Energy Quiz Prep

•What is a renewable fuel?

•One that replaces itself quickly, such as firewood and water power

What is a

non-renewabble fuel?

•One that cannot be renewed or that takes millions of years to renew

•What is an inexhaustible fuel?

•A fuel that will replace itself as quickly as we can possibly use it

•Crude Oil

• Is it renewable or non-renewable?

•Non-renewable

•Conventional nuclear fission

•Is it renewable or non-renewable?

•Non renewable unless we make plutonium in breeder reactors

•Geothermal Energy

• Is it renewable or non-renewable?

•Renewable

•Solar Energy• Is it renewable or non-renewable?

• Inexhaustible, so it is renewable, at least for a few billion years

•Wind Energy

• Is it renewable or non-renewable?

•Renewable

•Conventional Natural Gas

• Is it renewable or non-renewable?

•Non-renewable

•Wind Energy

• Is it renewable or non-renewable?

•Renewable

•Coal

•Is it renewable or non-renewable?

•Non Renewable

•Biomass

• Is it renewable or non-renewable?

•Renewable

•Hydropower

• Is it renewable or non-renewable?

•Renewable

•What is the definition of a fossil fuel?

•A fuel that was once living millions of years ago

•What are the 3 fossil fuels?

•Coal

•Oil

•Natural gas

•How is coal extracted from the ground?

•Either strip mining or underground mining

• What is the environmental effect of mining coal?

• It leaves mines or pits that fill up with acidic waste water that may have to be treated forever

• It leaves huge piles of loose waste rock

•Who uses the most coal?

•Power plants

•What are the environmental problems with burning coal?

• Coal gives off more carbon dioxide than any other fossil fuel

• Coal contains sulfur that when burned produces acid rain

• Some coal contains mercury and heavy metals.

•How much coal supply do we have?

•Hundreds of years

•How are oil and gas extracted?

•Deep wells are drilled

• What is the environmental problem with drilling for oil and gas?

• Oil Spills

• Uses a LOT of water

• Weak wells require HOT water

• Can cause land to subside

•What is good about oil and natural gas?

• They are convenient to store and ship

• Oil is readily converted into gasoline

• Gasoline is portable for cars

•What is the down side to using oil and N gas?

• Carbon dioxide

• Acid Rain

• Smog

• We need it for other purposes.

• We have to import a lot of it

•How much oil and N gas is available?

•Only a few decades of proven reserves exist

•Hydrogen Fuel• Is it renewable or non-renewable?

•Renewable from sea water

•What is good about hydrogen?

• It is portable, and it’s only emission is water

•What is bad about Hydrogen?

• It takes more energy in the form of electricity to make it than it gives off when you use it as a fuel

•What is good about biomass?

• The net amount of carbon dioxide produced is zero. Co2 is used by the plant, and when it is burned, the next crop uses it all up

• It can be made into portable car fuel

•What is bad about biomass fuel?

• It uses land that we need for food crops

•What is good about hydropower?

• It produces a lot of electricity without polluting the air or water

•What is bad about hydropower?

• Dams harm fish reproduction

• Dam lakes fill up with silt

• Power has to be used near the dam

•What is good about wind energy?

•Totally non polluting

•What is bad about wind power?

• You never know when the wind will blow

• The best winds are often not where there are people to use the power

•How can we capture solar energy?

•Photo cells

•Reflectors and boilers

•Passive heating

• What is the problem with photocells?

• They’re still pretty expensive

• They don’t work when the sun isn’t shining

•What is the problem with reflector boilers?

• They take a LOT of room

• They don’t work when the sun isn’t shining

• What is the problem with passive solar?

•It is fairly limited to heating

•They don’t work when the sun isn’t shining

•What is good about home Geothermal Heat pump energy?

• Low temp set with a heat pump are very efficient to run

• Uses stored sun’s energy

• Save a LOT on heating and cooling

• Inexpensive to install

•What is bad about geothermal?

Low temperature sets are only good for heating.

Hot sets can only be used in a few areas because the hot rock is too deep

•What is good about Nuclear Fission

• No air or water pollution

• Relatively inexpensive to run once the plant is online

• Can build them close to cities (or can we?)

•What is bad about Nuclear Fission

• Waste must be stored for thousands of years

• Mining for fuel pollutes

• Boom!