Revision Assessment #1

POWER RESOURCES/ MINERALS

Explain how climate causes problems in developing hydel power in Pakistan. You should
develop your answer.[4]
The high temperatures in Pakistan during the summers makes it difficult to develop HEP as it
increases the rate of evaporation resulting in less water available for HEP. On the other hand
in winters the low temperatures result in no melting of glaciers and frozen rivers which
reduces the amount of water available for HEP. Rainfall is another factor affecting the
development more rainfall means more water available for HEP but in Pakistan the rainfall is
unreliable in terms of amount and time and scarce rainfall results in less water available for
HEP.
State three reasons why the contribution of renewable energy resources, other than hydel
power, is smaller in Pakistan as compared to the other countries.[3]
The set up and management costs of the other renewable energy resources is very high
especially tidal power. The climate of Pakistan does not support the setting up of such
resources especially the wind turbines as they need heavy wind to move and it also increases
burden on the scarce land of Pakistan.
Suggest two ways solar energy can help solve the problems of producing and distributing
energy in the rural areas of Pakistan.[2]
Pakistan has more and longer sunny days which support the setting up of solar panels and
these can also be set up individually in areas far away from the transmission lines so
electricity can be supplied to rural areas aswell.

Pakistan is going through energy crisis and is already deficient in other energy resources such as coal,
oil and gas. Nuclear power can help solve this problem as a small amount of uranium can produce a
large amount of energy. Moreover, this is an environment friendly gas and causes less pollution and
global warming, less accidents have been reported in nuclear powers stations, Pakistan is a
developing country and nuclear power can boost up industrialization. But on the other hand there
are some limitations and disadvantages, Pakistan being a financially unstable country cannot afford
to set up these expensive nuclear power stations, the fuel rods also emit harmful rays that can cause
cancer, The nuclear waste also remains radioactive for a long period of time which causes problems
to reprocess and store it. We should not rely on these non- renewable energy resources rather
develop the renewable energy resources such as solar and wind power.

Nov 18
Suggest three difficulties that may be faced in getting the minerals to the export market.[3]

Minerals are bulky items and their transportation cost is very high. Moreover Paksitan has
poor roads and vehicles/containers that carry these minerals to the export market. These
minerals are mainly extracted in areas away from export market.

what type of coal is imported and how it is used?[2]

Anthracite is mainly imported that is used in steel industries for steel making.
Suggest two reasons why shaft mining is carried out. [2]

Shaft mining is carried out to access the minerals deep underground and to extract the
minerals from seams at different depths.

Give two disadvantages of using this method.[2]

Shaft mining is dangerous as many harmful gases are
present underground causing health problems for
miners, The risk of explosions may cause the tunnel
roofs to collapse trapping the miners underground.
Explain why so little coal is used in electricity production in Pakistan? [3]
The coal produced in Pakistan is mostly of a low quality that has low carbon
content and high moisture and ash content which causes a lot of pollution.
Explain what the fuel CNG is and state the main reasons of using this fuel.[4]
CNG is compressed natural gas which is a cheaper, easily portable and
environment friendly gas which causes less pollution. It is also and alternative
to the expensive fuels such as diesel and petrol. Pakistan also has many
reserves of this so it can be produced domestically reducing the need of
importing oil.
 Pakistan is going through energy crisis and is already deficient in non-renewable energy
resources so it can be a wise decision to develop renewable energy resources as they are
available in an unlimited amount and will never run out. The climate of Pakistan also supports
the setting up of these resources especially solar power as Pakistan has more and longer
sunny days which can help in generating electricity. Solar panels and wind turbines can also
be set up individually in areas far away from the transmission lines. The renewable energy
resources are also environment friendly causing no harm to the atmosphere and pollution.
But Pakistan being a financially unstable country does not have enough funds to set up or
develop these expensive resources. Moreover, they increase burden on the scarce land
resources of Pakistan especially wind turbines, the climate of Pakistan also does not support
the setting up of these resources such as for wind turbines which require heavy wind to move
and generate electricity.

Nov 16

Name a dam [1]

Trabela dam
How is electricity generated in a dam?[4]
The force of running water is used to spin the turbine and this makes the shaft to spin rapidly
inside a magnetic field in the generator which generates electricity the electric current is
regulated by the transformer and sent through transmission lines at the required voltage.
June 16
Name the location of ONE oil refinery in Pakistan. Give one reason to suggest why it is there.[2]

Attock oil refinery is located in the Potwar plateau as it is near the oil field to refine the crude oil.

