Human Ecology Chapter 15
What is the amount of time that it takes for the radiation in a sample of uranium-235 waste to be reduced by half? View Available Hint(s) 10 years 500 years 1 million years 700 million years
700 million years
What is Hubbert's peak? View Available Hint(s) - The source of the world's largest anthracite coal deposit - A statistical maximum value that can be charged for a gallon of gas before people start buying more fuel-efficient vehicles - The temperature and pressure at which the highest-quality petroleum forms - 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
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? View Available Hint(s) A vitamin-enriched form of coal A rare form of uranium A thick type of petroleum formed in clay and sand A bitter form of crude oil eaten by birds
A thick type of petroleum formed in clay and sand
How does the burning of coal contribute to acid deposition? View Available Hint(s) Acidic pollutants from coal burning destroy the ozone layer. Burning coal increases the probability of rain. Burning coal releases sulfur and nitrogen acids. Burning coal releases sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
Burning coal releases sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.
What are the three fossil fuels that are used today to meet society's needs? View Available Hint(s) Coal, natural gas, and electricity Electricity, crude oil, and hydroelectricity Crude oil, hydroelectricity, and geothermal energy Coal, natural gas, and crude oil
Coal, natural gas, and crude oil
Which of the following is most likely to support stricter federal regulations on fracking? Environmental Defense Fund Independent Petroleum Association of America Chesapeake Energy Corporation Energy In Depth
Environmental Defense Fund
Which of the following statements accurately describes nuclear fusion reactors? View Available Hint(s) - Fusion reactions can fuse three isotopes of hydrogen into one helium. - Fusion would be a more advanced technology if governments had provided some money for research or if attempts to develop it were more than just a few years old. - Nuclear fusion occurs in Earth's crust. - Fusion reactions require very high temperatures.
Fusion reactions require very high temperatures.
Which of the following currently appears to be the best option for protecting groundwater in areas where fracking is taking place? Take the cement out of intermediate casings. Take the steel out of intermediate casings. Increase the use of intermediate casings. Eliminate the use of intermediate casings.
Increase the use of intermediate casings.
During peak usage, what happens to the cost of electricity? It almost always increases. It depends on where the power plant is located. It almost always decreases. Cost of electricity always stays the same. It depends on the time of the year.
It almost always increases.
If this pipeline is finished, what will happen once the oil makes it to Illinois? It will be distributed to other pipelines and sent throughout the United States. It will be sent to a power plant. It will be refined into gasoline. It will be turned into natural gas.
It will be distributed to other pipelines and sent throughout the United States.
Of the five countries shown, ________ have essentially no domestic oil production. Iran and Saudi Arabia Japan and the United States Japan and Germany the United States and Germany Germany and the United States
Japan and Germany
Where does the United States keep an emergency stockpile of oil? View Available Hint(s) Yucca Mountain, Nevada Chicago, Illinois Louisiana Fort Knox
Louisiana
Which fossil fuel is produced as a by-product that occurs when bacteria decompose organic material under anaerobic conditions? View Available Hint(s) Anthracite coal Natural gas Peat Oil
Natural gas
Which of the following is true? - State and federal agencies approve of the Dakota Access Pipeline. - Federal agencies approve of the Dakota Access Pipeline, but state agencies do not. - Neither state nor federal agencies approve of the Dakota Access Pipeline. - State agencies approve of the Dakota Access Pipeline, but federal agencies do not.
State and federal agencies approve of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Why are we so eager to find clean coal technologies? View Available Hint(s) - because coal in its natural form costs too much for us to use - because coal is the most abundant of the fossil fuels in the United States - because coal is the most environmentally friendly of the fossil fuels - because the government is charging industry for the amount of coal emissions being produced
because coal is the most abundant of the fossil fuels in the United States
What color smoke coming from a coal-fired power plant would indicate wasted fuel? white green red clear black
black
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? nitrous oxide sulfur dioxide oxygen carbon dioxide methane gas
cO2
Which of the following countries exports the most oil to the United States? View Available Hint(s) Canada Venezuela Saudi Arabia Kuwait
canada
Part complete Which of the fossil fuels is most abundant on Earth? View Available Hint(s) coal electricity crude oil natural gas
coal
What term describes the ability to obtain a given result while using less energy? View Available Hint(s) energy efficiency cogeneration CAFE standards conservation
energy efficiency
What process is currently used to generate nuclear power? View Available Hint(s) entanglement fission fusion bombardment
fission
Where is electricity made at a coal-fired power plant? control room cooling tower silo boiler generator
generator
When it comes to the pipeline, the same method used to cross the Missouri River is going to be used to cross the Mississippi River. What method is this? Going through it. Going under it. Going around it. Going over it.
