SolarWise™ for Schools Energy Curriculum Pre-test/Post-test
Name ________________________________
This is not a graded test. It is designed to determine your knowledge and attitudes about energy. Please
answer the questions to the best of your knowledge. If you have absolutely no idea and cannot make a
reasonable guess, then choose the answer “I don’t know.”
_____ **1. How informed are you about energy and energy issues?
a. Very informed
b. Informed
c. Somewhat informed
d. Slightly informed
e. Uninformed
_____ **2. Which of the following statements best describes your energy-consuming habits?
a. I don’t think about saving energy.
b. I don’t care about trying to save energy.
c. I sometimes remember to save energy.
d. Most of the time I try to save energy.
e. I always try to save energy whenever I can.
_____ *3. Compared to the average world citizen, Americans use about:
a. 5 times as much energy
b. 15 times as much energy
c. 50 times as much energy
d. I don’t know
_____ *4. In the U.S., the most widely used energy resource is:
a. Coal
b. Natural gas
c. Oil
d. I don’t know
_____ **5. Gasoline is produced by the refining of what fossil fuel?
a. Natural gas
b. Coal
c. Petroleum
d. I don’t know
_____ **6. Which is the cleanest-burning fossil fuel?
a. Coal
b. Natural gas
c. Petroleum
d. All three are equally clean
d. I don’t know
_____ **7. The major use of coal today in the U.S. is to ...
a. Generate electricity
b. Fuel trains
c. Make steel
d. Heat buildings and homes
e. I don’t know
_____ *8. In the U.S., the least abundant energy resource is:
a. Coal
b. Natural gas
c. Oil
d. I don’t know
_____ *9. How many years did it take nature to make oil?
a. 2 thousand years
b. 2 million years
c. 200 million years
d. I don’t know
_____ *10. In the U.S., what percentage of our energy comes from non-renewable fossil fuels?
a. 54%
b. 76%
c. 90%
d. I don’t know
_____ **11. Solar, biomass, geothermal, wind, and hydropower are all renewable sources of
energy. They are classified as renewable sources of energy because they...
a. are clean and free to use.
b. can be converted directly into heat and electricity.
c. can be replenished by nature in a short period of time.
d. were stored in fossil fuels millions of years ago.
e. I don’t know
_____ 12. The word "photovoltaic" means
a. having a keen, unlimited memory
b. converting the wind’s kinetic energy into useable mechanical energy
c. being able to change light into electricity
d. I don’t know
_____ 13. What do you think of the idea that it is possible to supply all of your home’s electrical and
heating needs with solar energy using today’s technology.
a. I strongly believe
b. I think it is possible
c. I sincerely doubt it
d. I have no idea
_____ 14.The difference between a photon of blue light and one of red light is:
a. the blue photon travels faster
b. the red photon is larger
c. one has more energy
d. I don’t know
_____ 15. The sun’s energy is produced by a process called:
a. Illumination
b. Combustion
c. Fusion
d. Solar wind
e. I don’t know
_____ 16. Natural gas is typically measured in ____ and electricity is typically measured in ___.
a. Btu’s, Joules
b. Therms, kilowatt hours
c. Gallons, therms
d. kilowatts, cubic feet
e. I don’t know
_____ 17. The majority of electricity produced by renewable energy resources comes from
a. Wind energy
b. Oil
c. Hydroelectric energy
d. Photovoltaics
e. I don’t know
_____ 18. About what percent of the sun’s energy that strikes the Earth supports all of the life on Earth?
a. 25%
b. 10%
c. 1%
d. .02%
e. I don’t know
*These questions were adapted from “Energy, Technology, and Society,” p. 87
** These questions were adapted from NEED “Energy Education Poll,” Form S, pp. 4-6