EVR 1001 Exam Four (Ch. 15)

From which of the nations below did the United States import the most crude oil in 2012?

Canada

Which of the following countries exports the most oil to the United States?

Canada

Which country leads the world in coal production and consumption by extracting and consuming approximately half of the world's annual coal yield?

China

During peak usage, what happens to the cost of electricity?

It almost always increases.

What does the moderator do in a nuclear fission reactor?

It slows down the neutrons so that they can react with the nucleus of a uranium atom.

Of the five countries shown, ________ have essentially no domestic oil production.

Japan and Germany

What compound that results from hydraulic fracturing can contaminate groundwater?

Methane

Which of the following is a nonrenewable energy source?

Natural gas

How is the energy produced by nuclear fission used to produce electricity?

Water in the containment vessel is kept under high pressure and heat from the fission reactions that heat it to well over boiling. This is then used to boil another loop of water, which turns a turbine that drives a generator and makes electricity.

What color smoke coming from a coal-fired power plant would indicate wasted fuel?

black

All of the following are standard steps at a coal-fired power plant in the United States EXCEPT:

carbon capture.

Many pollutants from coal-fired power plants are properly managed today. Which of the following is currently considered to be the biggest threat to the environment?

carbon dioxide

All of the following, are forms of renewable energy EXCEPT:

coal.

Once the carbon dioxide is captured from the fumes of a coal-burning power plant, something must be done with it. The option with the least environmental impact involves releasing the carbon dioxide into

deep underground caverns

The practice of reducing wasteful or unnecessary energy use is called ________.

energy conservation

What term describes the ability to obtain a given result while using less energy?

energy efficiency

Which of the following is a method to gain additional power from coal?

gasification

Where is electricity made at a coal-fired power plant?

generator

What climate is most associated with acid rain?

humid continental (without dry season, cool summer)

Which of the following is a renewable energy source?

hydropower

Where is radioactive contamination primarily found in Russia?

in areas of relatively high population density

Organizations like OPEC have formed ________.

in order to take maximum advantage of developed nations dependence on imported oil

The oil spill resulting from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster ________.

is the largest accidental oil spill in world history

Scientists currently assessing the environmental impacts of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico report that ________.

it may take years or decades before the full impacts are known

Secondary extraction of petroleum ________.

uses solvents, water, or steam

Efficiency of coal-fired power plants can be nearly doubled by ________.

using cogeneration

The United States and other industrialized nations devote about one-third of their oil use to __________.

transportation

First developed in the ________, nuclear power showed the most growth during the ________.

1950s; 1970s and 1980s

What is the amount of time that it takes for the radiation in a sample of uranium-235 waste to be reduced by half?

700 million years

What is Hubbert's peak?

A prediction, based on rates of extraction and new discovery, of when a country's or global oil production will be at a maximum and then start to fall

What is bitumen?

A thick type of petroleum formed in clay and sand

What correlation exists between acid rain and human population density in Russia?

Acid rain is more prevalent in regions that contain high population density.

How does a coal-fired power plant use the energy in coal to produce electricity?

Burning coal heats water and creates steam that turns the blades of a turbine and generates electricity.

Which of the following statements accurately describes nuclear fusion reactors?

Fusion reactions require very high temperatures.

What is the current status of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the United States?

Technologies are not sufficiently reliable, and it is currently too energetically expensive for coal power plants to capture and store their carbon emissions.

Polluted rivers are a major issue primarily in which part of Russia?

River pollution is prominent throughout Russia.

The country with the largest amount of domestic oil available for sale on the international market is ________.

Saudi Arabia

Which of the following is one of the two methods for mining oil shale?

Strip mining

One-quarter of Scotland's electricity is generated by the third-largest coal-fired power station in Europe. In just three minutes, this power plant uses __________ of coal.

one train car (wagon)

Alaskans benefit from the trans-Alaska pipeline because Alaska's state constitution requires approximately 25% of state revenues associated with the oil industry to be placed into a monetary fund called the Permanent Fund, which ________.

pays yearly dividends to all Alaska residents

In Johannesburg, South Africa, the South West Township (Soweto) was one of several areas established early in the last century for blacks to live away from the white ruling minority. On the hills surrounding Soweto, the company that provides South Africa's electricity, Eskom, built a large coal-burning power plant. The electricity was for white areas of Johannesburg, miles away from the plant. The residents of Soweto had no electrical connections. The fact that there is a high sulfur content of the coal burned in South African power plants means that the ________.

power plants contribute to acidic deposition

Crude oil is ________.

refined to separate the chemicals used for gasoline, lubricants, plastics, and other products

All fossil fuels, including coal, are considered an indirect form of ____________ energy.

solar

Use MapMaster to determine which natural region is most associated with poor urban air quality.

steppe

What is energy intensity?

the energy use per dollar of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

What was the primary cause of the decline in oil prices in 2016 to only one quarter of the prices in 2008?

the oil supply glut caused by fracking

What environmental problem that contributes to global warming is addressed by using amine solutions to treat the fumes of a coal-burning power plant?

the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

When did the use of coal for cooking, heating, and other purposes begin?

thousands of years ago, by Native Americans (and other ancient cultures)

In Johannesburg, South Africa, the South West Township (Soweto) was one of several areas established early in the last century for blacks to live away from the white ruling minority. On the hills surrounding Soweto, the company that provides South Africa's electricity, Eskom, built a large coal-burning power plant. The electricity was for white areas of Johannesburg, miles away from the plant. The residents of Soweto had no electrical connections. Along with many other governmental reforms that began in 1994, the electrical plant just outside Soweto was closed in 2000, and other plants were brought into use. Some parts of Soweto were then wired for electricity. It is estimated, however, that only about 30% of the more than 1.2 million black inhabitants have electricity in their homes; the remainder either cannot afford the costs involved or live in areas that have no electrical access. These inhabitants probably use ________ for fuel.

wood and coal