Deck 13: Energy

Question 1

All of the following are indirect forms of solar energy except

A)hydropower
B)biomass
C)sunlight
D)wind
E)none of these answers

Answer 1

sunlight

Question 2

The concept of net energy most closely reinforces the

A)first law of energy
B)second law of thermodynamics
C)law of conservation of matter and energy
D)principle that everything is connected to everything else
E)precautionary principle

Answer 2

second law of thermodynamics

Question 3

At present consumption rates, projected world crude oil reserves will be 80% depleted

A)some time between 2011 and 2061
B)at the beginning of the next millennium
C)between 2050 and 2100
D)by 2050, unless the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is opened to oil drilling
E)by 2025, unless the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is opened to oil drilling

Answer 3

between 2050 and 2100

Question 4

Scientists are recommending that energy resources be evaluated on which of the following?

A)the environmental impact of using them
B)the existing supply
C)how much net useful energy they supply
D)the existing supply and how much net useful energy they supply
E)all of these answers

Question 5

The purpose of the Rocky Mountain Institute is to

A)fund exploration of more conventional oil reserves
B)train solar energy technicians
C)research and teach organic farming methodology
D)do research and consultation on energy efficiency and renewable energy alternatives
E)train environmentally certified energy efficient design builders

Question 6

Bitumen is

A)a type of coal
B)a deep shale-oil deposit
C)high-sulfur heavy oil
D)an octane-raising gasoline additive
E)a type of natural gas

Question 7

Which of the following countries has the greatest tar sand deposits?

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

Question 8

Shale oil and tar sands

A)are principal sources of conventional crude oil
B)contain large supplies of heavy oils
C)constitute a small but cheap supply of crude oil
D)are usable only for aviation fuel
E)all of these answers

Question 9

The energy source with the highest net energy ratio for transportation is

A)gasoline
B)coal liquefaction
C)natural gas
D)oil shale
E)ethanol from sugar cane residue

Question 10

Kerogen is a combustible material that is extracted from

A)liquid petroleum gas
B)tar sands
C)light oil
D)heavy oil
E)oil shales

Question 11

Which of the following is not a type of nonrenewable energy from the Earth's crust?

A)natural gas
B)oil
C)coal
D)biomass
E)All of these are nonrenewable energy from the Earth's crust

Question 12

World oil supplies and prices are expected to be controlled long-term by

A)OPEC
B)the United States
C)Mexico
D)Russia
E)Saudi Arabia

Question 13

Shale-oil processing requires large amounts of

A)water
B)electricity
C)zinc
D)time
E)all of these answers

Question 14

The countries with the largest reserves of natural gas are

A)Canada and the United States
B)Russia, Iran, and Qatar
C)Nigeria and Algeria
D)India, Venezuela, and the United States
E)Russia, Venezuela, and Canada

Question 15

Liquefied petroleum gas consists of

A)methane
B)butane and propane
C)ammonia
D)nitrogen oxides
E)ethanol

Question 16

The majority of commercial energy comes from

A)hydropower
B)wind
C)biomass
D)renewable energy resources from the Earth's crust
E)nonrenewable energy resources from the Earth's crust

Question 17

Net energy is

A)the usable amount of low-quality energy from a given quantity of energy resource
B)the total useful energy available from an energy resource
C)analogous to total income
D)the total useful energy from an energy resource minus the amount of energy used and wasted in producing it
E)the amount of energy used and wasted to produce useful energy

Question 18

All of the following statements accurately describe the office-home building of the Rocky Mountain Institute except:

A)Solar energy provides 90% of the household electricity.
B)The Institute's heating bill is just less than $50 per month.
C)A central greenhouse in the building humidifies the building and helps to heat it and purify the air.
D)Except for office equipment power, the building draws a little more electricity than a single 100-watt light bulb would draw.
E)Solar energy provides about 99% of the hot water used in the building.

