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Science Year 9 > Energy Resources PHYSICS GCSE > Flashcards

Energy Resources PHYSICS GCSE Flashcards

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1
Q

Where does most of our energy come from?

A

From burning fossil fuels

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2
Q

What are the fossil fuels?

A

Coal, oil and gas

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3
Q

How does a fossil fuel power station work?

A

You burn the fuel in a furnace which heats the water in a boiler. This produces steam. The steam turns a turbine which turns an electricity generator which generates electricity. The energy is fed into a transformer and is then transmitted to the National Grid. After the steam passes through the turbine, it gets cooled down in a cooling tower and then is then recycled back into the boiler.

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4
Q

How does a nuclear power station work?

A

Control rods with uranium or plutonium pellets inside the reactor vessel generate heat through nuclear fission, warming the water which the rods are submerged in. This heats up water in a separate system- the steam generator, producing steam that drives a turbine connected to a generator, generating electricity. The electricity is fed into a transformer and transmitted to the National Grid. The steam is then condensed back to water in the condenser and cycled back to the steam generator.

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5
Q

What are biofuels?

A

fuels made from living organisms, or a by-product of the waste they produce.

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6
Q

How are biofuels carbon neutral?

A

The carbon released when they are burnt is balanced by the carbon they absorbed as they grew

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7
Q

What does carbon neutral mean?

A

having a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon

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8
Q

How is bio-ethanol made?

A

Fermantation which is the process of using yeast to convert sugars into ethanol

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9
Q

What are the advantages of bio-ethanol? (give 2)

A

-it is quite cheap
-cars can be adapted to run on a mixture of ethanol and petrol
-it is carbon neutral
-it is renewable

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10
Q

What are the disadvantages of bio-ethanol? (give 1)

A

-alot of farm land is used up to grow the crops
-it is not as energy-dense as gasoline

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11
Q

How is bio-diesel made?

A

From vegetable oils or animal fats

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12
Q

What are the advantages of biodiesel? (give 2)

A

-it is carbon neutral
-it is renewable
-it is less toxic than regular diesel

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13
Q

What are the disadvantages of biodiesel? (give 1)

A

-we cannot create enough biodiesel to replace regular diesel
-it is expensive

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14
Q

How is biogas made?

A

It is made when microorganisms digest waste which produces a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide

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15
Q

What are the advantages of biogas? (give 2)

A

-waste is readily cheap and available
-it is carbon neutral
-it is renewable

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16
Q

What are the disadvantages of biogas? (give 1)

A

-biogas production slows in cool weather
-it relies on a consistent supply of organic waste

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17
Q

What is fermentation?

A

The process of using yeast to change sugar into ethanol

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18
Q

Name 4 food crops which are used for making biofuels.

A

Sugarcane, rapeseed, soya, corn

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19
Q

What fuel do nuclear power stations use?

A

Usually uranium or plutonium

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20
Q

What are the advantages of nuclear energy? (give 2)

A

-it is fuel efficient
-it doesn’t produce any co2
-it creates a lot of jobs

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21
Q

What are the disadvantages of nuclear energy? (give 1)

A

-accidents can be catastrophic
-it is hard to store nuclear waste as it remains radioactive and dangerous for thousands of years

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22
Q

What are the advantages of fossil fuels? (give 2)

A

-it is cheap
-it is abundant
-they are reliable

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23
Q

What are the disadvantages of fossil fuels? (give 1)

A

-they are nonrenewable
-they release large amounts of CO2

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24
Q

How do wind turbines work?

A

The wind turns the blades which turns a turbine which drives a generator which generates electricity

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25
Q

What are the advantages of wind power? (give 2)

A

-it is low maintenance after installation
-low operating cost
-renewable
-a small breeze and push the blades

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26
Q

What are the disadvantages of wind power? (give 1)

A

-Noise and visual pollution
-it relies on the weather
-long transmission lines are needed
-land could be used for agriculture

27
Q

How does wave power work?

A

A wave generator uses the motion from the waves to make a generator move up and down which generates electricity

28
Q

What are the advantages of wave power? (give 2)

A

-renewable
-no pollution
-free energy resource
-low maintenance cost

29
Q

What are the disadvantages of wave power? (give 1)

A

-high cost of setup
-weather dependent
-can distrupt sea life

30
Q

How does tidal power work?