Give two reasons why Pakistan imports large amount of oil.[2]

Pakistan imports large amounts of oil because of its high demand and also because Pakistan
cannot produce it domestically due to less oil reserves.
Explain why electricity Production does not meet the demand for electricity in many parts of
Pakistan. You should develop your answer.[4]
Pakistan is going through energy crisis and is deficient in natural resources so we are mainly
dependent on imported fuel which has a high demand and is used to generate electricity.
Moreover, Pakistan is a financially unstable country so it can neither import enough fuel to
supply electricity to all areas of the country nor develop renewable energy resources. Many
areas of Pakistan such as the northern areas are not accessible due to their rugged landscape
and are far away from transmission lines so it is difficult to supply electricity to such areas.
What are the disadvantages of generating electricity by wave and tidal power? [3]
No doubt that these energy resources can help solve the energy crisis but both these resources
are very expensive to set up for a poor country like Pakistan. Moreover, the tidal power destroys
natural habitats and can disrupt local shipping if not properly developed.
 I agree with view B more than view A as these small scale power generation resources are
more convenient to develop for a financially unstable country like Pakistan as it cannot afford
the setting up of resources such as mentioned in view A. Moreover the resources like solar,
wind and biogas are all renewable energy resources means that these are available in an
unlimited amount and will never run out so it is wiser to rely on these resources than
depending on the non-renewable resources such as oil, gas and nuclear for the generation of
electricity. Also these renewable energy resources mentioned in view B are environment
friendly and cause no harm to the atmosphere and pollution. No doubt that the large scale
power generation resources mentioned in view A will help to solve the energy crisis Pakistan is
going through as they produce energy at a large scale but require a large land to set up, are
expensive and cause pollution.

June 17

Sui in balochistan, pirkoh in balochistan and mari in lower Sindh

Name three gas producing regions in Pakistan.[3]

Explain one way of transporting natural gas to parts of Pakistan not served by pipelines.
Natural gas if cooled at a very low temperature can be converted in to liquid gas called LPG liquefied
petroleum gas which can be transported to areas which are not served by pipelines in special containers
especially mountainous areas, by road or railway

Explain one limitation of using this method. You should develop your answer.[4]
This method is mainly used to transport gas to mountainous areas in the north which are not
served by pipelines by road or railway but the mountainous areas are not accessed by
railways because of its rugged landscape railways cannot be set up there and the roads that
are present there are in a poor condition and are mostly rock strewn so it is difficult to
transport natural gas to such areas.

Pakistan has many natural gas reserves and if we make use of modern technology and equipment to extract the gas we would
be able to produce enough gas domestically to solve the energy crisis and it will also reduce to need to import oil thus reducing
burden on our economy and improving the balance of payment. We should also develop our remote areas and our transport
system to access the untapped natural gas resources. But Pakistan being a financially unstable country cannot afford much
development, we cannot afford the modern machinery and we also lack technical experts who have the knowledge of using
 June 19
Explain two benefits of generating electricity using Hydel power. You should develop your
answer.[4]

Pakistan has the potential to develop HEP in the northern areas where we have the
mountainous landscape and steep slopes required for the set up and the precipitation is also
high. Generating electricity is beneficial as it produces a large amount of electricity using the
flow of running water which is a renewable energy resource so it will never run out.
Moreover, water being a renewable energy resource is environment friendly and does not
cause pollution.
Name two types of coal found in Pakistan and explain the characteristics of each.[4]

Mostly lignite coal is extracted in Pakistan which is a low quality coal with low carbon
content and high moisture and ash content and causes pollution. Small amount of
Bituminous coal is also extracted in Pakistan which is a better quality coal than lignite and is
very dark in colour has high carbon content.

State one major use of coal.[1]

Power generation
 I agree with view B more than view A, to assure a sustainable development of energy resources it is
wiser to rely on renewable energy resources for the generation of electricity as they are available in
an unlimited amount and will never run out. Moreover, these renewable energy resources are
environment friendly and they do not harm the atmosphere and cause no pollution and it is also
convenient for Pakistan to develop these resources as we are already deficient in non-renewable
energy resources such as oil and coal and have to import large amounts of these to meet the energy
requirement. On the other hand fossil fuels are non-renewable energy resources and are available in
a limited amount and will eventually be exhausted one day, they also cause a lot of pollution and we
are already deficient in fossil fuels.

June 20
State two uses of each mineral in Pakistan
Limestone and gypsum [2]

Limestone and gypsum both are used in

making of cement Both of these are also used
to treat salinity .

A few steps can be taken to make the extraction and development of mining sustainable which
include, the government should keep in mind the concept of sustainable development while making
policies which affect the minerals and its industries, most importantly mining should be carried out on
scientific lines with the use of modern technology and machinery, the adverse impacts of mining on
environment should be kept in mind and mining should be planned accordingly and ensure that waste
is treated before its final disposal and land should also be levelled and depressions should be filled
after extraction of minerals. But Pakistan being a financially unstable country lacks finances to bring
about development and cannot afford modern technology and machinery and we also lack technical
experts who possess knowledge about the modern machinery, The mining sector is somewhat ignored
by the government and low priority is given to its development.
June 21