environmental geology chapter 13-15 exam

which country relies most heavily upon nuclear power for its energy

France

gypsum is mined to yield this

Plaster of Paris (primarily for making wallboard)

within which country are the largest proven reserves of crude oil located?

Saudi Arabia

the largest complex of geothermal power plants in the U.S. is found here

The Geysers near San Fransisco, California

a geologic repository for storage of high-level nuclear waste is planned for this site

Yucca Mountain, Nevada

worldwide reserves for most metals are projected to last

a few decades

any rain water having a pH less than 5.6 is

acid rain

severe leaching of tropical laterite soils has produced economically important ore deposits of a

aluminum

which has the greatest world reserves (supply for the future)?

aluminum

new enhanced oil recovery methods can extract more oil from a reservoir

and so expand oil reserves

which is the highest grade and most carbon-rich coal?

anthracite

blood diamonds

are diamonds mined in war zone countries, like Sierra Leone, Africa, and sold to finance weapons

oil spills

are increasingly underreported by the new agencies

A ______ _____ is a sedimentary rock, consisting of alternating iron-rich and silica rich layers, that may qualify as an ore of iron

banded iron formation

____ is the most commonly mined source of aluminum

bauxite

which ore deposit yields aluminum?

bauxite

within which country are the largest proven reserves of natural gas located?

former USSR

hydrothermal deposits of ore minerals form

from hot water circulating through rocks

which energy resource utilizes the earths internal heat?

geothermal

metamorphism of coal produces

graphite

commercially, the most valuable petroleum reservoirs (like aquifers) are

high in probity and high in permeability

geopressurized natural gas may be deep underground in

hot salty groundwater

_____ ore deposits are formed by warm fluids circulation in the earths crust

hydrothermal

the metal-rich muds at the bottom of the Red Sea are most likely formed as a result of

hydrothermal activity

the bulk of our metallic mineral resources is associated with

igneous rocks

the most heavily used metal is

iron

aluminum is a widely used metal because it

is both strong and light

why do so many environmentalist groups oppose hydropower development?

it destroys habitat and scenery

diamonds are mined from a type of igneous rock called ____ that occurs as pipeline intrusive bodies

kimberlite

diamonds are found in

kimberlites

recycling aluminum is beneficial because

less electricity is required to re-melt aluminum than refine it from ore

geothermal heat is a good energy source but

limited to specific sites

the marine mineral resource having the greatest potential for exploitation in the near future is

manganese nodules

the concentration factor

measures the relative enrichment of ore bodies

which source could yield large amounts of natural gas in the future?

methane hydrates

which is a fossil fuel?

natural gas

where are the greatest wind resources available in the U.S.?

north-central U.S.

which is not in the top three sources of world energy production?

nuclear power

a fission nuclear reactor core meltdown

occurred at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania

mangase nodules form

on the deep sea floor

an _____ is a rock in which a valuable or useful metal occurs at a concentration high enough to make it economically practical to mine

ore

metallic mineral deposits that are worth mining are

ores

twenty miles per gallon is the average fuel consumption of a

passanger car

large feldspar crystals are abundant in what ore deposit?

pegmatite

_____ are ore deposits mechanically concentrated by the sorting action of moving water

placers

coal forms from

plants buried in sediment

a breeder reactor makes more this fuel than it consumes

plutonium-239

aluminum ore deposits are

residual deposits

which mineral/rock resource is most intensively used in the U.S.?

sand and gravel

in the U.S., the bulk of uranium deposits are found in

sandstone

banded iron formation is what kind of mineral deposit?

sedimentary

where are the solar energy resources available in the U.S.?

southwestern U.S.

currently, the greatest use of solar energy is for

space heating

_____ ____ are piles of waste rock produced by surface mining

spoil banks

black smokers on the seafloor occur near

spreading ridges

oil shale is currently extracted by

strip mining

hydrothermal deposits are predominately composed of what type of ore minerals?

sulfide

_____ are piles of crushed or ground water rock produced a a by-product of mineral processing

tailings

waste materials left from processing mineral deposits are called

tallings

the amount of energy potentially available from hydroelectric power is limited primarily by

the limited number of sites that have appropriate rivers

why might certain minerals be considered renewable resources while others are nonrenewable?

the renewable metals are those which have been recycled

the main reason we presently do not utilize more solar energy in the U.S. is that

using solar would require a fundamental change in the energy industry

the major drawback to fusion power is

we cannot carry out a fusion reaction

an important reason that the U.S. is not generating much energy from nuclear fission is

we have no repository for high-level nuclear waste

using both primary and secondary petroleum recovery techniques, what proportion of the oil in an oil field is usually pumped out?

