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SRHS AP Environmental Science 2024-2025 > Unit 6 > Flashcards

Unit 6 Flashcards

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1
Q

Active solar energy

A

A use of technology that captures and stores the energy of sunlight with electrical equipment and devices.

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2
Q

Biodiesel

A

A diesel substitute produced by extracting and chemically altering oil from plants.

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3
Q

Fossil carbon

A

Old carbon contained in fossil fuels.

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4
Q

Nondepletable

A

An energy source that cannot be used up.

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5
Q

Lignite

A

A brown coal that is a soft sedimentary rock that sometimes shows traces of plant structure; it typically contains 60 to 70 percent carbon.

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6
Q

Fossil fuel combustion

A

The chemical reaction between any fossil fuel and oxygen resulting in the production of carbon dioxide, water, and the release of energy.

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7
Q

Radioactivity

A

The emission of ionizing radiation or particles caused by the spontaneous disintegration of atomic nuclei.

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8
Q

Carbon monoxide

A

A colorless, odorless gas that is formed during incomplete combustion of most materials.

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9
Q

Fracking

A

Short for hydraulic fracturing, a method of oil and gas extraction that uses high-pressure fluids to force open existing cracks in rocks deep underground.

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10
Q

Biofuel

A

Liquid fuel created from processed or refined biomass.

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11
Q

Capacity

A

The maximum electrical output of something such as a power plant.

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12
Q

Nuclear power

A

Electricity generated from the nuclear energy contained in nuclear fuel.

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13
Q

Becquerel (Bq)

A

A measurement of the rate at which a sample of radioactive material decays; 1 Bq is equal to the decay of one atom per second.

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14
Q

Energy quality

A

The ease with which an energy source can be used to do work.

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15
Q

Cellulosic ethanol

A

An ethanol derived from cellulose, the cell wall material in plants.

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16
Q

Carbon dioxide

A

A by-product of all combustion, carbon dioxide from biofuels contains modern carbon from woody material, rather than fossil carbon from fossil fuels.

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17
Q

Anthracite (Hard coal)

A

Contains greater than 90 percent carbon. It has the highest quantity of energy per volume of coal and the fewest impurities.

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18
Q

Energy carrier

A

An energy source such as electricity that can move and deliver energy in a convenient, usable form to end users.

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19
Q

Passive solar

A

A use of energy from the sun that takes advantage of solar radiation without active technology.

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20
Q

Wind turbine

A

A turbine that converts the kinetic energy of moving air into electricity.

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21
Q

Turbine

A

A device that can be turned by water, steam, or wind to produce power such as electricity.

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22
Q

Radioactive waste

A

Nuclear fuel that can no longer produce enough heat to be useful in a power plant but continues to emit radioactivity.

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23
Q

Bituminous coal (Asphalt)

A

A black or dark brown coal that contains bitumen. It typically contains up to 80 percent carbon.

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24
Q

Modern carbon

A

Carbon in biomass that was recently in the atmosphere.

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25
Q

Energy efficiency

A

The ratio of the amount of energy expended in the form you want to the total amount of energy that is introduced into the system.

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26
Q

Combined cycle

A

A feature in some natural gas–fired power plants that uses both a steam turbine to generate electricity and a separate turbine that is powered by the exhaust gases from natural gas combustion to turn another turbine to generate electricity.

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27
Q

Subsistence energy sources

A

Energy sources gathered by individuals for their own immediate needs including straw, sticks, and animal dung.

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28
Q

Charcoal

A

Woody material that has been heated in the absence of oxygen so that water and some volatile compounds are driven off.

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29
Q

Energy intensity

A

The energy use per unit of gross domestic product (GDP).

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30
Q

Hydroelectricity

A

Electricity generated by the kinetic energy of moving water.

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31
Q

Renewable energy resources

A

Sources of energy that are infinite.

32
Q

Tar sands (Oil sands)

A

Slow-flowing, viscous deposits of bitumen or asphalt, mixed with sand, water, and clay.

33
Q

Coal

A

A solid fuel formed primarily from the remains of trees, ferns, and other plant materials that were preserved 280 million to 360 million years ago.

34
Q

Energy conservation

A

Methods for finding and implementing ways to use less energy.

35
Q

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

A

An organic compound that evaporates at typical atmospheric temperatures.

36
Q

Smart grid

A

An efficient, self-regulating electricity distribution network that accepts any source of electricity and distributes it automatically to end users.

