Chapter 12-Renewable Energy and Conservation
Read p. 254-262 #s 1-16
Read p. 262-267 #s 17-43
Read p. 268-275
1. What 4 factors affect the amount of available solar energy?
2. Explain why, in scientific terms, cars in sunlight are warm.
3. Define passive and explain passive solar heating.
4. Passive solar heating can only be successful if it is well ___________________.
(HINT: stuff that keeps heat in)
5. What role does active solar heating serve? Describe how it works.
6. Discuss how solar thermal electric generation works.
7. The network of cables that carries electricity is called a _____________.
8. State a pro and a con of generating electricity or heat through solar energy.
9. What is special about photovoltaic cells?
10. Why aren’t we using strictly PVs?
11. Describe how hydrogen is acquired.
12. Hydrogen is only eco-friendly under what conditions?
13. Why bother to create hydrogen rather than just use the electricity generated from
the PVs directly given the resulting loss in efficiency.
14. What are the waste products of hydrogen combustion?
15. Find out the definition of an electrochemical cell.
16. How is a fuel cell different from and similar to a battery?
17. Name the 3 mentioned types of indirect solar energy.
18. Biomass relies on the sun for __________________.
19. Winds are produced by the _________________ heating of Earth due to the
___________ being closer to the sun than the ___________ and to the _________
of the Earth on its axis, which is responsible for the ________________.
20. Hydropower is __________________________________ which is considered
solar because of the _________________________.
21. Biomass is renewable as long as it is ____________ properly.
22. What percentage of people use biomass and in what forms?
23. Describe how biomass can be converted into biogas.
24. Explain why, based on thermodynamics, that if 100 homes are hooked up to one
sewage plant, why that sewage plant cannot produce electricity for all 100 homes
from the biomass that the 100 homes contributed.
25. What benefits does adding ethanol to gasoline serve and what is the resulting
mixture called?
26. What are the drawbacks of using new crop biomass to generate ethanol?
27. NOTE: New crop biomass to ethanol is not being pursued as it was when this text
was written!
28. What are some benefits of using dung biomass?
29. Does biomass as a fuel produce CO2?
30. Why does wind have such great potential for providing electricity in the future?
31. World wide what percent of energy is harnessed from what sources (p. 219)
32. Outline the environmental impacts of building a dam, both upstream and
downstream.
33. Where is the largest dam in the world and what is its name?
34. Where is the Aswan Dam found?
35. Why do dams have a limited life?
36. Why are reservoirs associated with increased evaporation?
37. Why are reservoirs associated with increased pathogenic agents?
38. Explain why ocean wave energy is considered an indirect form of solar energy.
39. What is a gradient?
40. How can temperature gradient be used to generate electricity?
41. What is the technology that uses the ocean’s temperature gradient to generate
electricity called?
42. Define turbidity.
43. Why are scientists reluctant to use ocean thermal energy conversion and why is it
not very efficient anyway?
44. What causes tides? Why is it not a form of solar energy?
45. What property of tides allows it to harness energy?
46. Why can’t tidal energy be used extensively?
47. What countries use tidal energy?
48. What impact would building tidal plants near estuaries have?
49. Where does the geothermal energy arise from?
50. How is geothermal energy harnessed?
51. Which country produces the most geothermal energy and where?
52. Name the largest geothermal plant.
53. How does land usage for geothermal compare to other sources.
54. Geologically, why is California very productive for geothermal energy?
55. What gas does geothermal emit and what process is it indicated in (think sulfur!)?
56. Define mitigation.
57. What problem may be common between depleting aquifers and pumping water to
harness geothermal energy?
58. How can dry hot rocks be used to harness geothermal energy?
59. What property do geothermal heat pumps take advantage of?
60. What 2 activities can people participate in to decrease energy consumption?
61. Why is the growing global population of concern to environmentalists (include a
discussion of the rate of growth in LDCs and HDCs)?
62. Find out the efficiency of an incandescent bulb (it is in your notes from around
power and energy units) and the efficiency of a fluorescent bulb. Memorize these
#s.
63. What features would you put into a home to make it very “green”?
64. Define cogeneration and know it!
65. Compare the efficiency of a traditional power plant to a cogeneration power plant.
66. Obama has suggested giving American’s a tax break should they convert to
energy saving appliances. What is this referred to as?
67. What impact is deregulation of power plants by government bound to have on the
efficiency and why?