APES next 20

Question 1

Four types of coal ranked from lesser to greater age, exposure to pressure, and energy content.

Answer 1

Lignite
Sub-bituminous
Bituminous
Anthracite

Question 2

Largest coal reserves are located in (4 places)

Answer 2

The largest coal reserves are in the United States, Russia, China, and India.

Question 3

Advantages of coal

Answer 3

Energy-dense
Plentiful
Easy to exploit by surface mining
Technological demands are small
Economic costs are low
Easy to handle and transport
Needs little refining

Question 4

Disadvantages of coal

Answer 4

Contains impurities
Release impurities into air when burned
Trace metals like mercury, lead, and arsenic are found in coal
Combustion leads to increased levels of sulfur dioxide and other air pollutants into the atmosphere.
Ash is left behind
Carbon is released into the atmosphere which contributes to climate change

Question 5

Advantages of petroleum

Answer 5

Convenient to transport and use
Relatively energy-dense
Cleaner-burning than coal

Question 6

Disadvantages of petroleum

Answer 6

Releases carbon dioxide into atmosphere
Possibility of leaks/ spills when extracted and transported
May harm habitats, wildlife and human health when extracted
Releases sulfur, mercury, lead, and arsenic into the atmosphere when burned

Question 7

What is natural gas?

Answer 7

exists as a component of petroleum in the ground as well as in gaseous deposits separate from petroleum.

Question 8

Natural gas contains 80 to 95% what?

Answer 8

Methane

Question 9

Natural gas contains 5 to 20 percent what?

Answer 9

ethane, propane, and butane

Question 10

What is natural gas used for?

Answer 10

Used to process fertilizers, used in residential applications, electrical generation and industry

Question 11

Advantages of Natural Gas

Answer 11

Contains fewer impurities and therefore emits almost no sulfur dioxide or particulates
Emits only 60% as much carbon dioxide as coal

Question 12

Disadvantages of natural gas

Answer 12

When unburned, methane escapes into the atmosphere- greenhouse gas with 25x more heat trapping potential
Exploration of natural gas has the potential of contaminating groundwater

Question 13

What is bitumen?

Answer 13

substance produced through the distillation of crude oil

Question 14

What is the hubbert curve?

Answer 14

graph that shows the point at which world oil production would reach a maximum and the point at which we would run out of oil

Question 15

What type of source is nuclear energy?

Answer 15

Non- renewable

Question 16

Concerns with nuclear energy

Answer 16

radioactive waste, used as weapons, accidents

Question 17

Pros of nuclear energy

Answer 17

clean- low air pollution

Question 18

What is fission?

Answer 18

a nuclear reaction nin which a neutron strikes a relatively large atomic nucleus, which then splits into two or more parts

Question 19

Nuclear reactors

Answer 19

Fuel Rods
Control rods

Question 20

What is a fuel rod?

Answer 20

cylindrical tubes that house the nuclear fuel used in a nuclear power plant.