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APES > Chapter 12 - Nonrenewable Energy Resources > Flashcards

Chapter 12 - Nonrenewable Energy Resources Flashcards

1
Q

Nonrenewable Fuels

A

An energy source with a finite supply, primarily fossil fuels and nuclear fuels.

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2
Q

Fossil Fuels

A

A fuel derived from biological material that became fossilized millions of years ago.

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3
Q

Commercial Energy Sources

A

An energy source that is bought and sold.

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4
Q

Subsistence Energy Sources

A

An energy source gathered by individuals for their own immediate needs.

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5
Q

Energy Efficiency

A

The ratio of the amount of energy expended in the form you want to the total amount of energy that is introduced into the system.

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6
Q

EROEI

A

how much energy we get out of an energy source for every unit of energy expended on its production, calculated as energy obtained from the fuel

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7
Q

Electricity

A

An energy carrier that converts energy from primary sources (oil, coal, and natural gas) to secondary sources (itself) to do work

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8
Q

Turbine

A

A device with blades that can be turned by water, wind, steam, or exhaust gas from combustion that turns a generator in an electricity-producing plant.

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9
Q

Electrical Grid

A

A network of interconnected transmission lines that joins power plants together and links them with end users of electricity.

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10
Q

Combined Cycle Gas Plant

A

A power plant that uses both exhaust gases and steam turbines to generate electricity.

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11
Q

Power Plant Capacity

A

The maximum electrical output of a power plant

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12
Q

Capacity

A

In reference to an electricity-generating plant, the maximum electrical output.

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13
Q

Capacity Factor

A

The fraction of time a power plant operates in a year.

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14
Q

Cogeneration

A

The use of a fuel to generate electricity and produce heat.

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15
Q

Coal

A

A solid fuel formed primarily from the remains of trees, ferns, and other plant materials preserved 280 million to 360 million years ago.

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16
Q

Peat

A

A precursor to coal that is made up of partly decomposed organic material, including mosses

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17
Q

Lignite

A

A soft, brown coal; the second stage of coal formation, moderate energy; youngest coal

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18
Q

Anthracite

A

Hard coal, limited and deep in the ground; highly desirable because it burns slowly and releases intense heat with low sulfer content; cleanest burning coal

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19
Q

Bituminous Coal

A

The most common form of coal; produces a high amount of heat and is used extensively by electric power plants; burns cleanly; mostly carbon

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20
Q

Sub-Bituminous Coal

A

The second most common type of coal; softer & more crumbly than bituminous coal & widely used for generating electricity

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21
Q

Petroleum

A

A fossil fuel that occurs in underground deposits, composed of a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons, water, and sulfur.

22
Q

OPEC

A

An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the production and sale of petroleum. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Companies

23
Q

Crude Oil

A

Liquid petroleum removed from the ground.

24
Q

Exxon Valdez

A

The oil tanker that crashed in March 1989, considered largest U. S. oil spill, emptied 35,000 tons of oil into Prince William Sound

25
Q

Alaska National Wildlife Refuge

A

Tract of land in northeastern Alaska that contains a lot of oil; debates about whether the benefits fo the pristine condition of the habitat outweighs the potential income and benefit of extracting the oil

26
Q

Natural Gas

A

A gas with high methane content, found along with various fossil fuels and is used as a fuel

27
Q

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

A

A mixture of liquefied propane and butane gas removed from natural gas and stored as fuel in pressurized tanks

28
Q

Oil Sands

A

Slow-flowing, viscous deposits of bitumen mixed with sand, water, and clay.

29
Q

Bitumen

A

A degraded petroleum that forms when petroleum migrates to the surface of Earth and is modified by bacteria.

30
Q

Coal-Liquefied-Fuel

A

The process of converting solid coal into liquid fuel.

31
Q

Energy Intensity

A

The energy use per unit of gross domestic product.

32
Q

Hubbert Curve

A

A bell-shaped curve representing oil use and projecting both when world oil production will reach a maximum and when the world will run out of oil.

33
Q

Peak Oil

A

The point at which half the total known oil supply is used up.

34
Q

Nuclear Fission

A

A nuclear reaction in which a neutron strikes a relatively large atomic nucleus, which then splits into two or more parts, releasing additional neutrons and energy in the form of heat

35
Q

Uranium-235

A

An unstable, fissionable isotope of uranium used in nuclear energy

36
Q

Fuel Rods

A

A cylindrical tube that encloses nuclear fuel within a nuclear reactor.

37
Q

Containment Structure

A

Large, concrete structure that contains the most radioactive parts of a nuclear plant; designed to contain radioactivity

38
Q

Core

A

The innermost zone of Earth’s interior, composed mostly of iron and nickel. It includes a liquid outer layer and a solid inner layer.

39
Q

Generator

A

Turns the mechanical energy from the rotating turbine into electrical energy

40
Q

Cooling Tower

A

A cooling system used in industry to cool hot water (by partial evaporation) before reusing it as a coolant

41
Q

Control Rods

A

A cylindrical device inserted between the fuel rods in a nuclear reactor to absorb excess neutrons and slow or stop the fission reaction

42
Q

Three Mile Island

A

A mechanical failure and a human error at this power plant in Pennsylvania combined to permit an escape of radiation over a 16 mile radius

43
Q

Chernobyl

A

A city in Ukraine that was the site of a 1986 meltdown at a Soviet nuclear power plant; worst nuclear accident in history

44
Q

Uranium Enrichment

A

Process in which the ratio of the abundance of the isotope uranium 235 (fissionable) to that of isotope uranium 238 is increased above that found in natural uranium

45
Q

Reactor-Meltdown

A

A severe nuclear reactor accident that results in core damage from overheating

46
Q

High-Level Radioactive Waste

A

Nuclear fuel that can no longer produce enough heat to be useful in a power plant but continues to emit radioactivity - in the form of fuel rods

47
Q

Low-Level Radioactive Waste

A

Nuclear fuel that can no longer produce enough heat to be useful in a power plant but continues to emit radioactivity - in the form of uranium mine tailings and contaminated clothes and tools

48
Q

Uranium Mine Tailings

A

The residue left after uranium ore is mined and enriched

49
Q

Nuclear Fusion

A

A reaction that occurs when lighter nuclei are forced together to produce heavier nuclei

50
Q

Yucca Mountain

A

Only candidate for permanent underground storage site for 70,000 tons of high-level radioactive wastes from commercially operated power plants

51
Q

Phantom Load

A

The electricity that is consumed by an appliance or device when it is turned off

APES (10 decks)

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