Deck 17: Energy Use

Question 1

The house in this figure represents the use of .

A) thermogenerating windows
B) passive solar design
C) photovoltaics
D) active solar design

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Your environmental science instructor tells your class that you will have an extra credit question on your next exam based on a talk to be given by a scholar visiting campus to present his research on alternative energy sources. The night before the talk, you pull an all-nighter writing a research report. You attend the talk but immediately doze off. Afterward, all you remember about the talk is that the speaker said something about working with turbines. On your next environmental science exam, your instructor asks you about the focus of the speaker's research, with the following answer choices. Which one is most likely to be the correct answer?

A) Concentrated solar thermal systems
B) Photovoltaic systems
C) Biodiesel production
D) Geothermal heat pumps

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A geothermal heat pump can be used for which of the following purposes?

A) Warming a home in the winter
B) Cooling a home in the winter
C) Producing electricity
D) Producing hot water

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In the United States, the production of hydroelectricity .

A) has declined in popularity because of fears of catastrophic dam failure, as depicted in several motion pictures
B) is expected to decline rapidly by the year 2025
C) is likely to increase rapidly by the year 2025
D) may increase in the future, but only if tidal energy and run of the river technologies are adopted

Question 5

The cost of solar electricity is .

A) comparable to the cost of wind power
B) comparable to the cost of hydropower
C) more than three times as expensive as electricity produced from fossil fuels
D) comparable to the cost of electricity produced from fossil fuels

Question 6

Compared to concentrated solar thermal power facilities and hydroelectric dams, wind farms .

A) do not involve the use of turbines
B) can be placed anywhere
C) are very expensive to build
D) cause less habitat disturbance

Question 7

One of the main motivations for using corn-based ethanol in the United States is .

A) that by doing so, we reduce our reliance on imported oil
B) that we have excess crops available for fuel production
C) that all new vehicles can use both ethanol and gasoline as fuel
D) the generation of biodiesel as a by-product of ethanol production

Question 8

What molecule(s) is/are produced when hydrogen is used as an energy source?

A) Carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides
B) Carbon monoxide
C) Sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides
D) Water

Question 9

The greatest potential for the increased use of geothermal electricity production and geothermal direct-use systems is in what area of the United States?

A) Midwest
B) West
C) Northeast
D) Southeast

Question 10

Cellulosic ethanol can be produced from .

A) old rubber tires and dirty diapers
B) cornstalks and switchgrass
C) animal fats
D) soybeans and corn

Question 11

Whether a hydrogen-based energy system is environmentally cleaner than a fossil fuel system depends on .

A) the car driven
B) the source of energy used to produce the hydrogen
C) the source of oxygen used for the process
D) governmental incentives for research

Question 12

Which of the following is most likely to be powered by photovoltaics?

A) A lighthouse
B) A lawn mower
C) An automobile
D) A calculator

Question 13

Hydrogen fuel cells power automobiles by .

A) combining with equal parts of gasoline to create a fuel with extra octane
B) creating rapidly combustible hydrogen compounds
C) generating electricity
D) generating changes in gas pressures that move pistons in car engines

Question 14

One major advantage of using hydrogen fuel cells is .

A) that the cells are nonpolluting
B) methane is produced as a by-product
C) the energy efficiency
D) the potential for production of greenhouse gases

Question 15

Compared to the use of fossil fuels, wind energy .

A) is more consistent
B) produces no exhaust pollutants and contributes little to global climate change
C) requires no investment
D) is not renewable

Question 16

Unlike solar, hydropower plants _.

A) can consistently generate electricity at night
B) do not pose a great safety risk
C) can be added to gradually as demand grows
D) can be constructed quickly

Question 17

An anode and a cathode are found _ .

A) at the opposite ends of the pathway for water flowing through a hydroelectric dam
B) in a wind turbine
C) in the heat exchange apparatus of a geothermal unit
D) on the opposite sides of a battery

Question 18

Richie learned in his environmental science class that using biofuels instead of fossil fuels could decrease the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Richie wants to be carbon-neutral, so he decides to replace the oil furnace in his small house with a corn stove, which uses whole kernels of corn as fuel. Richie's friend Angela points out that Richie may have failed to take a certain fact into consideration when he decided to buy the corn stove. Specifically, Richie probably did not consider that .

A) corn requires a good deal of energy to produce, and a wood pellet stove would have probably been a more carbon-neutral choice
B) corn stoves have been shown to be dangerous because, unlike furnaces, they can leak carbon monoxide
C) corn stoves are expensive, and Richie could have used the money to plant trees instead of buying the stove
D) burning corn releases carbon dioxide, so there is no decrease in the amount of greenhouse gases being released

Question 19

One of the advantages of solar power over the use of fossil fuels is that solar power .

A) can work equally well anywhere in the world
B) uses less expensive technology
C) generates electricity every hour of the day
D) is sustainable

Question 20

A concentrated solar thermal power facility concentrates solar energy by .

A) using photovoltaic panels to produce electricity
B) collecting light in a series of fiber optic cables directed to underground steam rooms
C) heating water in pipes that run along rows of mirrors
D) using a large array of reflectors to direct sunlight to a collector

Question 21

Passive solar is used in the design of _ .