Question 19

The main problem with use of conventional natural gas as a transportation fuel is

A)the expensive engine modifications required to convert an automobile for use of natural gas
B)the fact that it has higher CO2 emissions than gasoline produced from conventional oil
C)the very low reserves, which could supply U.S. a.needs for less than 25 years
D)the fact that not many fueling stations exist at present
E)more than one of these answers

Question 20

The energy source with the highest net energy ratio for space heating is

A)oil
B)active solar
C)passive solar
D)electric resistance heating
E)wind

Question 21

The textbook cites the ____ as a very energy-efficient structure.

A)Empire State Building in New York
B)Sears Tower in Chicago
C)Georgia Power Company building in Atlanta
D)Transamerica building in San Francisco
E)the White House

Question 22

Which form of producing electrical energy produces the highest amount of CO₂ per unit of energy, when expressed as a percentage of emissions released by burning coal directly?

A)natural gas
B)coal-fired electricity
C)coal
D)oil sand
E)synthetic oil and gas produced from coal

Question 23

Which of the following statements is true?

A)Each year, the carbon dioxide emissions from all coal-fired U.S. a.power plants exceed the carbon dioxide emissions from all of the country's passenger vehicles.
B)Each year, the carbon dioxide emissions from all coal-fired U.S. a.power plants are less than the carbon dioxide emissions from all of the country's passenger vehicles.
C)Each year, the carbon dioxide emissions from all coal-fired U.S. a.power plants equal that of the carbon dioxide emissions from all of the country's passenger vehicles.
D)None of the statements can be verified because there is no data to support the comparison.
E)Each year, the carbon dioxide emissions from the U.S.'s passenger vehicles approximate that of carbon dioxide emissions from the country's manufacturing plants.

Question 24

The world's identified coal reserves should last at least ____ years at current usage rates.

A)10
B)50
C)100
D)150
E)200

Question 25

The useful operating life of today's nuclear power plants is supposed to be ____ years.

A)10-25
B)20-50
C)15-60
D)35-80
E)100-150

Question 26

The world's most abundant conventional fossil fuel is

A)crude oil
B)natural gas
C)biomass
D)tar sand
E)coal

Question 27

The nuclear power industry in the United States has declined because of

A)high construction costs
B)accidents at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island
C)concerns about radioactive waste disposal
D)public opposition
E)all of these answers

Question 28

Coal can be converted to

A)methanol
B)synthetic gasoline
C)synthetic natural gas
D)only methanol and synthetic gasoline
E)all of these answers

Question 29

Widespread replacement of the U.S. a.vehicle fleet with highly efficient plug-in hybrids over a couple of decades would

A)cut U.S. a.oil consumption by 70% to 90%
B)eliminate the need for oil imports
C)reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 27%
D)all of these answers
E)none of these answers

Question 30

What percentage of the commercial energy used in the United States is wasted?

A)14%
B)24%
C)44%
D)64%
E)84%

Question 31

What percentage of the commercial energy used in the United States is wasted unnecessarily?

A)13%
B)23%
C)33%
D)43%
E)53%

Question 32

If the United States wanted to make the most difference in tightening up efficiency of energy-wasting technology in our country, which one of the following would be a good candidate?

A)the incandescent light bulb
B)the internal combustion engine
C)nuclear power plants
D)coal-burning power plants
E)all of these answers

Question 33

Coal supplies ____ of the electricity generated in the United States.

A)50%
B)30%
C)40%
D)20%
E)80%

Question 34

Superefficient and ultralight cars

A)may eventually get 80-300 mpg
B)include the Toyota Prius, a gasoline electric hybrid
C)will include the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle
D)all of these answers
E)none of these answers

Question 35

If the hidden health and environmental costs of using gasoline were included in the price of gas as a tax, the actual cost in the United States would be

A)$4.00 per gallon
B)$4.00 per liter
C)$12.00 per liter
D)$12.00 per gallon
E)less than a liter of water

Question 36

Below are listed some widely-used devices and the amount of energy they waste. a.Which pair of choices is not correct?