1/3

the 20 billion barrels of oil in Alaska's north slope deposits would supply the U.S. for about

2 years

ninety-eight percent of the earths crust is composed of only ______ elements

8

Breeder reactors constitute what percentage of nuclear power plants in the United States?

0

Optimistic projections state that nuclear fission will supply about how much of the total energy used in the United States by the year 2020?

1/3

coal supplies about ____ percent of the energy used in the U.S.

25

natural gas supplies about ____ percent of the energy used in the U.S.

25

Currently, the best experimental solarcells have an efficiency of about percent.

30

Hydroelectric power provides about percent of the total energy needs of the United States.

4

Petroleum accounts for about _____ percent of the energy used in the U.S.

40

One barrel of oil is equal to how many gallons?

42

The worst oil spill in United States waters was the

Exxon Valdez spill

The fuel to be used by fusion reactors is

Hydrogen

the nation having the largest proven reserves of crude oil is

Saudi Arabia

clay

a component of drilling muds

in 1995, wind power accounted for what percentage of the electric generating capacity of the U.S.?

about 3

Which of the following is a technological problem that must be solved before fusion reactors become a reality?

all of the above

hydroelectric power

all of the above

the environmental disaster that has affected the town of Centralia, Pennsylvania was caused by

an underground coal-mine fire

The term ________ describes processes that occur in the absence of oxygen.

anaerobic

Which one of the following fuels would give off the most heat per given unit weight?

anthracite

laterite weathering produces which ore deposit

bauxite

which of the following alternative energy sources has the greatest potential form becoming a large-scale energy supply in the future?

binary geothermal

fuels are those derived from living or recent organisms.

biomass

_______ ______ is a name given to hydrothermal vents that emits dark clouds of suspended sulfide minerals

black smokers

is a reactor that produces more fissionable nuclear fuel than it consumes.

breeder reactor

acid rain is caused primarily by

burning high-sulfur coal

chromite forms

by crystal settling in a magma

is a series of fission reactions occurring in a mass of fissionable material such as uranium-235.

chain reaction

The largest recoverable U.S. energy reserve is

coal

which energy source will last the longest?

coal

which produces the most carbon dioxide when it is burned?

coal

atmospheric pollution is the worst when

coal is burned

gasification and liquefaction techniques

convert coal to more versatile fuel

is a nuclear reactor accident caused by the loss of core coolant and the resultant overheating of the core.

core meltdown

ocean thermal energy conversion is limited most by easy access to near-shore

deep cold water

most gasohol blends are from

distilled grains

some pegmatites are mined for gemstones such as

emerald

halite, gypsum, and phosphate are examples of minerals recovered from

evaporate deposits

rock salt and rock gypsum are what kind of mineral deposit

evaporite

A major disadvantage of recycling aluminum is that it takes significantly more energy to recycle scrap aluminum than it does to extract new aluminum from its ore.

false

Geothermal energy is being tapped most extensively at hot spots.

false

In 1995, geothermal energy was the dominant renewable energy source in the United States.

false

Most petroleum is found in rocks no older than one to two million years old.

false

Most petroleum source rocks are highly permeable, coarse-grained, clastic sedimentary rocks.

false

Oil and natural gas are believed to have formed from the bodies of large land animals such as dinosaurs.

false

Substituting some of the uses of one metal with another metal is perhaps the most effective way to extend reserves of the substituted metal.

false

The United States consumes about 10% of all the world's oil resources.

false

The United States has consumed almost half of its total coal resources.

false

The United States has enough reserves of uranium-235 to last for 600 years.

false

The potential fuel in tar sands is a waxy solid called kerogen.

false

The primary use of sulfur in the United States is in the manufacture of explosives

false

The process used by commercial nuclear power plants is fusion.

false

The radioactive wastes produced by nuclear reactors can be rendered harmless by combining the wastes with chemicals to make them nonradioactive

false

banded iron formations are relatively recent geological formations

false

the graphite used in "lead" pencils is usually mined from placer deposits

false

oil spill clean-up experiments after the Exxon Valdez spill that were the most encouraging involved

fertilizer sprayed on the beaches

is the splitting apart of atomic nuclei into smaller nuclei.

fission

waste disposal is a problem with which energy resource?

fission

breeder reactors would provide a renewable supply of fuel for

fission power plants

________ ________ are hydrocarbon energy sources formed from the remains of once-living organisms.

fossil fuels

Oil, natural gas, and coal are examples of

fossil fuels, hydrocarbon fuel, nonrenewable resources

is the joining of atomic nuclei to form larger ones and the releasing of energy in the process

fusion

the reservoir now beloved to contain the largest amount of carbon is

gas hydrates

is a fuel consisting of a blend of 90% gasoline and 10% alcohol.

gashol

________ is the process by which coal is converted into a gaseous hydrocarbon fuel.

gasification

energy is derived from the internal heat of the earth.

