And how they work Created by Austin Beidelman TeachersStudents Audience Juniors and Seniors in high school Taking a Physics course Have just competed a unit on energy. Environment In a computer lab (or at a home computer) Wearing headphones Objective Given an energy source, students will be able to design a type of power plant to convert their energy source to electricity. Objective Students will be able to identify the energy transitions that occur in a given power plant correctly. Button Key - This button will take you to the next slide. - This button will take you to the previous slide - This button will take you to the presentations menu. Introduction Remember: The different types of energy that weve covered. Think about how the types of power plants use these types of energy in real life. Energy Review Mechanical Energy is the energy we associate with moving objects. Chemical Energy is the energy associated with the bonds in materials, like in food or firewood. Thermal Energy is the energy associated with heat. Electromagnetic Energy is the energy associated with light. Electrical Energy is the energy the is associated with electricity and power. Why Power Plants? Power plants are electricity generating stations, but they are also real world applications of the types of energy that weve been learning about, and we use power plants every day! Types of Power Plants There are many different types of power plants that we use to generate electricity. We have different types of power plants to make electricity from different sources. Today we are going to look at three of the most common source: fossil fuels, solar power, and wind power. Main Menu Click on a button to go to that destination Types of Power Plants Fossil Fuel Solar Wind Turbine Go to the Practice Quiz Go to the Quiz Fossil Fuel This is the most common power plant that we see today. Humans have been using fossil fuels for energy since the Bronze Age Fossil Fuel For coal plants, energy is stores in the coal as chemical energy. We burn the coal releasing thermal energy that we use to boil water causing steam to rise. The rising steam uses its mechanical energy to spin a turbine attached to a generator which generates electrical energy. Fossil Fuels Other fossil fuel plants mix natural gas with oxygen and burn it. They then use the gases released to spin the turbine and generate electrical energy. Fossil Fuel Process Chemical energy in the fossil fuel is released when burned. Thermal energy is then transferred to water causing it to boil. Mechanical energy comes from the steam rising and then the turbine spinning. Electrical energy is created by the generator as the turbine spins. Pros/Cons of Fossil Fuel Pros Plenty of Fossil Fuels Technology already exists. Cons Efficiency is typically around 33%. Most environmentally destructive energy source. Something to think about! How do fossil fuels affect you both positively and negatively? Solar Power There are two main types of solar power plants. Solar power plants use photovoltaic plates. Solar thermal plants use solar temperature collectors. Photovoltaic Solar Power Photovoltaic plates are clusters of tiny photovoltaic cells that convert solar radiation (electromagnetic energy) directly to electrical energy. Solar to electric in just one step! Solar Thermal Energy This type of solar power converts the suns radiation to thermal energy. The thermal energy is then used to boil water and capture the steams mechanical energy to spin a turbine and generate electrical energy. (like in the fossil fuel plants.) Solar Energy Process Photovoltaic Electromagnetic energy from the sun shines on photovoltaic plates. The photovoltaic plates convert the sunlight into electrical energy. Solar Thermal Electromagnetic energy from the sun is captured as thermal energy. We use the thermal energy to boil water and capture the steams mechanical energy to spin a turbine. We use the turbines mechanical energy to generate electrical energy. Solar Energy Pros/Cons Pros Gives off no pollution Can produce energy in remote locations (like space) Can be installed almost anywhere. Cons High initial cost Can only produce energy during the daytime Weather can affect efficiency. Something to think about! Where else could we put solar panels to collect energy? Wind Turbines Windmills were used as early as 200 B.C. in some parts of the world. More recently, weve begun to use them as a source of energy production. Wind Turbines Wind Turbines use their specially shaped blades to capture mechanical energy from the wind. The gearbox changes the blades low speed rotation into a higher speed rotation for the turbine, which uses the mechanical energy to produce electrical energy using a generator. Wind Turbines Normally, we see horizontal axis wind turbines (HAWTs), but there are also vertical axis wind turbines (VAWTs) that spin around their support. Wind Turbine Process Wind turbines take mechanical energy from the moving air. The gearbox takes the rotation of the blades, which is usually slow, and speeds the rotation of the turbine up, so that it spins fast enough to power the generator. The generator uses the mechanical energy from the spinning turbine and converts it to electrical energy. Wind Turbines: Pros/Cons Pros Cons No pollution. Many different sizes allow them to be used almost anywhere. Attract lightning strikes in open fields. Can cause TV interference. Need long periods of wind to produce electrical energy. The noise has been known to upset livestock and humans that live