NSCI 115

Petroleum if formed from the organic molecules of marine microorganisms buried in sediments where high _ and _ condense and transform them over into oil, gas, and tar-like material.

-(high) pressures -temperatures

Match the energy source to the time period it was/is the major source of energy in the Unites States.

-Coal : Industrial Revolution -Oil : Since the twentieth century -wood: Colonial to mid-nineteenth century

Environmental costs of tar sands processing commonly include which of the following? (select all that apply)

-The destruction of large tracts of boreal forest -The production of large amounts of toxic sludge -The consumption and likely contamination of large amounts (billion of liters) of fresh water.

Currently, where is most spend nuclear fuel store in the United States? (select all that apply)

-Dry casks -Aboveground storage pools

Even if it was economically feasible to extract oil from oil shales, it is probably not environmentally feasible because _ (select all that apply)

-It produces almost twice as much C)2 (a major greenhouse gas) as conventional oil -of the enormous amount of waste produced when it is mined. -it would require vast quantities of fresh water, which we need for drinking

Rank the following areas in terms of proven natural gas reserves. Place the area with the largest proven reserves at the top.

-Middle East -Russia -North America

Rank each of the following, from highest at the top to lowest at the bottom, in terms of their contribution in providing for current global energy needs.

-Petroleum -Natural gas -Coal -Renewable energy sources -Nuclear power

Match the name of the scheme for crating appropriate conditions for fusion with the correct description.

Inertial confinement: Bombardment of a small pellet of deuterium with a high-intensity laser light Magnetic confinement: Containment and condensation of plasma inside a vacuum chamber

why does methane (an explosive gas) build up in coal mines?

as coal breaks down, one of the products is methane.

The large deposits of tar sand in Canada are located under _ forest, and especially sensitive habitat.

boreal

The most abundant fossil fuel resource worldwide is _ .

coal

Tougher regulations and falling prices have led to the closing of over 25 _ companies and 260 mines

coal

In a nuclear power plant, the rate of fission is slowed by the _ rods.

control

A meltdown in a nuclear power plant (the biggest danger of nuclear power) can result when there is a failure in the _

cooling system

The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, in 2010, made apparent the problem of _ drilling. Over 5 million barrels were lost to the environment, partly because it took 4 months to plug the leak.

deep ocean

The process of oil _ cracks long chains of hydrocarbons into shorter ones that have a variety of uses depending on their properties.

distillation

Geographically, the Marcellus Shale is located in the _ United States.

eastern

The capacity to do work is _

energy

Petroleum, natural gas, and coal are all

fossil fuels

the process that can release oil from "tight" geologic formation is called hydraulic _

fracturing

In a nuclear _ assembly, enriched uranium pellets are stacked in hollow metal roads; about 100 rods are then banded together.

fuel

Burning natural gas produces about _ the amount of CO2 (a greenhouse gas) as an equivalent amount of coal.

half

Nuclear power plants work in part by smashing neutrons into uranium atoms, causing them to split into smaller atoms and release more neutrons. This process is called _

nuclear fussion

Coal is formed from _

plant material that is compressed over time.

The drilling of wells to acquire natural gas from coals bed deposits requires a lot of water, and each well produces a tremendous amount of _ that can be hard to dispose of.

polluted water

which of the following is a consequence of energy production and consumption?

production and transportation use more than half of the energy available in primary fuels.

The primary fuel source most common used in nuclear power plants is an isotope of _

uranium

Dry casks are used as aboveground storage for nuclear _ products in the United States

waste

The most common design for nuclear power plants is the pressurized _ reactor.

water

Which of the following statements correctly describes the history of nuclear energy in terms of the numbers of nuclear plant orders and numbers of plants in operation in the United States? (select all that apply)

-The number of plants on orders for development peaked in the mid-1970s and sharply declines over the next 20 years. -The number of plants in operation has leveled off since the early 1990s

Select the two sectors that use the most energy in the United States (in 2014)

-Transportation -Industrial

Most of the world's coals reserves are found in which of the following countries?

-United States -Russia -China

Rank the following countries by quantity of proven oil reserves.Place the country with the most at the top and least at the bottom.

-Venezuela -Saudi Arabia -Canada -Iraq -United States

As a consequence of the destruction of the Fukushima Daiichi power station, _ (select all that apply).

-commercial fishing near the station was outlawed -radioactive wastes washed into the ocean -140,000 people were evacuated

The downsides of coal mining can include which of the following? (choose all that apply)

-explosive gases -Black lung diseases -Dramatic changes to the landscape

The splitting of one atom into two or more is known as nuclear _ . The combining of two atoms into one larger atom is know as nuclear _.

-fission -fusion

The rate of work done is represented by the term _ , and it is measured in _ .

-power -watts

In addition to the production of toxic sludge, excess greenhouse gases, and water pollution that occurs during the extraction of oil from tar sands, transporting the oil from tar sands in Canada is problematic because _ . (select all that apply)

-the pipelines are probably the easiest way to transport the oil over remote regions, but leaks could be catastrophic in sensitive habitat. -destruction of habitat could destroy the traditional way of life for native people. -if a pipeline is constructed, a significant loss of wildlife habitats results.

we find oil in sedimentary rocks such as sandstone, but also in _. (select all that apply)

-tight shale formations -deep ocean deposits -tar sands

Breeder reactors are unique in that they _. (select all that apply)

-use spend fuel from conventional reactors. -produce fissionable isotopes.

The costs of decommissioning of nuclear plants comes at the end of their life cycle. The designed life span of most nuclear reactors is about _ years.

