science (chapter 8)

2 advantages of nuclear power

1) nuclear power plants do not produce the air pollutants that fossil fuel-burning power plants release 2) nuclear power plants do not release CO(2) into the atmosphere

3 disadvantages of nuclear power

1) very expensive 2) they produce radioactive waste that is harmful to the environment and living organisms 3) can cause nuclear meltdowns and nuclear disasters from the harmful release of radioactivity

the average amount of solar energy that shines down on the US in one year is ___________ more energy that the total energy used in one year

1,000 times

Now, only about _____ of energy comes from coal

1/4

the core of a typical has about how many kg of uranium in the fuel rod?

100,000 kg

by 2030, the US department of energy wants to increase our use of wind energy so it provides ______ of our total electrical power

20%

The amount of coal available is estimated to last _______-_______ years at ur current rate of consumption

200-250

the overall efficiency of fossil-fuel burning power plant is roughly ____%

35%

Petroleum supplies nearly ______ of all energy generated in the United States each year

38%

how many owed plants are in the US?

65

How many nuclear reactors in the US?

99

fossil fuels also release ____ when they are burned

CO(2)

5 states in the US have geothermal power plant ..

California, Nevada, Hawaii, Montana, Utah

the worst nuclear accident in history occurred at the _________ Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukraine in 1986

Chernobyl

The Bay of ________ has tides that vary up to 17m and it is the greatest tidal difference in the world

Fundy

electrical energy generated using a nuclear reactor for the first time in 1951 in _______

Idaho

one of the worlds largest concentrating solar power, that has nine units that generate more than 350 megawatts if power,plants is located where?

Mohave Desert in California

a group of 12 countries that own most of the worlds crude oil reserves, they work together to coordinate petroleum policy

The organization of petroleum exporting countries (OPEC)

In 2009, more energy was used annually in the _____________ than in any other country in the world.

United States

coal is the most ______ fossil fuel in the world

abundant

Hydrocarbons with high boiling points, such as __________ and _____________, remain liquids and are drained from the bottom of the tower.

asphalt and waxes

Why can't we harness fusion?

because fusion occurs at millions of degrees Celsius and what kind of chamber can hold a reaction under these extreme conditions

why is coal, natural gas, and petroleum fossil fuels?

because they were form from the remains of ancient plants and animals that were buried and altered over millions of years

________ is renewable organic matter. it can be burned in the presence of oxygen

biomass

three advantages of natural gas.

burns cleaner than other fossil fuels, produces fewer pollutants, and leaves no ash residue

natural gas contains more ______ ______ energy per kilogram than petroleum or coal

chemical potential

the burning of fossil fuels converts ___________ energy to ________ energy which is then converted into other useful forms

chemical potential energy to thermal energy

a solid fossil fuel the can be found in mines

coal

transforming radiant energy into electrical energy is more expensive than the transformation of thermal energy into electrical energy by __________

combustion

during the first half of the twentieth century, most houses in the US were heated by the .....?

combustion of coal

about 1/4 of the energy used in the United States comes from the....?

combustion of natural gas

What occurs when fossil fuels are burned?

combustion reaction

solar cels are made of two layers of semiconducting material sandwiched between two layers of ___________.

conducting metal

nuclear reactors contain fuel that can undergo fission and ___________ that are used to control the nuclear reactions

control rods

Due to differences in _________, light-weight natural gas compounds are found trapped on top of petroleum deposits

destiny

disadvantages of fracking

disrupting habitats, polluting ground water, and disrupting previously stable rock formations is causing tremors and earthquakes

when sunlight strikes the surface of the solar cell what happens? the process is only about 7-11% efficient

electrons flow from the electron-rich material to the electron-poor material

the remaining 65% is converted into thermal energy and the heat is released into the __________

environment

if the process is not controlled, the chain reaction could release a tremendous amount of energy in form of an __________

explosion

disadvantages of wind energy (windmills)

few places on Earth have enough wind to meet our energy need, wind energy cannot be stored without the use of batteries, windmills can be noisy and change the appearance, and disrupt the migration patterns of some birds

