Unit 6- Energy Resource and Consumption Vocab

Question 1

Active Solar Energy Collection

Answer 1

An approach in which technological devices are used to focus, move, or store solar energy.

Question 2

Biodiesel

Answer 2

Diesel fuel produced by mixing vegetable oil, using cooking grease, or animal fat with small amounts of ethanol or methanol(wood alcohol) in the presence of a chemical catalyst.

Question 3

Biofuels

Answer 3

Fuel produced by biomass energy sources and used primarily to power automobiles. Examples include ethanol and biodiesel.

Question 4

British Thermal Unit (BTU)

Answer 4

Is a measure of the heat content of fuels or energy sources.

Question 5

Carbon Storage/Carbon Sequestration

Answer 5

Technologies or approaches to sequester, or store, carbon dioxide from industrial emissions(e.g., underground under pressure in locations where it will not seep out) in an effort to mitigate global climate change. We are still a long way from developing adequate technology and secure storage space to accomplish this.

Question 6

Coal

Answer 6

Our most abundant fossil fuel. A heart blackish substance formed from organic matter(generally woodly plant material) that was compressed under very high pressure and with little decomposition, creating dense, solid carbon structures.

Question 7

Cogeneration

Answer 7

A practice in which the extra heat generated in the production of electricity is captured and put to use heating workplaces and homes, as well as producing other kinds of power.

Question 8

Crude Oil(petroleum)

Answer 8

A fossil fuel produced by the conversion of organic compounds by heat and pressure. Crude oil is a mixture of hundreds of different types of hydrocarbon molecules characterized by carbon chains of different lengths.

Question 9

Electricity

Answer 9

A second form of energy that can be transferred over long distances and applied for a variety of uses.

Question 10

Energy Conservation

Answer 10

The practice of reducing energy use as a way of extending the lifetime of our fossil fuel supplies, of being less wasteful, and of reducing our impact to the environment. Conservation can result from behavioral decisions or from technologies that demonstrate energy efficiency.

Question 11

Energy Efficiency

Answer 11

The ability to obtain a given result or amount of output while using less energy input. Technologies permitting greater energy efficiency are one main route to energy conservation.

Question 12

Energy Returned on Investment(EROI)

Answer 12

The ratio determined by dividing the quantity of energy returned from a process by the quantity of energy invested in a process. Higher EROI ratios mean that more energy is produced from each unit of energy invested.

Question 13

Fossil Fuels

Answer 13

A nonrenewable natural resource, such as crude oil, natural gas, or coal, produced by the decomposition and compression of organic matter from ancient life.

Question 14

Geothermal Energy

Answer 14

Energy that arises from beneath Earth’s surface, ultimately from the radioactive decay of elements amid high pressures deep underground. Can be used to generate electrical power in power plants, or direct heating via piped water, or ground-source heat pumps.

Question 15

Smart Grid

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Hydraulic Fracturing

Answer 16

A process to extract shale gas, in which a drill is sent deep underground and angled horizontally into a shale formation; water, sand, and chemicals are pumped in under great pressure, fracturing the rock; and gas migrates up through the drilling pipe as sand holds the fractures open. Also called hydrofracking or simply fracking.

Question 17

Hydroelectric Power(hydropower)

Answer 17

The generation of electricity using kinetic energy of moving water.

Question 18

Hydrogen Fuel Cell

Answer 18

A fuel cell is a device that generates electricity through an electrochemical reactant not combustion, in this case sunlight, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Question 19

Kilowatt (kW)

Answer 19

A measure of 1,000 watts of electrical power.

Question 20

Kilowatt-hour(kWh)

Answer 20

A measure of electrical energy equivalent to a power consumption of 1,000 watts for 1 hour.

Question 21

Natural Gas

Answer 21

A fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane (CH4) and including variety amounts of other volatile hydrocarbons.

Question 22

Non-renewable Energy Source

Answer 22

Natural resources that are in limited supply and are formed much more slowly than we use them.

Question 23

Nuclear Energy

Answer 23

The energy that holds together protons and neutrons within the nucleus of an atom. Several processes, each of which involves transforming isotopes of one element into isotopes of other elements, can convert nuclear energy into thermal energy, which is then used to generate electricity.

Question 24

Nuclear Fission

Answer 24

The conversion of the energy within an atom’s nucleus to usable thermal energy by splitting apart atomic nuclei.

Question 25

Nuclear Fusion

Answer 25

The conversion of the energy within an atom’s nucleus to usablr thermal energy by forcing together the small nuclei of lightweight elements under extremely high temperature and pressure. Developing a commercially viable method of nuclear fission remains an elusive goal.

Question 26

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion(OTEC)

Answer 26

A potential energy source that involves harnessing the solar radiation absorbed by tropical ocean water period

Question 27

Oil Sands(tar sands)

Answer 27

Deposits that can be mined from the ground, consisting of moist sand and clay containing 1-20% bitumen. Oil sands represent crude oil deposits that have been degraded and chemically altered by water erosion and bacterial decomposition. Widely envisioned as a replacement for crude oil as this resource is depleted.

Question 28

Oil Shale

Answer 28

Sedimentary rock filled with kerogen that can be processed to produce liquid petroleum. Oil shale is formed by the same processes that form crude oil but occurs when kerogen was not buried deeply enough or subjected to enough heat and pressure to form oil.

Question 29

Passive Solar Energy Collection

Answer 29

An approach in which buildings are designed and building materials are chosen to maximize their direct absorption of sunlight in winter and to keep the interior cool in the summer.

Question 30

Petroleum

Answer 30

Crude oil, however, the term is also used for both oil and natural gas together.

Question 31

Photovoltaic(PV) Cell

Answer 31

A device designed to collect sunlight and directly convert to electrical energy by making use of the photoelectric effect(an effect that occurs when light strikes one of a pair of metal plates in a photovoltaic cell, causing the release of electrons, which are attracted by electrostatic forces to the opposing plate. The flow of electrons from one plate to another creates an electrical current).

Question 32

Proven Recoverable Reserve

Answer 32

The amount of given fossil fuel in a deposit that is technologically and economically feasible to remove under current conditions.

Question 33

Refinery

Answer 33

Refining is the process of separating the molecules of the various hydrocarbons in crude oil into different-sized classes and transforming them into various fuels and other petrochemical products.

Question 34

Renewable Resource

Answer 34

Natural resources that are virtually unlimited or that are replenished by the environment over relatively short periods(hours to weeks to years).

Question 35

Solar Energy

Answer 35

Energy from the sun. It is perpetually renewable and maybe harnessed in several ways.

Question 36

Wind Farm

Answer 36

A development involving a group of wind turbines.

Question 37

Wind Power

Answer 37

A source of renewable energy, in which kinetic energy from the passage of wind through wind turbines is used to generate electricity.