30

Fossil fuels currently account for about _ percent of the world's commercial energy needs.

80

Which of the following companies accounted for 97 percent of flagrant violation int he refining industry in the past three years?

BP

what is the abbreviation for the amount of energy it takes to heat one pound of water by one degree F?

BTU

If a power company proposed building a power plant in your back yard, which type of power plant would be least desirable in terms of excess radiation production during normal operations?

Coal-fired plant

True or False: The Unites States is currently moving forward with plants to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

False

The argument against the _ pipeline project, planned to carry oil from tar sands in Alberta to Texas, included its passage over a major U.S. aquifer, the lack of associated jobs, and the use of the oil as an export.

Keystone

For the following statements, decide whether or not it is a pro or con of hydraulic fracturing.

PRO: - The process allows access to large amounts of otherwise inaccessible methane CON: -Methane leaks into aquifers, polluting drinking water. -The liquid injected into the shales contains many pollutants, including petroleum distillates and hydrochloric acid. -Methane can leak into homes, causing explosions. -Methanes leaks into the atmosphere, increasing greenhouse gas levels.

Match the term with its definition

Work: the application of force over distance Energy: the capacity to do work Power: the rate of energy flow Watt: one joule per second, a measure of power Joule: a measure of work

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is _ .

a "Clean Coal" technology

Rich countries currently have _ population and use _ energy compared to poor countries. It appears this trend will _ in the next 20 years.

a lower; more; change

The explosive power of a ship containing liquefied natural gas most closely matches which of the following?

a medium-sized atomic bomb

In the Unites States, coal plants generate _ percent of the country's electricity

about 33

Oil refineries are associated with _

air pollution and oil spills

China may not be as good a market for coal exports as the coal industry would like, according to some experts, because _.

air pollution has become a significant health problem in China.

Which type of nuclear reactor design uses water from the reactor to make the steam that turns the turbines, which means that radioactive water leaves that containment structure?

boiling water reactor

The EPA proposed in 2012 to limit _ emissions from power plants. To meet the nw standards, coal-fired plants will need new, expensive equipment to capture this pollutant.

carbon

Both president George W. Bush and Barack Obama supported _ technology CCS project that either were abandoned or were just plain failures.

clean coal

The burning of _ to product electricity releases CO2 , SO2 m CO , NO2 , arsenic, mercury, lead, uranium, and other compounds into the atmosphere.

coal

Each person in riches countries, on average, consumer nearly as much energy in a single _ as people in the poorest countries do in a year. (use only one words per blank)

day

An new regulations from the Clean Air Act go into effect, disease causes associated with coal production and use are expected to _

decrease

Pumping high-pressure liquids and sand into rock formation causing them to crack in order to recover natural gas is called _ fracturing

hydraulic

The general trend of nuclear energy growth in the Unites States can best be described as _.

increasing from the 1960s to the early 1990s but leveling off since then

How can current low oil prices lead to using less oil in the future?

investors are less likely to support long and expensive project such as pipelines and power plants.

Was peak coil reached in the 1970s in the Unites Stated as predicted?

it was, but new technologies have made supplies available, so it appears perhaps we haven't reached peak yet.

A solid organic material found in oil shales that is similar to bitumen is called _

kerogen

the organic material in oil shale, called _ , is located in sedimentary rocks and needs to be heated in order to extract it.

kerogen

which of the following statements is not a risk associated with methane hydrate extraction and use?

large amounts of seawater are needed to warm the methane hydrate, which could have bad effects on coastal ecology.

As it currently stands, the plant for most radioactive waste in the United States is to _

leave it in temporary holding sites around the country.

Breeder reactors are more difficult to operate in part because they use _ to cool the plant

liquid sodium

The fuel sources made recoverable by new methods ( most notable hydraulic fracturing) in the Marcellus/Devonian formation is _

methane

An unconventional source of natural gas that is found as a collection of methane trapped as small bubbles or as individual molecules in a frozen crystalline matrix is/are known as _

methane hydrates

Within the U.S transportation sector, the biggest use of energy is by _

motor vehicles

One of the most dramatic downsides of coal mining is the practice of _ removal, when entire section of land are removes from high elevations to gain access to the coal. Waste rock is often pushed into and fills adjacent lowlands and valleys.

mountaintop

The methane that leaks from well casing, joints, and valves, as well as from ruptured wells, is _ at warming the atmosphere than CO2 released when using coal and oil.

much more effective

considering how long it takes coal to form, we describe coal as a _ resource.

nonrenewable

Although the processing of the fuel necessary and the decommissioning of old plants both have significant environmental concerns, some environmentalists are supporting the growth of _ power as it doesn't produce greenhouse gases that would add to atmospheric warming.

nuclear

The oil that is formed in shale deposits migrates into more porous sedimentary rocks such as _ ; when these rocks are folded in a certain way, the oil gets trapped and creates a concentrated source.

sandstone and limestone

The _ , announced by the EPA in 2012, is intended to reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Mercury and Air Toxics Standards

Why did proven oil reserves grow by nearly 66% from 1993-2003

New technologies and discoveries allowed us to obtain oil in remote locations and from different types of deposits.

Water state recently went through a very rapid oil boom and bust cycle brought about through fracking of the Bakken Shale?

North Dakota

_ are an example of a source of oil that we once thought would be impossible to use because of extraction difficulties.

Tar sands

which of the following statements correct describes the nuclear reaction in a nuclear power plant?

The design of the nuclear fuel assembly results in a chain reaction of fission, releasing vast amounts of energy.