Energy is released when the nucleus of an atom splits apart. A small amount of mass is converted into a tremendous amount of thermal energy

fission

About 85% of the energy used in the United States in 2008 came form burning _______. Nuclear power plants provided 8% and alternative energies supplied 7%

fossil fuels

coal, natural gas, petroleum are know as what?

fossil fuels

drilling into shale a mile or more below earths surface before turning horizontally and drilling several thousand feet more into natural gas reserves that were previously unreachable

fracking

the many different hydrocarbon compounds found in petroleum are separated in a process called what?

fractional distillation

15% of petroleum-based materials in the United States are not used for ______

fuel

occurs when atomic nuclei combine at very high temperatures. a small amount of mass is transformed into a tremendous about of thermal energy

fusion

the unstable radioactive elements in Earths core that transform nuclear into thermal energy as the elements decay is called.....

geothermal energy

many scientists think this increase in atmospheric CO(2) is what has contributed to ___________

global warming

these things use eletric motors and gasoline engines

hybrid cars

most of the compounds in petroleum are __________, which means their molecules are made of different arrangements of carbon and hydrogen atoms

hydrocarbons

after the initial cost of dam construction, ________________ power plants are more cost efficient than other energy resources

hydroelectric

rushing water spins a turbine, converting gravitational potential energy to mechanical energy than to electrical energy. Dams built for this purpose are called _________

hydroelectric dams

how many place on earth have large enough differences between high and low tide for oceans to be useful energy source?

just a few

nuclear chain reactions take place in a matter of _________

milliseconds

a fossil fuels composed mostly of methane, but it also contains other gaseous hydro-carbon compounds, such as propane and butane

natural gas

All fossil fuels are

non-renewable resources

resources that cannot be replaced by natural processes as quickly as they are used

nonrenewable resources

every uranium atom that spilts apart releases free neutrons that cause other uranium atoms to spilt apart, this process called a ________

nuclear chain reaction

uses energy from controlled nuclear reactions to generate electricity

nuclear reactor

in the chain reaction, the number of _______ that are split can more than double at each stage of the process

nuclei

energy from the ______ is nearly pollution free

ocean

what are the two layers of a solar cell made up of?

one layer is rich in electrons and the other layer is electron poor

a flammable liquid formed from the decay of ancient organisms such as microscopic plankton and algae

petroleum

plastics, synthetic fibers, cosmetics, medicines, grease, motor oil, and asphalt are all made from ________

petroleum/oil

one way to produce solar power is using a __________ that converts radiant energy directly into electrical energy

photovoltaic cell

more ____________, including sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, are produced when coal is burned

pollutants

unlike fusion, fission based power plants are ______

practical

an energy source that is replaced by natural processes faster than humans can consume the resource

renewable resource

the rate at which new fuel is being found is very _____ compared to the rate at which it is being consumed

slow

Why might natural gas distributors add an odorant to the gas?

so it is detectable

photovoltaic cells are also called what?

solar cells

Despite being renewable, only 1% of the energy in the Is is produced using what?

solar energy

naturally occurring uranium contains the isotope 4-235 with nuclei that can be __________

split apart

What two tragedies decreased interest in nuclear power?

the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania and the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine

the actual fission of the radioactive fuel occurs in a relatively small part of the reactor known as what?

the core

disadvantages of of dams and hydroelectric power plants

they disturb the balance of natural ecosystems, operation of hydroelectric power plants can change the temperature of the water, and river sediments can build up behind the dam and effect life downstream

the reactor core contains uranium dioxide fuel in the form of what?

tiny pellets

hydroelectric dams are ________ as efficient as fossil fuels-burning or nuclear power plants?

twice

Burning 1 kg of coal releases how much more energy than burning 1 kg of wood?

two to three times more energy