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CGP Physics > Section 4-Energy Resources and Energy Transfer P2 > Flashcards

Section 4-Energy Resources and Energy Transfer P2 Flashcards

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1
Q

What are examples of non-renewable energy resources?

A

Coal
Oil
Natural gas
Nuclear fuels (e.g. uranium and plutonium)

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2
Q

What are 3 general facts about non-renewable energy sources?

A
  • they will all run out
  • they all do damage to the environment
  • they provide most of our energy
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3
Q

How do most power stations generate electricity?

A
  • as the fossil fuel burns(in oxygen)the chemical energy store is transferred to the thermal energy store of the water by heating
  • the water boils to form steam which turns a turbine, transferring energy mechanically to the kinetic energy store of the turbine
  • the turbine then powers the generator which produces an electric current, the generator transfers the energy electrically away from the power station via the national grid
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4
Q

What’re the advantages of burning fossil fuels?

A
  • burning fossil fuels realises a lot of energy relatively cheaply
  • it doesn’t rely on the weather so it’s reliable
  • have lots of fossil fuel power stations already so we don’t need to spend money on new technology to use them
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5
Q

What’re the disadvantages of burning fossil fuels?

A
  • all three fossil fuels release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when burned. This contributes to global warming
  • coal and oil also release sulphur dioxide which causes acid rain
  • they’re going to run out eventually
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6
Q

What’s the process that goes on in a nuclear reactor?

A
  • nuclear fission produces heat to make the steam to drive turbines rather than burning
  • energy is transferred from nuclear stores to thermal energy stores by heating, then mechanically to kinetic and finally electrically on the grid
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7
Q

What’re the disadvantages of nuclear fuels?

A
  • nuclear reactors are expensive to build and maintain, they also take longer to start up than fossil fuel ones
  • processing uranium before use it causes pollution
  • disposing of radioactive waste
  • commissioning and decommissioning is expensive
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8
Q

What’re the advantages of nuclear fuels?

A
  • doesn’t produce any greenhouse gases

- still plenty of uranium left in the ground

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9
Q

How are wind turbines used to create electrical energy?

A
  • Wind power involves putting lots of wind turbines up in exposed places(e.g. out at sea)
  • wind turbines use the kinetic energy store of moving air to generate electricity(wind turns the blades which turn a generator inside)
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10
Q

What’re the advantages of wind farms but more specifically wind turbines for generating electricity?

A
  • wind turbines are cheap to run
  • they’re very tough and reliable and the wind is free
  • wind power doesn’t produce any polluting waste and it’s renewable(won’t run out)
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11
Q

What’re the disadvantages of wind farms but more specifically wind turbines for generating electricity?

A
  • spoil the view(visual pollution) also noisy(sound pollution)
  • need about 1500 of then to replace one coal-fired power station and that’d cover a lot of ground
  • sometimes the wind isn’t strong enough to generate any power, it’s also impossible to increase supply when there’s extra demand
  • expensive to set up(especially out at sea)
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12
Q

How is geothermal power used to create electrical energy?

A
  • only possible in certain places where hot rocks lie near the surface(source energy-the slow decay of various radioactive elements)[some places use geothermal energy to heat buildings directly]
  • water is pumped down in pipes to the hot rocks and forced back up due to pressure to turn a turbine which drives a generator (energy is transferred from thermal energy stores to kinetic and is then used to generate electricity)
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13
Q

What’re the advantages of using geothermal power?

A

-it’s free renewable energy with no real environmental problems

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14
Q

What’re the disadvantages of using geothermal power?

A
  • main drawback is cost of drilling down several km
  • cost of building power point is often high compared to the amount of energy we get out of it
  • there’s very few places where this seems to be an economic option
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15
Q

How are solar cells used to capture the sun’s energy?

A

-solar cells(photocells) generate a direct current(DC-the same as a battery)from the sun’s energy

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16
Q

What’re the advantages of using solar cells to capture the sun’s energy?

A
  • the sun is a renewable energy source(won’t run out)
  • running cost are almost free
  • no pollution produced while using them
17
Q

What’re the disadvantages of using solar cells to capture the sun’s energy?

A
  • very expensive initially(start up costs) and some pollution is produced in their production
  • generally used on a small scale and it’s often too expensive or too impractical to connect them to the national grid
  • rely on enough sunlight(so at night and in the winter in some places there can be a problem)-but they can be linked to rechargeable batteries to create a system to store energy
18
Q

What’re the best uses of solar cells for generating electricity?

A
  • to power calculators and watches
  • in remote places like deserts because they don’t have much choice
  • in satellites
19
Q

How do solar water heating panels work? And what are some advantages and disadvantages?

A

Solar water heating panels are more simple than solar cells, they’re basically black water pipes in a glass box. The glass lets energy from the sun in, which is absorbed by the black pipes and heats up the water.

  • cost money to set up but are renewable and free after that
  • only used for small scale production
20
Q

What’re two solar heating systems?

A
  • solar water heating panels

- cooking with solar power

21
Q

How does cooking with solar panels work? And what are some advantages and disadvantages?

A

-get a curved mirror, then you can focus the sun’s light
-this focus light can heat up pans used for cooking
Advantage: provide a renewable energy resource for outdoor cooking
Disadvantage: slow, bulky and unreliable (need lots of strong sunlight to work)

22
Q

How is wave power used to create energy?

A
  • lots of small wave converters, as waves come to the shore they provide an up and down motion which can be used to drive a generator
  • the energy is transferred from the kinetic energy store of the waves to the kinetic energy store of the turbine and used to generate electricity
23
Q

What’re the advantages of using wave power to generate electricity?

A
  • No pollution
  • It’s renewable
  • no fuel costs and minimal running costs
  • good on small scale
24
Q

What’re the disadvantages of using wave power to generate electricity?

A
  • visual pollution(spoiling the view)
  • hazard to boats
  • fairly unreliable since waves die out when the wind drops
  • initial costs are high
25
Q

How are tidal barrages used to generate electricity?

A
  • tail barrages are big dams built across river estuaries with turbines in them, as the tide comes in it fills up the estuary to a height of several metres, this water can then be allowed out through turbines at a controlled speed(driving the turbines on the way)
  • energy transfer from kinetic in water to kinetic of the turbine generating electricity
26
Q

What’re the advantages of using a tidal barrage to generate electricity?

A
  • no pollution
  • renewable
  • tides are pretty reliable but the height of the tide is variable
  • no fuel costs and running cost are minimal
27
Q

What’re the disadvantages of using a tidal barrage to generate electricity?

A
  • they can prevent free access to an area by boat
  • spoiling the view
  • altering the habitat of the wildlife
  • initial costs are moderately high
28
Q

How do hydroelectric dams generate electricity?

A
  • requires flooding of a valley by building a dam, rainwater is caught and allowed through turbines
  • energy is transferred from the gravitational potential of the water to kinetic as the water falls
29
Q

What’re the advantages of hydroelectricity?

A
  • renewable energy source
  • no pollution
  • immediate response to demand (reliable unless there’s a drought)
  • no fuel costs and running costs are low
30
Q

What’re the disadvantages of hydroelectricity?

A
  • environmental impact due to the flooding of a valley (rotting vegetation releases methane and CO₂) and possible loss of habitat for some species
  • initial costs are high
  • visual pollution
31
Q

What’s pumped storage?

A
  • Most large power stations have huge boilers which have to be kept running all night(even though the demand is low), this means there’s a surplus of energy at night and pumped storage is a way of storing this energy
  • the spare electricity is used to pump water up to a higher reservoir
  • this higher reservoir store can then be realised quickly for peak times

CGP Physics (16 decks)

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