37
Q

Ethanol

A

Alcohol made by converting starches and sugars from plant material into alcohol and CO2.

38
Q

Fuel cell

A

An electrical-chemical device that converts fuel, such as hydrogen, into an electrical current.

39
Q

Siltation

A

Sediments from moving water that accumulate on the bottom of a reservoir.

40
Q

Wind energy

A

Energy generated from the kinetic energy of moving air.

41
Q

Hubbert curve

A

A graph that represents oil use and projects both when world oil production will reach a maximum and when world oil will be depleted.

42
Q

Thermal mass

A

A property of a building material that allows it to maintain heat or cold.

43
Q

Photovoltaic solar cells

A

A use of energy from the Sun as light, not heat, and converting it directly into electricity.

44
Q

Passive solar design

A

Construction technique designed to take advantage of solar radiation without active technology.

45
Q

Potentially renewable

A

An energy source that can be regenerated indefinitely as long as it is not overharvested.

46
Q

Control rod

A

A cylindrical device inserted between the fuel rods in a nuclear reactor to absorb excess neutrons and slow or stop the fission reaction.

47
Q

Energy return on energy investment (EROEI)

A

The amount of energy we get out of an energy source for every unit of energy expended on its production.

48
Q

Crude oil

A

A mixture of hydrocarbons such as oil, gasoline, kerosene as well as water and sulfur that exists in a liquid state underground, and when brought to the surface.

49
Q

Cogeneration (Combined heat and power)

A

The use of a fuel to both generate electricity and deliver heat to a building or industrial process.

50
Q

Tidal energy

A

Energy that comes from the movement of water driven by the gravitational pull of the Moon.

51
Q

Radioactive decay

A

When a parent radioactive isotope emits alpha or beta particles or gamma rays.

52
Q

Biomass

A

Biological material that has mass.

53
Q

Natural gas

A

A relatively clean fossil fuel containing 80 to 95 percent methane (CH4) and 5 to 20 percent ethane, propane, and butane.

54
Q

Peak demand

A

The greatest quantity of energy used at any one time.

55
Q

Oxygenated fuel

A

A fuel with oxygen as part of the molecule.

56
Q

Peak oil

A

The point at which oil extraction and use would increase steadily until roughly half the supply had been used up.

57
Q

Run-of-the-river

A

Hydroelectricity generation in which water is retained behind a low, small dam or no dam.

58
Q

Nitrogen oxides

A

A by-product of combustion of any fuel in the atmosphere (which contains 78 percent nitrogen).

59
Q

Fossil fuels

A

Fuels derived from biological material that became fossilized millions of years ago.

60
Q

Electrical grid

A

A network of interconnected transmission lines.

61
Q

Capacity factor

A

The fraction of time a power plant operates in a year.

62
Q

Ground source heat pump

A

A technology that transfers heat from the ground to a building.

63
Q

Phantom loads

A

Electrical demand by a device that draws electrical current, even when it is turned off.

64
Q

Nonrenewable energy resource

A

An energy source with a finite supply, primarily the fossil fuels and nuclear fuels.

65
Q

Half-life

A

The time it takes for one-half of an original radioactive parent atom to decay.

66
Q

Geothermal energy

A

Heat energy that comes from the natural radioactive decay of elements deep within Earth.

67
Q

Peat

A

A precursor to coal, made up of partly decomposed organic material, including mosses.

68
Q

Electrolysis

A

The application of an electric current to water molecules to split them into hydrogen and oxygen.

69
Q

Carbon neutral

A

An activity that does not change atmospheric CO2 concentrations.

70
Q

Curie

A

A unit of measure for radiation, a curie is 37 billion decays per second.

71
Q

Fission

A

A nuclear reaction in which a neutron strikes a relatively large atomic nucleus, which then splits into two or more parts, releasing additional neutrons and energy in the form of heat.

72
Q

Fuel rod

A

A cylindrical tube that encloses nuclear fuel within a nuclear reactor.

73
Q

Commercial energy sources

A

Energy sources that are bought and sold, such as coal, oil, and natural gas.

74
Q

Water impoundment

A

The storage of water in a reservoir behind a dam.

75
Q

Particulates (Particulate matter; Soot)

A

Solid or liquid particles suspended in the air.

SRHS AP Environmental Science 2024-2025 (6 decks)

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