OCR Cambridge National in
Science
(Level 1 / 2)
R071
How scientific ideas have an
impact on our lives
Module 1: Using Energy
The world needs electrical power to
progress and develop. Over 80% of this
power comes from power stations burning
fossil fuels or from nuclear power stations
that run on radioactive fuel.
Burning fossil fuels produces CO2 which is
released into the atmosphere.
Could this be contributing to global
warming?
Do you think that our climate is changing
due to global warming?
Is global warming causing extreme
weather such as:
Droughts which cause crops to fail
Floods which devastate communities
More frequent extreme weather events
Should we be looking for different sources
of energy?
If we do need to find alternative energy resources to
reduce our dependency on fossil fuels we need to
consider:
ease of use
economic costs
efficiency
environmental
effects
sustainability
To make energy choices we
need to measure energy
transfers and calculate
efficiency.
What could be the answer? Perhaps…
Wind energy
Solar energy
Hydro-energy
Energy from burning
carbon-neutral biomass
Will nuclear power be part of that answer?
The Government believes it will be.
The UK has signed-up to reduce the
emissions of CO2 and, by 2050, virtually all
of the UK’s electricity will need to come
from low-carbon sources and nuclear
power may help achieve this target.
Nuclear energy does not produce CO2, but
there is the potential for disaster. Think of
Chernobyl and Fukushima.
Is living with the risk too high a price to
pay?
Nuclear radiation can be dangerous.
Should we be using it to produce
electricity?
Are there other beneficial uses for nuclear
radiation?
How do we balance the risk of nuclear
radiation against the benefits?
Nuclear radiation is also used in industry in
fire alarms nuclear
and even
measuring
the
Dangerous
and
electromagnetic
of paper.
radiationsthickness
help doctors
to see inside our
bodies, and to treat cancer.
But what will be the right energy source to
We all have a choice but it will only be
use? who say….
are people
theThere
right choice
if it is a properly
They all have
disadvantages
informed
choice. as well as
advantages.
In this unit you will …
Evaluate
Make
Measure
Communicate
choices
theenergy
risks
about
and
scientific
benefits
future
transfers
ideas
energy
of using
and
to the
calculate
nuclear
supplies
public
radiation
efficiency
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