Chapter 8

Question 1

active collection

Answer 1

the use of devices, such as solar panels, to collect, focus, transport, or store solar energy

Question 2

anthracite

Answer 2

the cleanest-burning coal; almost pure carbon

Question 3

barrels

Answer 3

the unit used to describe the volume of fossil fuels

Question 4

bituminous

Answer 4

the second- purest form of coal

Question 5

crude oil

Answer 5

the form petroleum takes when its in the ground

Question 6

energy

Answer 6

the capacity to do work

Question 7

fission

Answer 7

a nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus, especially a heavy nucleus such as an isotope of uranium, splits into fragments, usually two fragments of comparable mass, releasing from 100 million to several hundred million electron volts of energy

Question 8

fossil fuel

Answer 8

a hydrocarbon deposit, such as petroleum, coal, or natural gas, derived from living matter of a previous geologic time and used for fuel

Question 9

first law of thermodynamics

Answer 9

says that energy can neither be created or destroyed

it can cal only be transformed or transferred

Question 10

fly ash

Answer 10

a waste product produced by the burning of coal

Question 11

half-life

Answer 11

the amount of time it takes for half of a radioactive sample to dissapear

Question 12

hubbert peak

Answer 12

aka peak oil
an influential theory that concerns the long-term rate of conventional oil (and other fossil fuel) extraction and depletion. it predicts that future world oil production will soon reach a peak and then rapidly decline

Question 13

hydroelectric power

Answer 13

power generated using oil

Question 14

kinetic energy

Answer 14

the energy of motion

Question 15

lignite

Answer 15

the least pure coal

Question 16

nuclear fission

Answer 16

the process of fusing two nuclei

Question 17

overburden

Answer 17

the rocks and earth that are removed when strip mining for a commercially valuable mineral resource

Question 18

passive solar energy collection

Answer 18

the use of building materials, building placement, and design to passively collect solar energy that can be used to keep a building warm or cool

Question 19

peak oil

Answer 19

aka hubbert peak
an influential theory that concerns the long-term rate of conventional oil (and other fossil fuel) extraction and depletion. it predicts that future world oil production will soon reach a peak and then rapidly decline

Question 20

petroleum

Answer 20

oil, a hydrocarbon that forms as sediments are buried and pressurized

Question 21

photovoltaic cell

Answer 21

PV Cell

a semiconductor device that converts the energy of sunlight into electric energy

Question 22

proven reserve

Answer 22

an estimate of the amount of fossil fuel that can be obtained from reserve

Question 23

potential energy

Answer 23

energy at rest, or stored energy

Question 24

radiant energy

Answer 24

sunlight

Question 25

scrubbers

Answer 25

devices containing alkaline substances that precipitate out much of the sulfur dioxide from industrial plants air effluent

Question 26

second law of thermodynamics

Answer 26

says that the entropy (disorder) of the universe is increasing. One corollary of the Second Law of Thermodynamics is the concept that, in most energy transformations, a significant fraction of energy is lost to the universe as heat

Question 27

strip mining

Answer 27

involves the removal of the earth’s surface all the way down to the level of the mineral seam

Question 28

sub-bituminous

Answer 28

the third purest form of coal

Question 29

underground mining

Answer 29

involves the sinking of shafts to reach underground deposits. In this type of mining, networks of tunnels are dug or blasted and humans enter these tunnels in order to manually retrieve coal

Question 30

wind farm

Answer 30

a group of moderns turbines