Final Study Guide 14

Question 1

What are ways to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide?

Answer 1

• Transition to cleaner emitting energy sources such as nuclear, water, wind, and solar
• Plant more trees
• Burn less fossil fuels

Question 2

What are some of the problems with nuclear energy?

Answer 2

Nuclear energy is harmful to human health and the environment because of the radioactive waste it produces. The half life of these radio-active ions last long periods and affect human health.

Question 3

Why is nuclear energy a possible solution to the climate crisis?

Answer 3

Nuclear energy does not emit the amount of carbon based gases that cause the greenhouse effect on earth

Question 4

Is nuclear energy a renewable source?

Answer 4

• No, but it is preferred to fossil fuels because it does not emit greenhouse gases.
• Nuclear energy is not a renewable source of energy because there is only a certain amount of iridium that can be found on Earth

Question 5

Why are all hydrocarbon fuels non-renewable?

Answer 5

• At the pace that we use them and at the pace they regenerate it will be almost a million years before there will be enough to use at current level.
• They are used faster than they are regenerated

Question 6

Watt

Answer 6

1 watt is defined as the energy consumption rate of one joule per second

Question 7

Joule

Answer 7

Basic energy unit of the metric system

Question 8

Btu

Answer 8

• Traditional unit of energy equal to about 1055 joules

- It is the amount of energy needed to cool or heat one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit

Question 9

Quad

Answer 9

• A quad is a unit of energy equal to 1015 BTU

- Used by the U.S. Department of Energy in discussing world and national energy budgets

Question 10

Efficiency

Answer 10

using less energy to provide the same level of energy. It is therefore one method to reduce human greenhouse gas emissions

Question 11

Nonrenewable

Answer 11

• A resource that is utilized faster than it is replenished

> ex: fossil fuels, nuclear energy

Question 12

Oil

Answer 12

• Formed when heat and pressure compressed the remains of prehistoric plants, animals, and aquatic life under the bed of the sea or lakes for millions of years
• Drilled and pumped from giant underground pockets, or oil wells, and processed through a system called distillation

Question 13

Natural Gas

Answer 13

• A fossil fuel formed when layers of buried plants and animals are exposed to intense heat and pressure over thousands of years
• Cleanest fossil fuel
• colorless, odorless, tasteless
• Highly flammable

Question 14

Coal

Answer 14

a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams

Question 15

Nuclear Energy

Answer 15

• Use of exothermic nuclear processes to generate useful heat and electricity
• Includes nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion

Question 16

Deforestation

Answer 16

Clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use

Question 17

Oil Trap

Answer 17

?

Question 18

Carboniferous

Answer 18

?

Question 19

Crude Oil

Answer 19

?

Question 20

Petroleum

Answer 20

?

Question 21

Reserves

Answer 21

?

Question 22

End of Oil

Answer 22

?

Question 23

Hubbert’s Peak

Answer 23

The Hubbert peak theory says that for any given geographical area, from an individual oil-producing region to the planet as a whole, the rate of petroleum production tends to follow a bell-shaped curve. It is one of the primary theories on peak oil.

Question 24

Oil shale

Answer 24

• Oil shale is commonly defined as a fine-grained sedimentary rock containing organic matter that yields substantial amounts of oil and combustible gas upon destructive distillation.
• Oil shale extraction is more complicated than crude oil extraction; it includes the extra steps of retorting and refining.

Question 25

Fracking

Answer 25

fracturing of rock by a pressurized liquid in order to obtain some type of oil or gas

Question 26

Gas Hydrate

Answer 26

?

Question 27

EROI

Answer 27

• Energy return on investment (EROI) is the ratio of the energy delivered by a process to the energy used directly and indirectly in that process. EROI - - is defined as:
  EROI = quantity of energy supplies/ quantity of energy used in supply process

Question 28

CSS

Answer 28

?

Question 29

Caprock

Answer 29

?

Question 30

Chain Reaction

Answer 30

?

Question 31

Fission

Answer 31

a splitting of something into two parts

Question 32

Salt Dome

Answer 32

?

Question 33

Reserves

Answer 33

?

Question 34

Hydropower

Answer 34

?

Question 35

Solar Power

Answer 35

• Direct energy coming in from the sun - Can be used to heat homes (solar panels) - Main use for heated water panels in US: swimming pools
• Solar energy in photovoltaic cells can be used, or we can concentrate sun energy - Ex: If you drive to Vegas, you see 3 big towers –> A solar facility that concentrates solar power
• Affordable, Renewable - Solar Energy cons:
  > There may be environmental consequences
  > Requires a lot of land
  > There isn’t always a lot of sun

Question 36

Photovoltaic

Answer 36

?

Question 37

Resource

Answer 37

?

Question 38

Deposit

Answer 38

?

Question 39

Reservoir Rock

Answer 39

high porosity rock formation, capable of storing oil

Question 40

Trap

Answer 40

• Something that prevent oil from continuing to rise
• Ex: impermeable caprock around a reservoir rock
  > others: salt dome trap, fault trap

Question 41

Source Rock

Answer 41

an initial sediment with organic material

Question 42

Wind Energy

Answer 42

• Fastest growing energy segment in the world and has been for 25 years
• Cost of wind power has dropped by 99%
• In the next 20 years, wind energy will be a top competitor for energy provision
• Disadvantages: need different kind of power grid, ugly, kills birds

Question 43

Concentrated Solar

Answer 43

?

Question 44

Geothermal Energy

Answer 44

Idea that we can extract heat from the Earth

Question 45

Fusion

Answer 45

process of joining 2 or more things to form a single entity