Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Physics > Fossil Fuels And Power Stations > Flashcards

Fossil Fuels And Power Stations Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Physics 101 flashcards AP® Physics flashcards
1
Q

What is a power station

A

A power station generates power/electricity using fossil fuels which is then transported along wires to be used in homes, offices etc.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What are the non renewable energy sources (2)

A
  • coal oil and gas (fossil fuels)

- nuclear

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What are the renewable energy sources?-7

A
  • solar
  • wind
  • geothermal
  • hydroelectric power
  • biomass
  • tidal
  • waves
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

How does a power station work?

A

Coal is loaded into the power station, and is then burnt in the furnace to produce heat. Water is then heated to produce steam, which drives a turbine that then turns a generator which produces the electricity. Hot water is pumped away from the turbine and cooled in a cooling tower. Cold water is pumped into the turbine to cool the used steam and condense it back to water. Waste gases from burnt fuels escape through the chimney

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What are the advantages of fossil fuels?-2

A
  • reliable (for now)

- running costs arent that expensive (cost effective)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What are the disadvantages of fossil fuels?-4

A
  • They will eventually run out
  • The price of fossil fuels will increase in the future because they running out and lots of people will want them
  • contributes to global warming and pollution
  • emitts sulfur and CO2 into the atmosphere; sulfur causes acid rain which destroys forests and habitats
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Advantages of nuclear energy-3

A
  • Nuclear fuels do not produce carbon dioxide or sulfur dioxide.
  • very safe, the risk of an accident is low
  • a large amount of energy is generated from a very small amount of fuel
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Disadvantages of nuclear energy-6

A
  • expensive to build
  • use large amounts of water for cooling so needs to be built next to the sea
  • produces radioactive waste that needs to be stored away safely for a very long period of time
  • has the longest startup time out of all the fuel powered power stations
  • very expensive to shut down
  • if there is ever an accident it can be very serious and cause large areas of the country to be affected
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Advantages of wind energy-4

A
  • renewable
  • can be on shore or off shore
  • no fuel cost
  • no green house gases produced
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Disadvantages of wind energy-2

A
  • non reliable

- wind farms are noisy and may spoil the views for people living near them

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Advantages of wave energy-3

A
  • renewable
  • no fuel cost
  • reliable
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Disadvantages of wave energy-3

A
  • Creates noise underwater and disturbs oceanic wildlife
  • can only be planted near the ocean
  • creates noise and visual pollution
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Advantages of tidal energy-3

A
  • no pollution
  • easy to install
  • renewable
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Disadvantages of tidal energy-2

A
  • adoption of tidal technologies has been slow

- very specific site requirements

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Advantages of hydroelectric power-5

A
  • renewable
  • no fuel costs
  • no harmful gases produced
  • very reliable
  • easily switched on
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Disadvantages of hydroelectric power-1

A
  • Dams flood farmland and push people from their homes
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Advantages of geothermal energy -3

A
  • Geothermal energy is a renewable energy resource.
  • There are no fuel costs
  • no harmful polluting gases are produced.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Disadvantages of geothermal energy-3

A
  • Most parts of the world do not have suitable areas where geothermal energy can be exploited.
  • can cause earthquakes in extreme cases
  • expensive
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Advantages of solar power-4

A
  • renewable
  • no fuel costs
  • no harmful polluting gases produced
  • can provide electricity in remote locations where there is no mains electricity.
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Disadvantages of solar power-2

A
  • Solar cells are expensive and inefficient, so the cost of their electricity is high.
  • Solar cells do not work at night and not as well when it is cloudy.
21
Q

Advantages of biomass energy-1

A
  • some processes are low in CO2 emissions
22
Q

Disadvantages of biomass energy-3

A
  • Some processes like combustion are high on CO2 commissions
  • health risks
  • can cause deforestation
23
Q

What are the different energy stores?

A 
Magnetic energy stores
Nuclear energy stores
Electrostatic energy stores
Kinetic energy stores
Heat (thermal) energy stores
Gravitational Potential energy stores
Chemical energy stores
Elastic potential energy stores
(light, sound, and electrical cant be stored)
24
Q

How can energy be transferred?

A
  • mechanically (by a force doing work)
  • electrically (by moving charges)
  • heating
  • radiation (e.g- light and sound)
25
Q

What is a system?

A

Another word for an object or group of objects that energy is being transferred in or from.

26
Q

what is a closed system?

A

a system where energy and matter cant enter or leave

27
Q

how is energy transferred in boiling water in a kettle (heating)

A
  • think of the water as the system
  • energy is transferred to the water from the kettles heating element into the waters thermal energy store which makes the temperature of the water rise
28
Q

what happens when a solid is heated?

A

conduction:

  • energy is transferred to the kinetic energy stored of its particles
  • causes the particles to vibrate more and collide with each other
  • during the collisions, energy is transferred between the chemical energy stores
29
Q

what is thermal conductivity?

A
  • a measure of how quickly energy is transferred through a material in conduction
30
Q

what happens when you heat a gas or liquid?

