Deck 14: Energy and the Environment

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a renewable form of energy?

A) nuclear
B) wood
C) solar
D) water
E) wind

Answer 1

nuclear

Question 2

What is the name given to any volume of rock that is capable of generating and expelling commercial quantities of oil or gas?

A) coal
B) reservoir rock
C) source rock
D) cap rock
E) aquifer

Answer 2

source rock

Question 3

What is the impermeable rock mass that lies above oil-bearing strata called?

A) sandstone
B) reservoir rock
C) source rock
D) cap rock
E) aquifer

Answer 3

cap rock

Question 4

What commonly lies at the top of a salt dome?

A) oil
B) gas
C) sulfur
D) salt
E) coal

Question 5

What type of oil trap is formed by the shifting and offset of layers underground?

A) salt dome
B) stratigraphic
C) volcanogenic
D) fault
E) anticline

Question 6

What type of oil trap is formed primarily by depositional processes rather than by deformation?

A) salt dome
B) stratigraphic
C) volcanogenic
D) fault
E) anticline

Question 7

What is a structure formed by the upward arching of layers called?

A) monocline
B) syncline
C) anticline
D) Patsycline
E) formation

Question 8

Which alternative energy source does NOT utilize direct solar energy?

A) power towers
B) parabolic troughs
C) dish/engine concentrator
D) vapor hydrothermal
E) photovoltaic

Question 9

Someone has offered you shares in a sure-shot wildcat oil-drilling venture in the Sierra Nevada of California. Which of the following is the most important reason you should reject his shady offer?

A) The Sierra Nevada is composed of granitic and metamorphic rocks.
B) There is no prior oil or gas production in California.
C) Drilling is prohibited in the entire Sierra Nevada because it is all national forest.
D) Oil and gas production only occurs at present day plate boundaries.
E) Movement along the San Andreas fault has caused all existing oil to leak to the surface.

Question 10

Which method listed below is NOT an example of secondary recovery methods?

A) grouting
B) fluid-mixing
C) steam injection
D) water injection
E) fire flooding

Question 11

Which of the following statements about fracking is false?

A) Between 10% and 40% of the fracking fluid pumped down a well returns to the surface as toxic fracking flowback wastewater.
B) After a 3-year study, the EPA reported there was no evidence of the presence of toxic chemicals associated with fracking in contaminated well water in Pavillion, Wyoming.
C) Discharging of fracking flowback waste through wastewater treatment plants has caused corrosion of downstream utility company's equipment in Pennsylvania.
D) The fracking flowback wastewater includes chemicals that are carcinogenic, neurotoxic and radioactive.
E) Contamination of groundwater supplies by fracking flowback wastewater leaking through a cracked pond liner is a very real possibility.

Question 12

What percentage of the world's energy supplies is consumed by the U.S.?

A) 5%
B) 10%
C) 28%
D) 75%
E) 90%

Question 13

Which form of coal has the highest EROI?

A) peat
B) lignite
C) subbituminous
D) bituminous
E) anthracite

Question 14

What is synthesis gas?

A) synthetic gasoline
B) a hybrid form of gasoline made from mixed ingredients
C) methane gas made from coal
D) propane
E) butane

Question 15

If oil and tar sands are included, where is the largest oil field in the world located?

A) Saudi Arabia
B) Canada
C) Kuwait
D) United Arab Emirates
E) Venezuela

Question 16

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: The oil reserves listed in Table 14.3 in the text are very reliable BECAUSE the United Nations annually audits every petroleum producing country to determine the size of their reserves.

A) The assertion and the reason are both correct, and the reason is valid.
B) The assertion and the reason are both correct, but the reason is invalid.
C) The assertion is correct, but the reason is incorrect.
D) The assertion is incorrect, but the reason is correct.
E) Both the assertion and the reason are incorrect.

Question 17

Which of the following statements about natural gas is false?