near them. Something to think about! Why do you think the blades on wind turbines are shaped this way? Quiz Instructions Question 1 A)Since the Industrial Revolution B)Since the Coal Age C)Since the Bronze Age A B C Question 1 A: Since the Industrial Revolution Sorry, this is the wrong answer. Fossil fuels played a large part in the Industrial Revolution, but we were using them before that. Question 1 A: Since the Coal Age Sorry, this isnt the right answer. The Coal Age is a term that refers to the age of dependency on coal and fossil fuels, but isnt when humans began using them. Question 1 A: Since the Bronze Age Congratulations! Historians report that humans have been using for fossil fuels for energy, such as coal fires for smelting, since the Bronze Age. Question 2 A)Thermal B)Mechanical C)All of the above A B C Question 2 A: Thermal Energy Sorry, this one isnt the right answer. The name is a dead giveaway that there is thermal energy, but thats not all. Question 2 A: Mechanical Energy Sorry, this isnt the right answer. When we use solar thermal energy for power, we do spin a turbine, but how do we spin the turbine? Question 2 A: All of the above Correct! We use thermal energy to boil water and we use the steams mechanical energy to spin the turbine. Question 3 A To turn the turbine B To change the speed of the turbines rotation C To make the blades spin faster A B C Question 3 A: To turn the turbine Sorry, the wind is what turns the turbine, not the gearbox. Question 3 A: To change the speed of the turbines rotation. This is correct! The gearbox changes the slow rotation of the blades to a faster rotation in the turbine. Congratulations of finishing the practice quiz! Feel free to browse through any of the categories as you wish before attempting the quiz. Question 3 A: To make the blades spin faster. Sorry, this isnt the right answer. Only the wind controls how fast the blades spin. Question 1 If you lived in a temperate valley, where the wind blows regularly what type of power plants would be most effective? A) Fossil Fuels B) Solar Plant (either thermal or photovoltaic) C Wind Turbines A B C Question 1 A: Fossil Fuels The fossil fuel plants take up a lot of space and you usually have to transport the fuel in, which could create logistical problems. It might be more effective to use a regularly available energy source in the local environment. Question 1 A: Solar Power Sorry, this isnt the right answer. Solar power is effective in most areas, but if one source of energy is regularly available, we would want to utilize that first. Question 1 A: Wind Turbines This is the correct answer, wind turbines will take up little room and utilize the resource that we know is regularly available in the valley. Question 2 Which type of power plant that we discussed is the most reliable? A) Fossil Fuels B) Solar Power C) Wind Turbines A B C Question 2 A: Fossil Fuels This is the correct answer! Fossil fuel based power plants dont rely on the weather to provide power and thus can be counted as more reliable energy sources. Question 2 A: Solar Power Im sorry, this answer isnt correct. Solar plants are dependent on the weather conditions to effectively provide power, and this arent completely reliable as energy sources. Question 2 A: Wind Turbines Im sorry, this isnt the correct answer. Wind turbines rely on a particular type of weather to effectively provide energy, and as a result, arent as reliable sources of energy. Question 3 What part of the wind turbine converts energy into electrical energy? A Blades B) Gearbox C Generator A B C Question 3 A: Blades Im sorry, this isnt the right answer. The blades collect the winds mechanical energy that we use to generate electricity, but we dont actually use the blades to generate electrical energy. Question 3 A: Gearbox Im sorry, this isnt the correct answer. The gearbox affects the turbines rate of spinning, but doesnt actually generate the electrical energy. Question 3 A: Generator This is the correct answer. Generators are used in a lot of different types of power plants to convert the mechanical energy of a spinning turbine to electrical energy. Question 4 Which of the power plants that we discussed is not easily installed in most places? A) Fossil Fuels B) Solar Power C Wind Turbines A B C Question 4 A: Fossil Fuels This is the correct answer. Fossil Fuel Plants take up a lot of space and arent easily installed everywhere. Question 4 A: Solar Power Im sorry, this is not the correct answer. Solar power plants can be installed almost anywhere since all you really need are photovoltaic plates to generate the electricity. Question 4 A: Wind Turbines Im sorry, this is not the correct answer. Wind turbines can be installed most places since they have a small footprint (are of space taken up) due to the fact that they are tall rather than spread out. Question 5 Which of the power plants we discussed has the least negative impact on their surroundings? A) Fossil Fuels B) Solar Power C Wind Turbines A B C Question 5 A: Fossil Fuels Im sorry, this isnt the correct answer. Fossil fuel plants release a lot of pollution into their environments. Question 5 A: Solar Power Thats correct, solar power doesnt cause any negative affects to their environment. Congratulations on completing the quiz! Question 5 A: Wind Turbines Im sorry, this isnt the correct answer. Wind turbines can create interference with electromagnetic signals travelling through their region, as well as produce noise that the livestock and humans nearby will dislike.