energy resources vocab flashcards

Question 1

Natural Resource

Answer 1

materials or substances such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain.

Question 2

Renewable Resource

Answer 2

Renewable resources include biomass energy (such as ethanol), hydro power, geothermal power, wind energy, and solar energy. Biomass refers to organic material from plants or animals. This includes wood, sewage, and ethanol which comes from corn or other plants.

Question 3

Nonrenewable Resource

Answer 3

A nonrenewable resource is a natural substance that is not replenished with the speed at which it is consumed. It is a finite resource. Fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, and coal are examples of nonrenewable resources.

Question 4

Fossil Fuel

Answer 4

Fossil fuels include coal, petroleum, natural gas, oil shale, bitumen’s, tar sands, and heavy oils. All contain carbon and were formed as a result of geologic processes acting on the remains of organic matter produced by photosynthesis, a process that began in the Archean Eon (4.0 billion to 2.5 billion years ago).

Question 5

Nuclear Fission

Answer 5

a nuclear reaction in which a heavy nucleus splits spontaneously or on impact with another particle, with the release of energy.

Question 6

Nuclear Fusion

Answer 6

a nuclear reaction in which a heavy nucleus splits spontaneously or on impact with another particle, with the release of energy.

Question 7

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle

Answer 7

A hydrogen vehicle is a vehicle that uses hydrogen fuel for motive power. Hydrogen vehicles include hydrogen-fueled space rockets, as well as automobiles and other transportation vehicles.

Question 8

Solar Energy

Answer 8

Solar power is energy from the sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy. Solar technologies can harness this energy for a variety of uses, including generating electricity, providing light or a comfortable interior environment, and heating water for domestic, commercial, or industrial use.

Question 9

Wind Energy

Answer 9

Wind energy (or wind power) refers to the process of creating electricity using the wind, or air flows that occur naturally in the earth’s atmosphere. Modern wind turbines are used to capture kinetic energy from the wind and generate electricity.

Question 10

Hydroelectric energy

Answer 10

Hydroelectric energy, also called hydroelectric power or hydroelectricity, is a form of energy that harnesses the power of water in motion—such as water flowing over a waterfall—to generate electricity.

Question 11

Biomass

Answer 11

the total mass of organisms in a given area or volume.

organic matter used as a fuel, especially in a power station for the generation of electricity.

Question 12

Gasohol

Answer 12

a mixture of gasoline and ethyl alcohol used as fuel in internal combustion engines.

Question 13

Geothermal Energy

Answer 13

Geothermal energy is the heat that comes from the sub-surface of the earth. It is contained in the rocks and fluids beneath the earth’s crust and can be found as far down to the earth’s hot molten rock, magma.

Question 14

Petroleum

Answer 14

a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons that is present in certain rock strata and can be extracted and refined to produce fuels including gasoline, kerosene, and diesel oil; oil.

Question 15

Natural Gas

Answer 15

Natural gas is a non-renewable hydrocarbon used as a source of energy for heating, cooking, and electricity generation. It is also used as a fuel for vehicles and as a chemical feed stock in the manufacture of plastics and other commercially important organic chemicals.

Question 16

Coal

Answer 16

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements; chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.

Question 17

Propane

Answer 17

a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula C3H8. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel.

Question 18

Tidal Energy

Answer 18

Tidal energy is a renewable energy powered by the natural rise and fall of ocean tides and currents. Some of these technologies include turbines and paddles.

Question 19

Wave Energy

Answer 19

the transport and capture of energy by ocean surface waves. The energy captured is then used for all different kinds of useful work, including electricity generation, water desalination, and pumping of water.

Question 20

Smog

Answer 20

fog or haze combined with smoke and other atmospheric pollutants.

Question 21

Acid Precipitation

Answer 21

Acid rain, or acid deposition, is a broad term that includes any form of precipitation with acidic components, such as sulfuric or nitric acid that fall to the ground from the atmosphere in wet or dry forms. This can include rain, snow, fog, hail or even dust that is acidic.

Question 22

Recycling

Answer 22

the action or process of converting waste into reusable material.