Energy Flashcards
Identify the 8 different forms of energy
Kinetic
Chemical
Sound
Electric
Light
Thermal
Strain
Gravitational
Describe the energy transfer when turning on a light
Turning on a light transfers electrical energy into light and thermal energy
Describe the energy transfer of a wind turbine
Kinetic energy from the wind is transformed into electrical energy and some sound energy
Identify the three types of energy which can be stored
Chemical
Gravitational
Strain
Give two examples of how chemical energy can be stored
Batteries
Food
Fuel
How is strain energy usually stored
In stretched springs
Explain the law of conservation of energy
Energy cannot be created or destroyed it is only transferred from one form to another.
How do humans make energy useful to them?
They transfer energy from one form to another
When energy is inputted into a device some will be wasted, give an example of this
Electrical energy into a light bulb, the useful energy out put is light energy
wasted energy is heat energy
or
Chemical energy (food) into a horse, the useful energy is kinetic in movement but most is wasted as heat energy,
Total energy imput = ? fill in the other side of the equation
Useful energy output + wasted energy
Explain how fossil fuels were formed
Plants used energy from the sun to create biomass.
Animals ate the plants to get energy.
Animals and plants died and their remains were buried under mud, rocks and sand
The remains decayed over millions of years and pressure turned them into fuels - oil coal and gas.
The fuels contain the chemical energy that were originally stored in the animal and plant tissues
How do we use fossil fuels?
We burn fuels to convert the chemical energy in them into
1. thermal (heat) energy to heat homes
2. Kinetic energy to power vehicles
3. Electrical energy to provide electricity for homes and businesses
Describe the transfer chain from the sun to the fossil fuels.
Sun –> light energy –> photosynthesis –> dead plants/animals –> fossil fuels
Describe the transfer chain from the sun to food
Sun –> light energy –> photosynthesis –> biomass
Describe the transfer chain from the sun to wind power
Sun –> heat atmosphere –> air circulates –> causes wind
Describe the transfer chain from the sun to wave power
Sun –> heat atmosphere –> air circulates –> causes wind –> causes waves
Explain how the sun helps to create winds
The sun heats the atmosphere. Some areas are heated more than others.
Warm air rises because it is lighter than colder air.
As the warm air rises the cold air rushes in to fill it’s place causing a wind to blow
Explain how waves are formed
The sun heats the atmosphere causing temperature differences in the air.
Cold air moving in to replace rising warm air causes winds.
Winds blowing across the surface of the sea push the water about causing waves.
How is most of the electricity in the UK generated?
By burning fossil fuels
Identify the fossil fuels used to generate electricity
Coal
Oil
Gas
Explain how fossil fuels are used to generate electricity
- The chemical energy stored in fossil fuels are burned in a boiler producung heat energy
- The heat energy is used to heat water turning it into high pressure steam.
- The steam drives turbines which turn a generator transferring kinetic energy into electrical energy.
To generate electricity a generator is driven by a ???
turbine
Electricity generators are driven by turbines, these can be powered in different ways.
Describe some of the ways.
- Steam produced by burning fossil fuels
- Wind power from a windmill
- Hydroelectric power the turbines are driven by water
- Wave power- the turbines are driven by the up and down motion of the wave
Which fuels are classed as non renewable?
Fossil fuels oil, coal and gas
Nuclear fuel
What renewable energy sources can be used?
Wind
Solar
Wave
Biomass
Explain the advantages of using non renewable energy sources
- They produce a lot energy
- They do not rely on the weather or other changing factors
- The infrastructure (power stations) for producing the energy is in place so there is not extra cost for producing the energy.
Explain the advantages of using renewable energy sources
- Unlike fossil fuels they will not run out.
- They create little pollution
- They cause some environmental damage but a lot less then traditional non renewable sources
- The fuel is free and after the setting up costs there are only a few running costs.
Explain the disadvantages of using non renewable energy sources
- They will run out because there is a limited supply of them
- Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide a greenhouse gas which causes climate change
- Burning coal and oil releases sulfur dioxide which causes acid rain
- Nuclear power stations produce radioactive waste which is dangerous and difficult to dispose of.
Explain the disadvantages of using renewable energy sources
- They don’t provide as much energy as fossil fuels
- They can be unreliable if they depend on the weather eg solar wind etc
- They can damage the local environment eg windmills spoiling a view or flooding a valley to make a dam for hydroelectric
- The set up costs are high.
