Deck 12: Energy

Question 1

The United States, making up less than 5 percent of the world's population, uses more than ___ of the world's commercial energy production.

A) 9/10
B) 2/3
C) 1/2
D) 1/4
E) 1/3

Answer 1

1/4

Question 2

Which of the following statements is true?

A) World coal reserves are substantially smaller than petroleum reserves.
B) The fossil fuel most readily available and abundant in the United States and Canada is petroleum.
C) The United States has only enough proven oil supplies to last 4 years at current rates of consumption.
D) World coal reserves are only large enough to provide power for about 100 years.
E) Under normal operating conditions, you are likely to get a higher dose of radiation living next to a nuclear plant than a coal-burning plant.

Answer 2

The United States has only enough proven oil supplies to last 4 years at current rates of consumption.

Question 3

A reason to encourage green building designs would be that

A) it would eliminate the need for fossil fuels.
B) it would save money that would be spent on energy needs.
C) it would utilize natural gas.
D) it would eliminate brownfields.

Answer 3

it would save money that would be spent on energy needs.

Question 4

Most of the world's nuclear reactors are of the _____________ type.

A) graphite
B) MAGNOX
C) RBMK
D) pressurized water (PWR)
E) pebble bed

Question 5

A system of pipes painted black that have water circulating on the wall in a glass greenhouse on the south side of a building is an example of

A) parabolic collection.
B) an active solar heating system.
C) passive heat absorption.
D) eutectic heat exchange.
E) charging fuel cells to increase efficiency in energy use.

Question 6

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Improving standards of living have been repeatedly demonstrated to require increased energy consumption.
B) An average house built today requires only half the energy used by a new home in 1974.
C) For an average home, standby appliances consume up to 25% of the electricity used in a month.
D) Most potential heat from fuel is lost as waste heat.
E) All of these are true.

Question 7

Photovoltaic cells work because solar energy striking their surface

A) causes the cells to liquefy as they heat.
B) releases electrons, causing an electric potential in attached wires.
C) is collected in the form of photons and sent through attached wires.
D) causes an uneven magnetic charge to develop.
E) changes to chemical energy.

Question 8

A glass greenhouse on the south side of a building is an example of

A) parabolic collection.
B) an active solar heating system.
C) passive heat absorption.
D) eutectic heat exchange.
E) charging fuel cells to increase efficiency in energy use.

Question 9

Most useful oil deposits are usually found

A) in a liquid pool under a layer of impermeable shale.
B) saturating porous rocks, like water in a sponge.
C) locked in the mineral structure of a rock formation.
D) in pools on the earth's surface, where geologic pressures have forced them to collect.
E) in small pools directly above the bedrock.

Question 10

Most of our energy waste in North America results from

A) a failure to turn off lights.
B) technological inefficiency.
C) the fact that more efficient energy conversion is not possible.
D) overwhelming public ignorance of conservation issues.
E) the fact that energy conservation techniques are quite expensive.

Question 11

Control rods in a nuclear reactor are used to

A) absorb neutrons.
B) move fuel rods around in the chamber.
C) provide neutrons to initiate reactions.
D) provide cooling by decreasing the temperature of the water.
E) increase the temperature of the water.

Question 12

In terms of generating electricity, fuel cells are _________ than thermal-conversion machines because the chemical energy of a fuel is _______.

A) less efficient; converted into electricity with an intermediate combustion cycle.
B) less efficient; converted directly into electricity without an intermediate combustion cycle.
C) more efficient; converted into electricity with an intermediate combustion cycle.
D) more efficient; converted directly into electricity without an intermediate combustion cycle.
E) about the same in terms of efficiency; converted into electricity with an intermediate combustion cycle.

Question 13

_____________________ can easily be moved across land in pipelines, but must be transported in special refrigerated ships to move across oceans.

A) Natural gas
B) Anthracite
C) Light oil
D) Methanol
E) Heavy crude

Question 14

Nuclear power provides about _____ percent of the US energy supply.

A) 3
B) 9
C) 12
D) 23
E) 37

Question 15

In the poorest countries like Ethiopia and Bangladesh, biomass represents ______ percent of their energy consumption.

A) 10
B) 30
C) 45
D) 70
E) 90

Question 16

The most likely disaster in a nuclear power plant is that

A) the plant would explode like a nuclear bomb.
B) cooling systems could fail, causing rapid overheating.
C) fuel rods could fail to maintain chain reactions.
D) nuclear fusion would get out of control and cause explosions.
E) All of these are equally likely.

Question 17

Fossil fuels currently supply about ____ percent of all world commercial energy supplies.

A) 95
B) 87
C) 75
D) 50
E) 33

Question 18

For much of the past decade battles have been going on over oil and gas drilling in

A) the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
B) the Everglades National Wildlife Refuge.
C) Buffalo Commons Wildlife Refuge.
D) Yellowstone National Park.
E) All of these are correct.

Question 19

Worldwide, coal deposits are

A) widespread but rarely in economic quantities.
B) relatively difficult to find.
C) highly unusual formations.
D) widespread and extensive.
E) decreasing at alarming rates.

Question 20

Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland have higher standards of living by most measures than Americans or Canadians

A) because their energy consumption is much greater.
B) because they are closer to energy supplies.
C) even though their energy use is about equal to ours.
D) even though their energy use is much less than ours.
E) None of these. Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland do not have higher standards of living compared to Americans or Canadians.

Question 21

The world's largest wind power producers are the United States and Canada.

Question 22

Transportation consumes about ______ percent of all energy used in the US each year.

A) 13
B) 20
C) 27
D) 33
E) 39

Question 23

Cogeneration is the combined production of methane and coal.

Question 24

Which country is the world leader in wind energy?

A) The United States
B) Denmark
C) France
D) Japan
E) Brazil

Question 25

A major factor in the conversion from fossil fuels to renewable forms of energy is

A) money.
B) infrastructure.
C) access to renewable forms.
D) a lack of technology to develop renewable forms.

Question 26

Tidal power stations operate by using the energy from waves as they crash on the shore.

Question 27

Energy is the capacity to do work.

Question 28

Since the 1920s, hydropower production has

A) risen, but not as fast as fossil fuel use.
B) fallen due to disinterest.
C) fallen due to a lack of available sites.
D) become our most important energy source.
E) stayed at about the same level.

Question 29

Biofuels can be produced commercially using all of the following except

A) corn.
B) sugarcane.
C) algae.
D) soybeans.
E) palm oils.

Question 30

The US Department of Energy plans to deposit high-level nuclear waste at _________________ for long term storage.

A) Las Cruces, New Mexico
B) Carson City, Nevada
C) Yucca Mountain, Nevada
D) Tempe, Arizona
E) Death Valley, California

Question 31

In the United States and Canada, the most common problem with using wood as a major heat source is

A) the cost.
B) wood shortages.
C) that it separates people from the utility grid.
D) the production of pollutants.
E) None of these. Using wood as an alternate source is a viable way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.