EGEE 101 Final
At current US reserves, how long will coal last?
283 years
Which size of particulates are the most harmful to human health?
.1 micron to 2.0 microns
How much did the global average temperature warm from 1850 to 2007?
.85 C
After a uranium based fuel rod has spent 3 years in a reactor, how much of its uranium has been used?
10%
Approximately how much stronger do climate models predict extreme weather like hurricanes will become by 2100?
10%
the temperature at which nuclear fusion becomes possible
13 million C
What percentage of the world's electricity comes from hydroelectric dams?
16%
A power plant produces 50 MJ of useful energy and 200 MJ of wasted heat. What is the Efficiency?
20%
if a solar farm requires 40 acres in Iowa (210 sunny days per year), how much land would it require in Nevada (350 sunny days per year)?
24 acres
nuclear fuel rods are _____ uranium by concentration
3-4%
A power plant produces 50 MJ of useful energy and 100 MJ of wasted heat. What is the Efficiency?
33%
How many ranks of coal are there?
4
For a given dam, if h = 3 meters, q = 3 cubic meters per second, and efficiency is 50%, what is the power output in watts? Assume 9.81 for gravity
44,145 Watts
if a solar farm generates 10 MW in Arizona (320 sunny days per year) is moved to Pennsylvania (160 sunny days per year), what is the new power output?
5 mw
A hydropower dam is rated for 1 GW power generation. The annual energy output is 4380 GWh. What percentage of its capacity is used?
50%
A proximate analysis shows that a certain lignite coal is 10% moisture, 30% volatiles, and 10% ash. What is the % fixed carbon?
50%
If there are 6,500 TCF of proved reserves of natural gas in the world and we are consuming 123 TCF per year, how long until we run out?
52.8 years
Betz's law dictates that the maximum efficiency that can be achieved with a wind turbine is
59%
What percentage of the US's electricity comes from hydroelectric dams?
6%
At current US reserves, how long will natural gas last?
86 years
Which of the fossil fuels are regional commodities with regional prices?
Coal and natural gas
A Btu is defined as the amount of energy required to raise the termperature of one lb of water by one degree Celsius
False
A calorie is defined as the amount of energy required to raise the termperature of one lb of water by one degree Celsius
False
Weather and climate are the same thing.
False
nuclear, wind, solar, and hydropower are all renewable forms of energy
False
The process of one larger nucleus dividing into two smaller nuclei
Fission
What is work?
Force*displacement
Oil and Natural Gas typically form in what environment
Marine life preserved at the bottom of deep lakes
Geothermal Power plants are best when located
Near rift zones
The process of two smaller nuclei combining into one larger nucleus
Nuclear Fusion
layers of silicon that directly convert sunlight into an electric current
Photovoltaic cells
What is the form of energy contained in a dam called?
Potential
What is the largest energy consumer at home?
Space Heating
What is energy?
The capacity to do work
Which is more expensive, $100/ton of coal or $3/MCF of natural gas?
The coal
As population increases, energy consumption increases
True
Human development (health, nutrition, education, housing) and a high level of energy use are correlated - we rarely see one without the other.
True
In the past, decreasing fertility rates were associated with decreasing poverty levels
True
The US is a net exporter of natural gas.
True
The three main problems with fossil fuels are that they are non-renewable (fixed amount), pollution, and climate change.
True
the consensus of the scientific community is that deep geologic storage of high level radioactive waste is a safe long term solution
True
the sun delivers approximately 10,000 times more energy per second to the earth than the whole world's population uses
True
wind is caused by uneven heating of the earth's surface
True
panels that use sunlight to heat up air or water and transfer it to your forced air heating or residential water heater
active solar heating
radioactive decay that emits two protons and two neutrons
alpha decay
which coal rank has the highest heating value?
anthracite
which fossil fuel contains ash?
coal
How much carbon dioxide have we emitted into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels since the industrial revolution?
half a trillion tons
the challenge associated with wind energy that fluctuates throughout the day
intermittency
the problem of needing to install large transmission capacity to move electrons from the power generation source to a market
location problem
what is the main component of natural gas
methane
Which fossil fuel is the cleanest burning?
natural gas
which fossil fuel has the highest heating value per lb?
natural gas
installing radiant flooring, insulating windows, and heavy curtains to absorb the sun's warmth
passive solar heating
the challenge associated with wind energy whose power output cannot be forecast in advance
predictability
How long has hydraulic fracturing "fracking" been being performed in the US?
since 1947
reflecting sunlight off of mirrors to create concentrated heat for generating steam to rotate a turbine to induce an electric current
solar thermal energy conversion
a technology that extracts energy out of waves
tidal energy
What is the main use for petroleum?
transportation
Biomass is essentially carbon neutral
true