They have a younger population
They import more food
They have lower rainfall
Q3.
What is one impact of limited access to energy?
Higher internet speeds
Correct answer: Slower economic development
Increased tourism
Lower literacy rates
Q4.
Why is fracking controversial?
Correct answer: It may cause earth tremors and pollute water supplies
It creates renewable energy
It improves water quality
It uses no chemicals
Q5.
Which of the following is a renewable source of energy?
Coal
Correct answer: Solar
Natural gas
Oil
Q6.
Why do some countries with fossil fuels not use them?
They don’t want to sell them
They have too much energy already
They are waiting for better weather
Correct answer: It may not be economically or technically possible to extract them

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

4 Questions

Q1.
Match these keywords to their definitions.
Correct Answer:Unconventional,Oil/gas sources that are harder to extract as they cannot flow freely

Oil/gas sources that are harder to extract as they cannot flow freely

Correct Answer:Water quality,A measure of whether water is clean or suitable for a specific use

A measure of whether water is clean or suitable for a specific use

Correct Answer:Fracking,A method of extracting gas or oil from deep shale rock underground

A method of extracting gas or oil from deep shale rock underground

Q2.
What makes remote areas harder places to develop energy projects?
They always have bad weather
Correct answer: Transport and infrastructure are limited
They have too many people
Oil and gas cannot be found there
Q3.
Why are some people worried about developing energy in sensitive environments?
It leads to more jobs
Correct answer: It can damage fragile ecosystems
It always leads to drought
It stops the use of fossil fuels
Q4.
Some people think fracking only uses water. What else does it involve?
Just steam
Only sea water
Correct answer: Chemicals and sand
Clean rainwater