4.0 Use Of Electrical Energy Affects Society & Environment

Question 1

Turbine

Answer 1

It is a long shaft with many fan blades
The stream hits the blades to turn the turbine and make the shaft rotate a large electromagnetic coil generator to produce electricity mechanically
They disrupt the fish and animals in the nearby water

Question 2

Nuclear fission

Answer 2

Reaction that splits elements and releases an enormous amount of energy
It uses a nuclear reactor, atoms of a heavy element, usually uranium, are split in a chain reaction.

Question 3

Geothermal energy

Answer 3

In the world, hot water and steam naturally come to the surface after having been heated by hot rock within earths crust. This steam channels through pipes and used to drive turbines
Sometimes water is put back into the ground to take full advantage of the hot geothermal energy source

Question 4

Cogeneration

Answer 4

Making double use of energy
Example: industrial processes such as glass manufacturing, uses very high temp furnaces. The waste heat from the process can be used to make steam. This steam is then driven into a turbine to generate electricity

Question 5

Biomass

Answer 5

source of fuel that can be described as garbage It is biodegradable waste that is put in landfills… when it decomposes, it produces combustible gases that can be controlled and used as fuel for steam driven generators
Ex. Yard clippings and dead trees can be burned to makes steam

Question 6

Tides

Answer 6

Moving water that can power turbines to run generators
It gets trapped in a reservoir and let out past turbines
Another way is to generate electricity is by using the up and down movement of water to drive a piston connected to a generator
Release a great amount of warm water into nearby lakes and rivers, harming ecosystems and fish

Question 7

Wind

Answer 7

It’s can be harnessed to turn a shaft. Windmills do this and have changed many designs to end up with an efficient propeller shaped blade. The energy that the windmills produce is limited to the weather.
Take up lots of land to receive a practical amount of electricity

Question 8

Solar

Answer 8

Solar panels are soaked metal plates in a solution, when exposed to sunlight they detect a small voltage. Scientists today use silicone to produce solar cells that are more efficient to make current. They power anything from calculators to spacecraft.
Take up land space to generate a practical amount of electricity

Question 9

Batteries- Fuel cells

Answer 9

They generate electricity directly from a chemical reaction with a fuel such as hydrogen (comes from sources such as gasoline) The more fuel added the more electricity produced. Larger fuel cells can power electric vehicles, whereas smaller ones are used in laptop computers.

Question 10

Fly ash

Answer 10

When coal burns it leaves behind a powdery ash. It is carried up the smokestacks of power plants and escapes into the atmosphere as pollution.
The ash contains small amounts of mercury which is poisonous and causes damage to the nervous system.
Some molecules released are sulphur dioxide which causes acid rain, nitrogen oxides which cause air pollution, carbon dioxide which contribute to global warming.

Question 11

Coal

Answer 11

It comes from strip mines. The coal deposits near the surface and then bulldozers clear the soil and load it onto trucks to ship away. They sometimes use explosives to break up the coal to the surface. The natural environment is destroyed in the process and is not fully restored.

Question 12

Oil and gas wells

Answer 12

Affects the area around them and sometimes deposit poisonous gases. Measures can be taken to prevent the release of these gases in the environment. Concentrations of chemicals in the environment around wells and plants are monitored for safety.

Question 13

Electrical generation- harms environment

Answer 13

Steam turbines: often release a great amount of warm water into nearby lakes and rivers. This results in an increase in water temp there far harming fish.
Mines/refineries: give off new clear damage to the environment.
Wind/ solar: require lots of land to generate a practical amount of electricity

Question 14

Sustainability

Answer 14

Using resources at a rate that they can be maintained. If we do not support sustainability, the future generations will be affected greatly. You cannot support perfect sustainability but we use many efficient practises to get closer.

Question 15

Benefits of electrical tech

Answer 15

They use speed and are convenient. Many electronic devices help us to complete a variety of tasks more quickly and efficiently, and give us more time for other activities.

Question 16

Drawbacks of electrical tech

Answer 16

More technology means that more resources are needed to manufacture and operate devices. This can make sustainability more difficult to achieve.
Devices fill up our landfills when they are discarded and some countries cannot develop the technology due to the expenses.

Question 17

Binary numbers

Answer 17

Computers convert all information, even audio and video signals, into numbers and then perform calculations with the numbers. Computers use binary numbers, that is, numbers with just ones and zeros. These numbers correspond to the on and off states of millions of tiny transistors in microcircuits.

Question 18

Digital technology

Answer 18

This is data and can be converted into strings of digits and is for storing and transmitting information

Question 19

CD’s- how they use electricity to transmit info

Answer 19

They all take advantage of electrical current. A CD player uses a laser. Tiny pits stamped into the surface of the disc causes the laser light to reflect impulses. A photodetector converts the light pulses into electrical pulses. This produces a digital signal with exactly the same sequence of ones and zeros as the master recording used to make the CD. A hard drive works similarly to store/transmit info!

Question 20

Concerns to electrical transmitting of information

Answer 20

Access to technology- some countries are too poor for the infrastructure
Privacy- data transmission is not always secure. Files can be sent to the wrong person or can be hacked
Not all info is trustworthy- people won’t check their “facts” to ensure they are correct, therefor sending out false info
Information overload- makes it hard to find what you want because there is too much info on the web
Search engines- can overlook certain websites and only give you the popular ones, therefor you are losing possible info