A) solar cars
B) water heaters
C) houses
D) photovoltaic solar panels

Question 22

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of wind power.

Question 23

Current photovoltaic technology uses sunlight to generate electricity _ _.

A) via the process of microfusion
B) by heating up water and using microscopic turbines
C) while generating small amounts of methane for use as a fuel in other applications
D) with a single structure in a single step

Question 24

Which of the following is a valid conclusion that can be drawn from these figures?

A) Most of the biomass energy being consumed is for purposes other than producing electricity.
B) With regard to the production of electricity, solar energy is the fastest-growing form of renewable energy.
C) Hydropower is not used for any purposes other than producing electricity.
D) Wind turbines and photovoltaic panels are expensive to produce and install.

Question 25

Every winter morning when the sun is shining bright, a man living in Montana pulls back the drapes on a large south-facing window. In this way, he helps heat his home using .

A) passive solar heating
B) radioactive solar heating
C) active solar heating
D) conductive solar heating

Question 26

Which of the following involves the use of biomass energy?

A) Burning logs in a fireplace to heat a cabin
B) Burning coal to produce electricity
C) Using natural gas to heat a home
D) Burning oil in a kerosene lantern

Question 27

A home in Oklahoma is built into a hillside such that only the south-facing side of the home, with many large windows, is exposed to the outside. Such construction of a home takes advantage of .

A) passive solar heating and geothermal cooling
B) biomass heating and geothermal cooling
C) passive solar heating and active biomass energy
D) active geothermal heating and cooling

Question 28

Although hydroelectric dams generate electricity without directly producing greenhouse gases, they .

A) contribute only about 5% of global electricity production
B) produce as much other air pollutants as coal-fired power plants
C) are short-lived structures that have to be rebuilt about every 20 years
D) eliminate wildlife habitats and affect the temperature of waterways

Question 29

In general, what has spurred the increased use of renewable energy, and what are the benefits of its use in environmental and economic terms?

Question 30

Coal would not be considered a renewable source of biomass energy because .

A) it releases carbon dioxide when burned
B) it does not contain organic material
C) the organisms that formed the coal lived millions of years ago
D) it was not formed from living organisms

Question 31

Although they have tremendous advantages, wind turbines .

A) make the surrounding region unsuitable for farming or ranching
B) generate greenhouse gases when producing electricity
C) are known to dry out the soil in the surrounding region
D) cause thousands of bird and bat deaths each year

Question 32

With today's technology, wind energy could only meet 30- 40% of total electricity needs in the United States. All of the following are reasons why wind energy cannot meet a greater portion of our energy needs except:

A) We cannot efficiently move electricity across a large grid from windy areas to distant areas where there are no wind farms.
B) We have no efficient way of storing excess amounts of electricity produced when it is windy.
C) Wind turbines are only 30- 40% efficient at converting wind energy into electricity.
D) Wind is an intermittent resource and may not be blowing when we need the electricity.

Question 33

The production of hydrogen used to power cars requires .

A) a net input of energy
B) fermentation using water and sugars
C) an efficient means of capturing hydrogen gas from the atmosphere
D) fusion reactions typical of nuclear power plants

Question 34

In order to make a rapid transition to renewable energies, countries like the United States will have to .

A) strengthen its ties and involvement with the Middle East
B) reduce subsidies to the fossil fuel industry
C) reduce subsidies to renewable energy development to create economic parity
D) manufacture smaller, more fuel efficient cars and trucks

Question 35

According to the figure above, during which of the following periods did global installed solar capacity increase by the greatest percentage?

A) 2006 to 2010
B) 2008 to 2010
C) 2004 to 2006
D) 2010 to 2012

Question 36

You are the chief executive officer (CEO) of a large bus company that transports passengers long distances across the United States. You want to be environmentally "friendly" and are considering replacing your older buses with those that run on hydrogen fuel. However, your executive board dislikes the idea. Which one of the following arguments is valid and could be used by the board to dissuade you from adding hydrogen-fueled buses to your fleet?

A) Hydrogen vehicles are actually more polluting than gasoline-powered buses, so the environmentally friendly thing to do would be to add gasoline-powered buses to the fleet.
B) Hydrogen vehicles are unsafe and have been known to spontaneously combust when rear-ended.
C) It may be difficult along some bus routes to find gas stations that sell hydrogen fuel.
D) Hydrogen vehicles have a range of only around 50 miles, and they take hours to refuel, so hydrogen buses would not be a wise choice for vehicles traveling across the country.

Question 37

What is geothermal energy? In what ways can we use geothermal energy, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of the use of geothermal energy?

Question 38

Compare and contrast solar water heaters and passive solar designs.

Question 39

The Woods family uses about 10,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Coal-fired power plants release about 2 lbs. of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced. Wanting to be more environmentally "friendly," the family installs a solar photovoltaic (PV) system on their roof. They notice that the amount of electricity provided to them by their utility company has decreased by 60%. Assuming all of the utility company's electricity is generated from coal, how much less carbon dioxide is being produced annually as a result of the Woods installing their PV system?

A) 8,000 lbs.
B) 20,000 lbs.
C) 12,000 lbs.
D) It depends on how much carbon dioxide is being released by the PV system.