P1.4

Question 1

What is nuclear fission?

Answer 1

Where the nucleus of an atom is split into smaller nuclei

Question 2

What is carbon capture?

Answer 2

When carbon dioxide produced by power stations is piped deep underground to oil and gas fields

Question 3

What are advantages of Nuclear power stations?

Answer 3

~ Produce lots of electricity

~ Produce no polluting gases

Question 4

What are disadvantages of nuclear power stations?

Answer 4

~ Produce radioactive waste

~ High decommissioning costs

Question 5

What are advantages of gas power stations?

Answer 5

~ Produces energy fast

~ Fastest start up time

Question 6

What are advantages of hydroelectricity?

Answer 6

~ Reliable

~ Doesn’t produce much pollution

Question 7

What are the disadvantages of hydroelectricity?

Answer 7

~ Visual pollution

~ Can damage sea life

Question 8

What are the advantages of tidal energy?

Answer 8

~ Quite reliable

~ No pollution

Question 9

What are the disadvantages of tidal energy?

Answer 9

~ Produces small amount of electricity
~ Disrupts environment
~ Visual pollution

Question 10

What does pumped storage do?

Answer 10

Allows electricity to be stored when demand is low and accessible when demand is high

Question 11

What are advantages of pumped storage?

Answer 11

~ Produces electricity very quickly

Question 12

How can pumped storage make electricity quick?

Answer 12

Water from the lower reservoir can be pumped back up again, and the generator and turbine can act like a pump so that when demand is high it can pump the water back up to the high water level where it is stored

Question 13

What is the national grid made up of?

Answer 13

A system of cables and transformers

Question 14

What are disadvantages of transporting electricity underground?

Answer 14

~ Expensive to build

~ Expensive to repair

Question 15

What are disadvantages of transporting electricity above the ground?

Answer 15

~ Spoils landscape

~ Believed to be health issues related to living near electromagnetic fields

Question 16

What do step up transformers do?

Answer 16

~ Increase voltage

~ Decrease current

Question 17

What do step down transformers do?

Answer 17

~ Decrease voltage

~ Increase current

Question 18

Where is geothermal energy made?

Answer 18

Near areas with volcanoes because there is hot rock underground

Question 19

What are disadvantages of wind turbines?

Answer 19

~ Don’t produce lots of electricity
~ Weather dependent
~ Visual + noise pollution

Question 20

What are advantages of wind turbines?

Answer 20

~ Release no polluting gases

Question 21

What are advantages of thermal energy?

Answer 21

~ Good amount of electricity
~ Reliable
~ No polluting gases

Question 22

What are disadvantages of geothermal energy?

Answer 22

~ Difficult to find suitable places to build them

Question 23

What is the national grid?

Answer 23

A network of cables that deliver electricity to where it’s needed from every power station over the country

Question 24

Where do fossil fuels come from?

Answer 24

The remains of plants and animals formed over millions of years

Question 25

What are two examples of nuclear fuels?

Answer 25

Uranium, plutonium

Question 26

What are some examples of biofuels?

Answer 26

~ Wood

~ Plant and animal waste

Question 27

What do nuclear power stations work?

Answer 27

~ Nuclear fission is used to produce heat
~ This heats the water into steam
~ The steam turns a turbine which drives a generator
~ Steam is then condensed back to liquid and cycle continues

Question 28

How is electricity generated in a power station?

Answer 28

~ Coal / oil / gas / biofuel burnt to produce heat
~ Water heated into steam
~ Steam turns turbine that turns generator
~ Steam condensed into water and cycle continued

Question 29

What energy source has the fastest startup time?

Answer 29

Gas

Question 30

What is start up time?

Answer 30

Time taken to immediately produce electricity