A

convection:

  • when the particles are free to move, the particles that are moving faster causes the space between individual particles to increase
  • this means the density of the region increases
  • the warmer and less dense region will rise above the denser and cooler regions because liquids and gases can flow
  • energetic particles move away from hotter regions towards the cooler regions
31
Q

what reduces the rate of energy transfer

A

insulation

32
Q

How can you prevent energy losses through heating

A
  • have thick walls with low thermal conductivity, so the building cools more slowly
  • use thermal insulation
33
Q

Examples of thermal insulation

A
  • cavity walls,
  • loft insulation
  • double glazed windows
  • drought excluders around doors and windows
34
Q

What are convection currents?

A

A cycle where air particles are constantly being heated,rising, cooling and sinking

35
Q

What is nuclear fuel

A
  • Nuclear fuels release energy through nuclear reactions,
  • The main nuclear fuels are uranium and plutonium.
  • In a nuclear power station, the energy released is used to boil water. The steam spins turbines, which then drive generators to produce electricity.
36
Q

Which transportation methods use non-renewable energy resources?

A
  • petrol and diesel power vehicles use fuel created from oil

- coal is used in some old fashioned steam trains to boil water and produce steam

37
Q

Which transportation methods use renewable energy resources

A

Vehicles that run on pire biofuels or a mix of bio fuels and petrol or diesel (only the biofuel bit is renewable)

38
Q

Non renewable energy sources for heating buildings

A
  • natural gas is the most widely used fuel for heating homes in the uk. The gas is used to heat water which is pumped into radiators
  • coal is commonly burnt in fireplaces
  • electric heaters use electricity generates from non renewable energy sources
39
Q

Renewable energy resources for heating buildings

A
  • a geothermal (ground source) heat pump uses geothermal energy resources to heat buildings
  • solar water heaters work by using the sun to heat water which is then pumped into radiators
  • burning biofuel or using electricity generated from renewable resources can also be used for heating
40
Q

Wind power

A

This involves putting up lots of wind turbines in exposed areas like on moors and coasts. Each turbine has a generator inside it - the rotating blades turn the generator and produce electricity

41
Q

Solar cells

A

Solar cells generate electric currents directly from sunlight. Solar cells are often the best source of energy to charge batteries in calculators and watches which don’t use much electricity. Solar energy is often used in the remote places where there is not much choice like the Australian outback and to power electric roadsigns and satellites

42
Q

Geothermal energy

A

This is possible in volcanic areas or where hot rocks like quite near to the surface. The source of much of the energy is the slow decay of various radioactive elements, including uranium, deep inside the earth.

43
Q

Wave power

A

You need lots of small wave powered turbines connected to a generator located around the coast

44
Q

Tidal barrages

A

Tides are used in lots of ways to generate electricity. The most common method is building a tidal barrage. Tidal barrages are big dams built across river bodies with turbines in them. As the tide comes in, it fills up The estuary(body of water). The water is then allowed out through turbines at a controlled speed. Tides are produces by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon.

45
Q

Biofuels

A

Biofuels are renewable energy sources created from either plant products or animal dung. They can be solid liquid or gas and can be burnt to produce electricity or run cars in the same way as fossil fuels. They are supposedly carbon neutral but there is some debate about this as it’s only true if you keep growing plants at the rate your burning things

46
Q

Why do the energy resources we use change over time

A
  • breakthroughs in technology
  • understanding more about how they affect the environment
  • changes in cost
47
Q

Fossil fuel facts and trends

A
  • over the 20th century, the electricity use of the uk increased as the population grew and people started using electricity for more and more things
  • in the 21st century, electricity use in the uk decreased because people became better at making appliances more efficient, and more careful with energy used in homes
  • most of our energy produced today uses fossil fuels and nuclear energy, and we also used fossil fuels for petrol and diesel in cars (oil) and heating homes and cooking food (gas)
  • now the is trying to increase the use of renewable energy resources to 15% to be provided by renewable resources in the yearly energy in 2020
48
Q

What triggered the move towards using more renewable energy resources?

A
  • burning fossil fuels is very damaging to the environment and more people want to use more renewable energy resources to affect the environment less
  • people and governments are becoming increasingly aware that non renewables will run out and so they think it will be better to learn to get by without before this happens
  • pressure from other countries is causing governments to introduce targets for renewable resources which puts pressure on energy providers to build new power plants for renewable resources so they don’t lose business or money
  • car companies are also affected as electric cars and hybrids are already on the market and their popularity is increasing
49
Q

How is the use of renewables limited?

A
  • there is lots of scientific evidence supporting renewables, but scientists can only give advise, they can’t change the behaviour of people, governments, and companies
  • building new renewable power plants costs money which some energy providers are reluctant to spend when fossil fuels are so cost effective, and the cost of it also has to be paid either by customers or the government, and some people don’t/can’t pay so there are arguments about whether it is ethical to make them pay
  • if power plants are even built there are many arguments deciding where to put them
  • some energy resources like wind power are not as reliable and others can’t increase power output on demand, so we would have to use a combination of power plants or research ways to improve reliability (which takes much time and money)
  • making personal changes is quite expensive, as hybrid cars are more expensive as are solar panels, but the cost is slowly going down.

Physics (1 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions