Review for Quiz on Nonrenewable Energy Sources
How are fossil fuels and nuclear energy used to generate electricity?
Write a description of each step (#1 - #4) in using fossil fuels or nuclear power to generate
electricity.
1. _______________ 2. ______________
_______________
______________
3. ______________ 4._____________
______________
_____________
Describe the energy transformations that take place during the generation of electricity.
From ______________ to ________________
to ______________ to ________________.
Describe the availability, current uses and environmental issues related to the use of fossil and
nuclear fuels to produce electricity.
What does it mean to say that an energy source is “nonrenewable?”
How do the fossil fuels form?
What are the four different forms of coal? Which is the most energy efficient?
How is crude oil separated into its many different forms?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using fossil fuels to generate electricity?
Describe the process of fission.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using nuclear power?
Vocabulary:
nonrenewable
fossil fuels
crude oil
radiation
Carbon dioxide
steam turbine
coal
distillation
half-life
Sulfur dioxide
generator
energy transformation
electricity
petroleum
natural gas
uranium
fission
radioactive waste
air pollution
Nitrogen oxide
particulate matter
MATCHING
In the space provided, write the letter of the term or phrase that best matches the description.
_____ 1. examples of fossil fuels
a. anthracite
b. fission and fusion
c. oil, natural gas, and
coal
d. steam spinning
turbines
e. gasoline and plastics
f. bituminous
g. uranium
h. Chernobyl
_____ 2. kind of coal used to generate
electricity
_____ 3. generating electricity
_____ 4. site of world’s worst nuclear
accident
_____ 5. examples of nuclear energy
_____ 6. fuel used in a nuclear reaction
_____ 7. products made from
petroleum
reactor
_____ 8. kind of coal with most energy
MULTIPLE CHOICE
In the space provided, write the letter of the term or phrase that best completes each statement or best
answers each question.
____ 9. Which of the following is NOT a fossil fuel?
a. coal
b. oil c. natural gas d. nuclear power
_____ 10. The chemical energy in fossil fuels is often converted into
a. electricity.
c. uranium.
b. magnetic fields.
d. power plants.
____ 11. All of the following are forms of energy except
a. chemical
b. nuclear
_____ 12. Crude oil is another name for
a. fossil fuel.
b. natural gas.
c. distillation
d. mechanical
c. petroleum.
d. methane.
_____ 13. Combustion of fossil fuels release
a. carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
b. nuclear waste into the atmosphere.
c. iodized oil into the atmosphere.
d. methane into the atmosphere.
_____ 14. Which of the following is not a consequence of using nuclear energy?
a. production of electricity
b. reduction in the use of fossil fuels
c. a safer environment for humans
d. less carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere
____ 15. The correct sequence in the formation of coal is
a. bituminous, lignite, peat, anthracite
b. peat, lignite, bituminous, anthracite
c. peat, anthracite, bituminous, lignite
d. anthracite, bituminous, lignite, peat
____ 16. The nuclear process of fission
a. splits an uranium atom into smaller atoms and releases heat energy
b. burns uranium to heat water to spin a turbine
c. fuses two smaller atoms to create a uranium atom and release heat energy
d. can only take place on the sun
____ 17. Which of the following are products that derive from the refining (distillation) of
crude oil?
a. plastics
b. gasoline
c. asphalt
d. all of the above
____ 18. Nonrenewable resources
a. will eventually run out
b. will always be available for our use
c. are continuously being formed over a short period of time
d. cannot be used to generate electricity
INTERPRETING OBSERVATIONS
READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE, THEN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW.
When energy is cheap and plentiful, the average consumer doesn’t have to
think much about efficiency or cost. But the oil crisis of1973 gave many people
in the United States a new appreciation for the law of supply and demand.
The oil crisis was not a natural occurrence but an artificial shortage caused
for political reasons. In October 1973, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) began an oil embargo in which member countries acted to
limit the sale of crude oil to the United States. Prices for petroleum products,
notably gasoline, rose sharply because of this drastic cut in supply. Many
Americans still remember the long lines at gas pumps that year, as well as gas
prices that rose to record levels. The embargo ended in March 1974, but
Americans continued to react to its economic effects. Car makers began to
produce more fuel-efficient cars, and consumers bought them. Congress
approved the development of the Trans Alaska oil pipeline, which boosted
domestic oil production when it was completed in 1977.
In the decades since the embargo, oil prices have gone through other
periods of change, as well as times of relative stability. The price of oil
continues to affect both individual choices and government policy.
Sources: Energy Information Administration: 25th Anniversary of the Oil Embargo; WTRG Economics: Oil
Prices History and Analysis
1. Identify some effects that the 1973 oil embargo had on our use of energy in the United
States.
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2. After 1973, American scientists began to make serious efforts to develop technologies that
create electricity from renewable resources. Do you think this step was necessary? Explain
your answer.
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