Final Exam (Sustainability)

Question 1

What is Albedo

Answer 1

The amount of energy that is reflected divided by the amount absorbed

Question 2

What is the Pre-Industrial CO2 level

Answer 2

around 280 ppm

Question 3

What is burning coal and other fossil fuels considered

Answer 3

Not sustainable

Question 4

What does G.I.S stand for

Answer 4

Greenland ice sheet

Question 5

What is a kWh and what does it measure

Answer 5

It is a measure of energy and represents kilowatts per hour

Question 6

What is the critical CO2 value

Answer 6

560 ppm

Question 7

I=P x A x T

Answer 7

P- Population, A- Affluence , T- Technology

Question 8

Convert 1 GW to MW

Answer 8

1 GW= 1000 MW

Question 9

What happens if a glacier melts

Answer 9

The sea level rises

Question 10

What are important greenhouse gasses

Answer 10

Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide

Question 11

How many BP oil spills would it take to equal one day of U.S. oil consumption?

Answer 11

4 BP oil spills

Question 12

All fossil fuels, when burned, follow this equation: C + O2= CO2 + _____

Answer 12

H20

Question 13

Why is the Ogallala Aquifer not sustainable?

Answer 13

Farmers are pumping more water into the aquifer than they are getting out of it

Question 14

What does IPCC stand for?

Answer 14

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Question 15

How much of sunlight is reflected off of Earth back into the atmosphere?

Answer 15

Around 1/4th

Question 16

What has been the main cause of increasing global temperatures since the 1800s?

Answer 16

Increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

Question 17

The United States consumes roughly what fraction of the world’s primary energy?

Answer 17

1/6th

Question 18

Where will the greatest temperature increases occur due to global climate change?

Answer 18

Near the poles

Question 19

What is most troublesome about the Keeling curve?

Answer 19

The slope is increasing over time

Question 20

What percentage of primary energy consumed globally is derived from fossil fuels?

Answer 20

80%

Question 21

What are the CO2 levels from the last great ice age, preindustrial time, and what are the critical levels of CO2?

Answer 21

190, 280, 560

Question 22

Why doesn’t the melting of icebergs contribute to sea level rise?

Answer 22

icebergs already displace their volume of seawater

Question 23

What does an inverter do?

Answer 23

Turns direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC)

Question 24

What does a generator do?

Answer 24

It is driven by a turbine and it stores energy

Question 25

What is efficiency?

Answer 25

Power out divided by power in

Question 26

What does a kilowatt measure?

Answer 26

Power

Question 27

What is on-grid PV?

Answer 27

it is energy sold back to the energy making companies

Question 28

What is an isotope?

Answer 28

An element that has the same amount of protons and electrons (same atomic number) but a different amount of neutrons

Question 29

How much sunlight is absorbed by land and the sea?

Answer 29

1/2 of sunlight

Question 30

How do you calculate power for a turbine?

Answer 30

kW= Area (m2) x Speed (W/m2) x Efficiency (%)

Question 31

What is the best region for generating solar power (in the US)?

Answer 31

The Southwest because it has more direct sunlight than anywhere else in the country

Question 32

What are the three most important factors for determining the power output of a PV system?

Answer 32

Insolation, System Efficiency, and Array Area

Question 33

In PV power systems, the inverters converts:

Answer 33

Direct current into alternating current

Question 34

What is the component that converts sunlight into electricity?

Answer 34

Solar cell

Question 35

What are the most important factors for determining the power output of a wind turbine?

Answer 35

Turbine efficiency, wind speed, and blade length

Question 36

What does the power generated by a dam depend on?

Answer 36

The rate of water flow and the height of the dam

Question 37

How much oil does the US consume each day?

Answer 37

8 million barrels

Question 38

Which country does the US import the most oil from?

Answer 38

Canada

Question 39

What is a proven reserve?

Answer 39

An oil reserve that can be economically extracted by using existing technology

Question 40

What percent of a barrel of oil is refined into gas?

Answer 40

1/2

Question 41

What year did the US first reach 'Peak Oil'?

Answer 41

1970

Question 42

What greenhouse gas blocks ultraviolet light but is also a component of smog in the troposphere?

Answer 42

Ozone

Question 43

What is the purpose of a catalytic converter?

Answer 43

To convert harmful gasses from the engine to cleaner gasses

Question 44

VOC is an abbreviation for..?

Answer 44

Volatile Organic Compounds

Question 45

Smokestackes and tailpipes are examples of ____ pollution.

Answer 45

Point

Question 46

Runoff from a dairy farm or a parking lot that pollutes a stream is an example of _____.

Answer 46

Nonpoint

Question 47

Burning 1 gallon of gasoline produces how many pounds of CO2?

Answer 47

20 lbs

Question 48

Which crop does the United States make nearly all the ethanol used in its gas from?

Answer 48

Corn

Question 49

"E15" contains which percentage of traditional gasoline?

Answer 49

85%

Question 50

What is the energy balance for ethanol made from corn?

Answer 50

1

Question 51

What is a "drop-in fuel"? Such as Butanol

Answer 51

A fuel in which you don't need to modify your engine to run on it

Question 52

Which crop does Brazil use to make nearly all of its ethanol used in gasoline?

Answer 52

Sugar Cane