Q1. [3] straightforward thorough-understanding
Natural gas has grown into a major energy resource in India. Identify any THREE distinct sectors or uses for which natural gas is now employed, and briefly explain why it is considered an environment-friendly fuel compared to coal or oil.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:34 · grounding rag
Model Answer
Three sectors where natural gas is used:
- Power sector – used as fuel to generate electricity.
- Industrial/Chemical sector – used as raw material in chemical, petrochemical, and fertiliser industries.
- Transport and domestic sector – used as CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) for vehicles and PNG (Piped Natural Gas) for cooking at homes.
Environment-friendly fuel: Natural gas burns more cleanly than coal or oil, producing fewer pollutants and lower carbon emissions. It leaves no ash residue unlike coal, making it a comparatively cleaner and environment-friendly fuel.
Source: Conventional Sources of Energy, Chapter 5 — Natural Gas
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Explanation
- The question has two parts — three sectors and why environment-friendly. Address both clearly or you lose marks.
- The textbook explicitly lists power, industrial/chemical/fertiliser, and transport/domestic (CNG/PNG) as uses — use these directly.
- For the environmental part, the textbook implies cleaner burning compared to coal/oil; link it to fewer emissions and no ash. Keep it concise — this is a 3-mark answer, so 2 marks likely go to the sectors (1 each for any two/three) and 1 mark to the environmental reasoning.