geothermal

Coal subjected to overly high temperatures will metamorphose into

graphite

is a potential geothermal energy source where thermal gradients are at least 40oC/kilometer and where groundwater is lacking.

hot dry rock

As societies evolve from primitive to technological, the energy consumption associated with agriculture

increases

Which one of the following is not an advantage of solar energy?

it is a widely dispersed resource

a major limitation of hydroelectric power is that

it is limited to the stationary nature of streams

the hydrocarbon fuel in oil shale is

kerogen

______ is a soft, brown coal formed directly from peat.

lignite

_______ is the process by which coal is converted into a liquid hydrocarbon fuel.

liquefaction

The gaseous fuel obtained from sanitary landfills is

methane

______is the most common gaseous hydrocarbon in natural gas.

methane

of the following non-fuel minerals, the U.S. has significant reserves only of

molybdenum

As heat and pressure act upon petroleum, it finally becomes

natural gas

geopressurized zones might one day become an important source of

natural gas

________ energy resources are those not being replenished or formed on a human time scale.

nonrenewable

All of the following are reasons why no new nuclear power plants have been ordered since 1978 except

nuclear plants have higher fueling and operating costs than coal-fired plants

__________, or petroleum, is not a single chemical compound, but a liquid mixture of various hydrocarbons.

oil

_______ ________ is a sedimentary rock containing the waxy hydrocarbon fuel called kerogen.

oil shale

the U.S. has about 2/3 of the worlds known resources of

oil shale

The accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant was caused by

particle loss of coolant

or solar cells, produce electricity directly from sunlight.

photovoltaic cells

copper

primarily used for electrical applications

an oil well "gusher" would be an example of

primary recovery

of silver

principle use is for photographic materials

coal that is high in sulfur often contains visible crystals of this mineral

pyrite

the greatest cost of coal strip-mining is

reclamation of strip-mined land

______ _____ is investigation by methods such as aerial photography and satellite imagery

remote sensing

In the United States, most uranium deposits are found in

sandstone

fossil fuels are found in

sedimentary rocks

expanded use of which energy resource would contribute least to global warming?

solar

which of the following energy resources has the least environmental impact?

solar

halite

source of sodium and chloride

Maximum insolation occurs over the _____ United States.

southwestern

the substance found in coal that contributes to acid rainfall is

sulfur

________ _______ are sedimentary rocks containing a viscous, tar-like petroleum.

tar sands

which region of the U.S. has the greatest potential for the development of large scale windmill arrays

the Great Plain

A Chernobyl-style accident would be unlikely at a commercial nuclear plant in the United States because

the design of American commercial nuclear reactors is different from that of the Chernobyl reactor

All of the following are problems that growth causes for cells EXCEPT

the low quality of the oil

which of the following does not depend on our geologic understanding of magmatic mineral deposits?

the prediction of likely locations of future volcanic eruptions

Which of the following is not an advantage of geothermal power?

the useful life of a geothermal field is nearly endless

aluminum

third most abundant element in the earth's crust

Antarctica may contain vast reserves of mineral resources; however, active mineral exploitation must be carefully controlled to preserve Antarctica's environment.

true

Because plants concentrate certain metals within their tissues, they can be used as indicators of those metals.

true

Coal formation from land plants takes place under conditions in which oxygen is absent, or nearly so.

true

Continued explorations and improvements in mineral-processing technology may make some currently subeconomic mineral deposits profitable to mine.

true

Currently, space heating seems to be the most practical use of solar energy.

true

Even if a nuclear reactor experienced a complete loss of core coolant, there would not be an explosion like an atomic bomb.

true

Nuclear fusion is the process by which the sun generates its tremendous quantities of energy

true

One problem with breeder reactors is that the process is very slow.

true

Potentially wind power could supply 25 to 50% of the electricity used by the United States if a major national program for wind-energy development existed.

true

The United States has about two-thirds of the world's supply of tar sands.

true

The United States obtains almost 90% of its energy from fossil fuels.

true

The consumption of rock, sand, and gravel in the United States vastly exceeds its consumption of metals and minerals.

true

The richest oil shale deposits in the United States occur in the western states of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.

true

hydrothermal and magmatic ores are ate associated with lithospheric plate boundaries

true

oil and gas migrate out of their source rocks and

upward toward the surface

The fissionable isotope of uranium used in most nuclear power reactors is

uranium-235

platinum

used as a catalyst in automobile emissions-control systems

gold

used for jewelry and in the electronics industry

lead

used in batteries, solders, paints, and ceramics

zinc

used to galvanize steel cans and in the manufacture of boxes

gypsum

used to make plaster, portland cement, and wallboard

the biomass energy source that provides about 1/3 of Hawaii's electricity is

wastes from sugar-can processing plants

fossil fuels include all of these except

wood