A)incandescent light bulb - up to 95%
B)internal combustion engine - 80%
C)nuclear power plant - 50%
D)coal-fired power plant - up to 80%
E)all of these answers

Question 37

All of the following statements about nuclear fusion are true except:

A)Bomb-grade materials are required to produce nuclear fusion energy.
B)There is no risk of release of large amounts of radioactive material.
C)There has been no progress in making fusion energy available in the U.S. a.after 50 years of research.
D)There is no risk of melt-down.
E)All of these are true statements.

Question 38

Light-water reactors generate about ____ of the world's nuclear-generated electricity.

A)95%
B)85%
C)75%
D)65%
E)55%

Question 39

Which of the following statements about synfuels is false?

A)Synfuels can be used as vehicle fuel.
B)Synfuels are more expensive than coal.
C)Synfuel combustion, by itself, produces more air pollution than coal.
D)Synfuels have higher carbon dioxide emissions than coal.
E)Synfuels have large potential supply availability.

Question 40

Current models of the gasoline-electric car

A)may get up to 30 miles per gallon on the freeway
B)get up to 50 miles per gallon
C)cannot be used in wet weather
D)do not have the ability to climb steep hills
E)none of these answers

Question 41

A soft energy path is one that

A)relies on improving energy efficiency and increasing the use of a variety of renewable energy resources
B)relies completely on the use of biofuels
C)relies on the use of liquid fossil fuels
D)relies on the use of soft money for research and development
E)relies on soft coal

Question 42

Which of the following statements about geothermal power is false?

A)Use of geothermal energy is limited by scarcity of sites.
B)It releases air pollution.
C)It releases more carbon dioxide than fossil fuels.
D)It has very high efficiency.
E)It has a moderate environmental impact.

Question 43

All of the following statements about biofuels are correct except

A)They are easy to store and transport.
B)Biofuel crops can be grown in any country.
C)They can be produced from crop residues.
D)Pond scum may be a future source of biofuels.
E)None of these answer are incorrect.

Question 44

The leading renewable energy source that is used to produce electricity today is

A)solar energy
B)hydropower
C)wind power
D)biomass
E)geothermal

Question 45

Which of the following is a disadvantage of hydropower?

A)It creates carbon dioxide emissions.
B)There is a high environmental impact from flooding land to form a reservoir.
C)The cost of electricity produced from hydropower is much greater than electricity produced from other sources.
D)It has a moderate to high net energy.
E)None of these answers.

Question 46

Advantages of solar heating include all of the following except:

A)It is a free energy source.
B)Access to the sun can be blocked by other structures.
C)Installation is quick.
D)No carbon dioxide additions to the atmosphere.
E)Both access to the sun can be blocked by other structures and installation is quick are correct.

Question 47

A region that has been nicknamed the "Saudi Arabia of wind power" is

A)the coastal states of California, Oregon, and Washington
B)the Great Plains states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and Texas
C)the high deserts in Chile
D)coastal Spain
E)coastal Maine and Newfoundland

Question 48

We continue to waste energy rather than convert to more energy efficient behaviors because:

A)There is a lack of substantial tax breaks for doing so.
B)There is a glut of artificially low-cost fossil fuels.
C)There is no clear and substantial benefit to the environment from avoiding waste.
D)All of these are correct.
E)Both there is a lack of substantial tax breaks for doing so and there is a glut of artificially low costing fossil fuels are correct.

Question 49

The use of hydrogen gas would eliminate most of the air pollution problems we have today because:

A)When it burns it combines with carbon dioxide and removes it from the air.
B)When it burns it combines with water to produce heavy rainwater.
C)When it burns it combines with oxygen gas in the air to produce water vapor.
D)When it burns it combines with carbon to produce methane gas.
E)None of these answers.

Question 50

An example of how large, centralized, and geographically concentrated energy sources are vulnerable to disruption by unexpected events is

A)the breakage of wind turbines in North Dakota by flooding
B)the disruption of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico by Hurricane Katrina
C)fires that destroyed solar panels in the southeastern California desert
D)loss of oil production in Alaska when an earthquake fractured the pipeline
E)an earthquake that fractured the Hoover Dam

Question 51

Which of the following statements is false?

