APES Chapters 20, 15, 14 MC
A home uses ten 100-watt lightbulbs for five hours per day. Approximately how many kilowatt-hours of electrical energy are consumed in one year by using the lightbulbs?
1,825
A family of four lives in a three-bedroom house and uses an average of 900kWh900kWh of electricity per month. The family cools their house for three months during the summer with two window-unit air conditioners that each use 350kWh350kWh of electricity per month. Which of the following is the percentage of the family's total annual electricity that is used to run the two air conditioners for the three summer months?
19.4%
Burning one gallon of gasoline in a car releases approximately 20 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere. One person drives 60,000 miles in a car that averages 30 miles per gallon (mpg), while another person drives 60,000 miles in a car that averages 20 mpg. Over the course of the 60,000 miles, how many fewer pounds of CO2 are released by the 30 mpg car than by the 20 mpg car?
20,000
Based on the data in the graph, which of the following represents the total electricity production in the United States from all energy sources, in billions of kilowatt-hours, in 2017?
3.8×10^12 kWh
How many BTUs were consumed in the United States in 2017 by consumers that used petroleum as a fuel source?
36 quadrillion BTUs
Which of the following is the best example of cogeneration?
A coal-fired power plant captures waste heat and uses it to heat adjacent buildings.
Which of the following will be the most likely consequence from the daily operation of a typical hydroelectric power plant?
Beach erosion will increase where the river meets the ocean downstream from the hydroelectric dam project
Directions: Select the choice that best fits each statement. The following question(s) refer to the following energy sources. Biomass Wind Tidal energy Nuclear fission Sunlight The source whose use is a direct cause of deforestation
Biomass
Which of the following best describes the energy resource used most often for heating and cooking in less developed countries?
Biomass is the predominant fuel source because it is easily obtained locally.
Which of the following is the most successful solution to the problem of fish mortality caused by dams?
Building fish ladders around the dam
Which of the following describes an environmental problem that can result from the combustion of fossil fuels to generate electricity?
Carbon dioxide is a product of the combustion fossil fuels, and it can lead to global climate change when released into the atmosphere.
An industry uses natural gas for manufacturing and uses the waste heat to produce electricity. This is an example of which of the following processes?
Cogeneration
Which of the following is the most valid inference regarding electricity production, based on the graph above?
Electricity production from coal began to decrease in 2008 because of the increasing use of natural gas and renewable energy.
Based on the diagram, which processes would provide the energy used to generate electricity at the power plant?
Fission in radioactive fuel
Which of the following best describes an environmental problem associated with hydrologic fracturing, or fracking?
Fracking fluids can escape from the drill hole and contaminate surface water and groundwater.
Economic benefits of building large dams include which of the following? I. Storage of water for agriculture and domestic use II. Controlling floods upstream III. Production of renewable energy
I and III only
Throughout the world, especially the less-developed countries, burning wood or other biomass for heating or cooking in homes is common. One negative environmental impact of this practice is the production of particulates indoors, which can be a health hazard to humans. Which of the following describes the best strategy for mitigating this potential problem?
Installing effective ventilation systems in dwellings
Many environmentalists consider Egypt's Aswan High Dam on the Nile River to be an ecological disaster. Which of the following is the best evidence to support this viewpoint?
Most of the nutrient-rich silt that the Nile annually deposited downstream is now deposited behind the dam.
If peak electricity use occurs around 2p.m. in the Los Angeles area and avoiding brownouts is more important to the installers of the PV panels than annual energy output, which of the following PV panel systems would be best to use in the area?
No tracking, tilted west
The source that is not renewable
Nuclear fission
The source that produces long-lived hazardous wastes
Nuclear fission
Which of the following best describes a benefit of increasing the number of offshore wind farms rather than onshore wind farms?
Offshore winds farms will produce up to three times as much electricity as wind farms on land because of increased wind speeds offshore.
Which of the following best describes the conditions under which peat is formed?
Partially decayed vegetation is placed under high-pressure, anaerobic, acidic conditions.
Which of the following best explains the impact of climate change on polar regions?
Polar regions are warming more quickly than other regions because warming decreases the coverage of high-albedo ground cover like ice and snow.
Based on the provided data, which of the following best explains the change in energy resource use?
Renewable sources replaced nonrenewable sources for electricity generation but not for transportation.
Based on the data, which of the following policies would most likely make the greatest reduction in the ecological footprint for all of the cities shown in the graph?
Setting higher fuel efficiency standards for vehicles
Which of the following environmental problems is most often associated with electricity generation in the type of power plant illustrated in the diagram?
Spent fuel rods are radioactive and must be disposed of properly.
Which of the following is a disadvantage of using nuclear energy as a source of electricity?
Spent fuel rods must be disposed of properly.
The source that is converted directly into electrical energy by photovoltaic cells
Sunlight
The separation of the various components of crude oil in refineries is accomplished primarily by taking advantage of differences in which of the following?
The boiling points of the components
Which of the following is a negative consequence associated with photovoltaic solar cells?
The manufacture of photovoltaic solar cells involves toxic metals that can be released into the environment.
Which of the following best describes the method of vehicle transport that is the most environmentally sustainable?
The use of a vehicle powered by hydrogen fuel cells because there are no carbon emissions
Which of the following is a drawback to using biofuels, such as ethanol, as a fuel source?
There is high energy investment in producing and processing the crops needed for ethanol production.
One solution for reducing the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide would be to
decrease the use of fossil fuels
