Unit 6 Flashcards
What is the equation for % change?
(new-old) / old X 100
What fuel is commonly used in undeveloped countries?
Underdeveloped countries : Biomass ( firewood, agricultural waste)
What fuel is commonly used in developed countries
Developed countries : Natural gas, oil, coal, and renewable energy like, hydroelectric, wind, solar, and nuclear energy
What is the equation for half-life?
Substance remaining = initial (1/2) ^(time/ half-life time)
What is the basic pathway of electricity generation from fuel source to electricity going out to the grid?
Fuel source that heats water that creates steam -> Steam goes across a turbine to spin it which powers a generator -> The generator then send electricity to the grid
- nuclear , coal, oil, natural gas
How do you interpret graphs
- Read titles and axis titles
- Independent variable is on the x axis
How is crude oil refined chemically?
Fractional distillation: crude oil is heated and separated, based on their boiling points, into two different fractions making it easy to extract useful components like gasoline, diesel, and kerosene
What are the drawbacks of Geothermal energy?
DEF: Energy is obtained by using the heat stored in the Earth’s interior to heat up water, which is brought back to surface as steam
- Need to drill over 2 miles into the ground.
- Extremely high upfront cost. There’s a need for corrosive chemicals.
- Very loud
- Could lead to water contamination
What are some of the ecological damages caused by hydroelectric power, and how can they be mitigated?
DEF: Energy generated by dam, waves, or tidal movement
-It’s a geographic isolation leading to speciation
- Disrupts mating
- Changes migration patterns
- If a dam is put into water there is a divide in the species eventually becoming species A and species B
- To mitigate, use a fish ladder, or harvest the fish
What are all of the types of solar energy, direct and indirect?
Direct : photovoltaic cells
Indirect: photosynthesis, biomass and wind, hydropower
What are the positive and negative differences between the types of fossil fuels?
- Coal is worse for environment emits a lot of carbon dioxide
- Natural gas releases less carbon dioxide
How do vehicles using renewable energy and/or hybrid sources operate? How is the energy used to move the vehicle generated and delivered to the wheels?
Gasoline powers the engine which moves the vehicle which powers a motor and charges the battery while the car moves
What are the stages of coal formation as it ages?
(Youngest to oldest)
lignite (brown coal, low sulfur) -> bituminous coal (soft coal, high sulfur) -> anthracite (hard coal, low sulfur)
More sulfur = more pollutants
What are some of the options/practices currently available for disposal of radioactive waste?
Burying waste at bottom of ocean or deep in the earth (deep geological disposal)
What is scientific notation?
move the decimal place to the left or right of a number to where there is one number above 0 on the left side of the decimal. use that number and write it out X 10 ^(decimal place moved)
EX) 1,200 –> 1.2 X 10^3
EX) 0.012 –> 1.2 X 10^-3
What is cogeneration
Increased fuel use efficiency by using the fuel for energy (electricity) and the heat produced for another purpose
What is renewable energy vs nonrenewable energy
Renewable: can be replenish naturally, at or near rate of consumption (solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, tidal, biomass)
Nonrenewable: exist in a fixed amount and cannot be easily replaces (oil, natural gas, nuclear, coal)
Where are fossil fuels mostly located around the world?
Coal: Russia, USA, China
Oil: Iran, Saudia Arabia, Venezuela, Canada
Natural gas: USA, Russia, Iran