A) About 100 million cubic feet of natural gas is flared each year in the U.S.
B) Natural gas is mostly methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
C) Natural gas is a feedstock for manufacturing fertilizers.
D) Natural gas must be processed to remove impurities.
E) The U.S. has greater natural gas reserves than Russia.

Question 18

In the conflict over environmental regulation of coal bed methane production, which states and or agencies are pushing for stronger environmental regulation?

A) Montana and Wyoming
B) Wyoming and the Department of Energy
C) Montana and the Environmental Protection Agency
D) Wyoming and the Environmental Protection Agency
E) Montana and the Department of Energy

Question 19

Which of the following statements regarding coal is false?

A) Coal combustion results in acid rain and mercury pollution.
B) Coal provides energy at a higher cost than oil shale.
C) Coal mining results in acid mine drainage.
D) Coal deposits are known in every geological period since the Devonian.
E) Electrical utilities consume about 90% of U.S. coal production.

Question 20

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Estimates that U.S. recoverable coal reserves will last for more than 500 years are accurate BECAUSE these estimates include an assumed growth rate of 2% per year.

A) The assertion and the reason are both correct, and the reason is valid.
B) The assertion and the reason are both correct, but the reason is invalid.
C) The assertion is correct, but the reason is incorrect.
D) The assertion is incorrect, but the reason is correct.
E) Both the assertion and the reason are incorrect.

Question 21

Single-celled microscopic plants called diatoms make up the largest biomass in the oceans of the world.

Question 22

Salt domes are not entirely made of salt.

Question 23

Ancient coral reefs make excellent reservoir rocks.

Question 24

For a rock mass to be a viable caprock, it must be permeable.

Question 25

The odds of a wildcat oil well being successful are much better than the odds of winning at roulette.

Question 26

Normal oil withdrawal methods can leave as much as 95% of the total oil in the ground.

Question 27

Tar sands contain oil that is too thick to flow at normal temperatures.

Question 28

Light crude oil is less valuable than heavy crude oil.

Question 29

Disposal of the toxic fracking flowback wastewater is the most significant fracking problem.

Question 30

About two-thirds of the world's oil is located in Saudi Arabia.

Question 31

Producing a gasoline substitute in a natural gas-powered ethanol plant results in more greenhouse gases than the equivalent amount of gasoline.

Question 32

The word "smog"is a combination of the words "fog"and "smoke,"but actual photochemical smog has little direct relationship with either smoke or fog.

Question 33

Carbon dioxide's low chemical activity ensures that it can be sequestered securely in deep underground formations.

Question 34

The average cost of solar energy from photovoltaic cells is currently competitive with fossil fuels.

Question 35

Wind power is growing faster than any other energy segment in the world.

Question 36

The term peak oil refers to the point in time when a nation has consumed all of its oil reserves.

Question 37

Pennsylvanian utility companies began experiencing corrosion of their equipment by river water after upstream wastewater treatment plants began releasing enormous amounts of fracking waste.

Question 38

Local residents are not informed of formulae of the hydrofracturing fluid being used in their community because companies claim the exact mixture is a trade secret.

Question 39

Shallow-water offshore wind farms could provide up to 20% of the electricity needs in most coastal states.

Question 40

Tidal currents have been used to power mills for over 1,000 years.

Question 41

What is the main advantage of burning hydrogen, and what is the main disadvantage?

Question 42

What is the difference between synfuels and synthesis gas?

Question 43

How do combustion products of fossil fuels contribute to acid rain?

Question 44

Why is it unlikely that many new hydroelectric dams will be built in the U.S. in the future?

Question 45

Where is the best place to develop geothermal energy in terms of world regions?

Question 46

What is the principle advantage of geothermal energy?

Question 47

What is the main advantage and disadvantage of nuclear energy?

Question 48

Why were orders for new nuclear plants cancelled in the U.S. approximately 20 years ago?

Question 49

Although California leads the nation in wind power, it is likely to be surpassed by another area of the U.S. Which area is likely to take the lead in wind power generation?