going under it
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is most likely to get support from farmers in which of the following states that will be directly impacted by the pipeline? Iowa Oklahoma Wyoming Nebraska
iowa
You are a toxicologist and discover that 2BE has the same effects in humans as in rodents. What does it do to humans? It causes blindness. It has no effect. It causes tumors. It causes skin rashes.
it causes tumors
Which of the following is true regarding 2BE? It is used only for fracking. It has been banned in the U.S. It is found in many household products. It is also approved for use as an insecticide.
it is found in many household products
Part complete What is the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration most likely to say about the Dakota Access Pipeline? They will not express an opinion on its safety. Safety will be determined on a wait-and-see basis. It will not be safe. It will be safe
it will be safe
What compound that results from hydraulic fracturing can contaminate groundwater? View Available Hint(s) Carbon monoxide Methane Carbon dioxide Sulfur dioxide
methane
Chevron decides to frack near your home. Which of the following are they interested in obtaining? natural gas water oil coal
natural gas
Hydraulic fracturing is used to extract _________ trapped in shale deposits deep underground. View Available Hint(s) coal natural gas oil
natural gas
Which of the following is a nonrenewable energy source? View Available Hint(s) Solar energy Ocean energy Natural gas Electricity
natural gas
Which of the following is one of the biggest problems with nuclear power? View Available Hint(s) greenhouse gas emissions radioactive waste depletion of mineral deposits air pollution
radioactive waste
The process of __________ turns crude oil into the type of gases that can be used for cooking, in cars, and for other human purposes. View Available Hint(s) secondary drilling refining primary drilling redefining
refining
All fossil fuels, including coal, are considered an indirect form of ____________ energy. geothermal nuclear renewable wind solar
solar
Of the following countries, ________ would be affected most severely by another OPEC oil embargo. Saudi Arabia Germany Iran Japan the United States
the United States
What is energy intensity? View Available Hint(s) the capturing of excess heat during electrical generation the use of LED rather than incandescent light bulbs a measure of the reduction of wasteful or unnecessary energy use the energy use per dollar of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
the energy use per dollar of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
The United States and other industrialized nations devote about one-third of their oil use to __________. View Available Hint(s) transportation heating homes agriculture
transportation
Which of the following elements is the starting material for nuclear fission reactions? View Available Hint(s) uranium hydrogen iron carbon
uranium
If the following are energy returned on investment (EROI) ratios for particular energy sources, which of the following is the most efficient? View Available Hint(s) 48/4 3 2:1 10:1
48/4
Part complete Which of the following is true regarding nuclear power plants? View Available Hint(s) There is very little concern over their safety. They cost very little to build and maintain. They do not produce much electricity for general use. U.S. public opinion regarded nuclear power as unsafe after Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.
U.S. public opinion regarded nuclear power as unsafe after Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.
How is the energy produced by nuclear fission used to produce electricity? View Available Hint(s) - Electrons from the fission are absorbed by spools of copper wire and generate electricity. - The fission process produces a strong magnetic field that moves electrons through loops of copper wire, thus making electricity. - The radiation is used to make plasma, which is harnessed directly for 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.
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 disabled the emergency power generators at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan and led to the reactor meltdowns? View Available Hint(s) an earthquake a tsunami operator error a landslide
a tsunami
What occurs when coal mining exposes rock surfaces to weathering? View Available Hint(s) surface area reduction acid flooding oil discovery acid drainage
acid drainage