A)Solar cells are reliable and quiet and have no moving parts.
B)Solar cells require minimal maintenance.
C)The U.S. a.government is the current global leader in photovoltaic production.
D)China plans on becoming the world leader in solar cell production and sales.
E)India is installing solar cell systems in 38,000 remote villages.

Question 52

Making a major shift toward locally available renewable energy resources over the next few decades would result in

A)a more decentralized and efficient energy economy
B)improved economic and national security
C)reduced pollution and global warming
D)financial savings to consumers
E)all of these answers

Question 53

Cells that convert solar energy directly into electricity are called

A)electrosolar chips
B)photovoltaic cells
C)helioelectric units
D)photoelectric cells
E)solarelectric cells

Question 54

It is risky for companies to invest in renewable energy because:

A)Pricing for renewable energy resources are artificially low.
B)None of the known renewable energy resources are reliable.
C)It is expected that renewable energy will fall out of favor with the American public in the next decade.
D)Subsidies and tax breaks have to be renewed by the government every few years.
E)More than one of these choices is correct.

Question 55

The energy efficiency of buildings can be improved by all of the following strategies except

A)building big windows into the northern side of new housing
B)replacing standard windows with energy efficient windows
C)plugging leaks
D)using energy efficient lighting
E)using energy efficient appliances

Question 56

All of the following can be used for cooling a house in warm weather except

A)foil sheets under the floor
B)breezes from open windows
C)window overhangs or awnings
D)superinsulation and high-efficiency windows
E)a light colored reflective roof

Question 57

Which number and cause of bird death are incorrectly matched (for the U.S.)?

A)cars/trucks - 50 to 100 million
B)electric transmission lines - 175 billion
C)wind turbines - 40,000
D)cats - 100 million
E)glass windows, buildings, and electrical transmission towers - >1 billion

Question 58

Which of the following is an advantage of solar cells?

A)durable for 20 to 40 years
B)quick installation
C)easy expansion of the system needed
D)no carbon dioxide emissions
E)all of these answers

Question 59

There are three major forms of fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas.

Question 60

Wind power

A)offers quick construction time
B)has a moderate to high net useful energy yield
C)emits no CO2
D)has low environmental impact
E)all of these answers

Question 61

The nuclear fuel cycle costs more than using coal, natural gas, or wind power to produce electricity.

Question 62

Cellulosic ethanol provides a way to produce biofuel and yet dodge the food vs.
a.biofuels dilemma.

Question 63

Oil production has peaked in many of the largest oil-producing countries, but it has not yet peaked in the United States.

Question 64

Nuclear power is now the world's fastest-growing energy source.

Question 65

The United States wastes almost none of its energy.

Question 66

The net energy loss from production of electricity by nuclear power plants exceeds 90%.

Question 67

Burning of coal is responsible for roughly a third of the toxic mercury emitted into the atmosphere.

Question 68

The quickest, cleanest, and cheapest way to provide more energy is to ____________________.

Question 69

Brazil, the second largest ethanol producer, makes its ethanol from the residue of sugar cane.

Question 70

Importing oil from other countries into the United States impacts our trade agreements but not our wealth.

Question 71

One disadvantage of wind power is the fact that it cannot be stored.

Question 72

The world's dependence on fossil fuels has been increased through subsidies and tax breaks that support fossil fuel processors (oil companies).

Question 73

Photovoltaic cells do not produce any of the greenhouse or acid gas emissions associated with electricity generated by the combustion of fossil fuels.

Question 74

Coal is easier to get out of the ground and transport than petroleum.

Question 75

Reducing energy waste is a commendable activity, but would not impact our energy supplies in any meaningful way.

Question 76

After almost 60 years of research, there is no consensus on how to safely store growing amounts of nuclear waste safely for thousands of years.

Question 77

The next stage in the development of superefficient cars may be an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell.

Question 78

The estimated oil reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would meet current world oil demand for at least another 50 years.

Question 79

Bituminous coal has a high heat content, but a low sulfur content.

Question 80

It has been estimated that capturing the wind's energy at the world's best sites would only produce about 50% of the electricity currently being used worldwide.