A

Tides drive a turbine which spins a generator to generate electricity

31
Q

What are the advantages of tidal power? (give 2)

A

-low maintenance cost
-renewable
-Predictable energy generation

32
Q

What are the disadvantages of tidal power? (give 1)

A

-high cost of setup
-can disrupt sea life
-a limited number of suitable locations

33
Q

How does hydroelectric power work?

A

Water is collected in a reservoir. The gates open and water travels though the pipes. The water drives a turbine and the turbine spins a generator to generate electricity

34
Q

What are the advantages of hydroelectric power? (give 2)

A

-it can store energy
-it is renewable
-reduces the risk of flooding

35
Q

What are the disadvantages of hydroelectric power? (give 1)

A

-expensive upfront cost
-the lake could of been a tourist attraction
-it destroys habitats

36
Q

What is the energy store when the water is in the reservoir?

A

gravitational potential

37
Q

How do solar panels work?

A

When the solar cells are exposed to light, they absorb the energy from it and they convert it into electricity

38
Q

What are the advantages of solar panels? (give 2)

A

-low running costs
-renewable
-doesn’t emit CO2

39
Q

What are the disadvantages of solar panels? (give 1)

A

-high upfront costs
-unreliable: dependent on the weather
-no way to increase supply in times of peak demand

40
Q

How is geothermal power made?

A

From thermal energy generated from radioactive decay and stored in the earth’s crust

41
Q

How is geothermal power used for heat?

A

You pump water down into the ground, allow it to warm up and then pumping it up again to heat our homes

42
Q

How is geothermal power used for electricity?

A

We leave the water in the ground for so long that the water turns into steam. When the steam rises, the steam drives turbines which spins generators to make electricity.

43
Q

What are the advantages of geothermal power? (give 2)

A

-doesn’t produce co2
-renewable
-low maintenance

44
Q

What are the disadvantages of solar panels? (give 1)

A

-they rely on the weather
-expensive upfront cost
-they only convert less than 10% of the solar energy into electricity

45
Q

How do solar heating panels work?

A

The panel captures sunlight to directly heat water or air through tubes

46
Q

Give 2 pros and 2 cons of solar heating panels

A

Pros:
-renewable
-lowers bills by reducing heating costs

Cons:
-high upfront cost
-weather dependant

47
Q

How do solar towers work?

A

Mirrors controlled by a computer reflect the sun’s light at a tower with water to generate steam. This steam turns a turbine which spins a generator to generate electricity.

48
Q

How do solar towers store electricity?

A

The sunlight also heats up salt to high temperatures and it can be used to generate electricity in times of demand

49
Q

What are the mirrors for solar towers called?

A

Heliostats

50
Q

Give 2 pros and 2 cons of solar towers

A

Pros:
-renewable
-can store energy

Cons:
-high upfront cost
-weather dependent

51
Q

What are the non renewable fuels? (Name 4)

A

-oil
-gas
-coal
-nuclear

52
Q

What are the renewable fuels? (Name 7)

A

Biofuel
Wind
Hydroelectrical
Geothermal
Tidal
Solar
Wave

53
Q

What power station has the shortest start up time?

A

gas

54
Q

What power station has the longest start up time?

A

nuclear

55
Q

When might power stations with short start up times be used?

A

In high demand

56
Q

When might power stations with long start up times be used?

A

To create the baseline

57
Q

How can the variable demand be met? (Give 2 points)

A

-use high start up time resources to create the baseline and short start up resources in high demand
-store energy using reservoirs and molten salt
-promoting energy-efficient practices

58
Q

What activities require large energy transfers?

A

-transportation
-cooking
-heating

59
Q

Give a problem with burning gas

A

It produces particulates which contribute to global dimming and can cause lung damage

60
Q

Give a problem with burning oil

A

It produces sulphur dioxide which causes acid rain

61
Q

Give a problem with burning coal

A

It emits carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming

62
Q

How can you prevent carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere?

A

By using carbon capture storage technology

63
Q

What are renewable energy resouces?

A

Energy resources which has fuel that is always being replenished so it won’t run out

64
Q

What are nonrenewable energy resources?

A

Energy resources which has fuel that cannot be replenished at the same rate that it is used so it will eventually run out

Science Year 9 (7 decks)

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