Test Bank Docx Energy Ch.13

Principles of Environmental Science, 9e (Cunningham)

Chapter 13 Energy

1) ________ is an alternative fuel that can be made from any fat or vegetable oil. It can be used in any diesel engine with few or no modifications. Although it does not contain petroleum, it can be blended with diesel at any level or used in its pure form.

A) Coal

B) Biomass

C) Oil

D) Biodiesel

E) Nuclear

2) ________ is derived from ancient swamps and bogs, where standing water prevented decay and allowed plant matter to accumulate and ________ is derived from plankton and algae, mixed with mud and sand on ancient sea beds.

A) Oil, coal

B) Methane, oil

C) Natural gas, coal

D) Coal, oil

E) Methane, natural gas

3) Solar photovoltaic energy is highly versatile and can be used in a variety of dispersed settings. Which of the following would not be a good location to harness large amounts of this form of energy?

A) roof tops of commercial buildings

B) airports

C) agricultural fields

D) residential neighborhoods

E) base-load power facilities

4) Fossil fuels currently supply about ________ percent of all world commercial energy supplies.

A) 95

B) 87

C) 75

D) 50

E) 33

5) 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

6) 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) Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland do not have higher standards of living compared to Americans or Canadians.

7) 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.

8) 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.

9) 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.

10) 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.

11) 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.

12) ________ 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

13) Nuclear power provides about ________ percent of the US energy supply.

A) 3

B) 9

C) 12

D) 23

E) 37

14) Most of the world's nuclear reactors are of the ________ type.

A) graphite

B) MAGNOX

C) RBMK

D) pressurized water (PWR)

E) pebble bed

15) 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.

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.

17) 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.

18) 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.

19) 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.

20) 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.

21) 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.

22) 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.

23) 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

24) 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) nothing because using wood as an alternate source is a viable way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

25) Biofuels can be produced commercially using all of the following except

A) corn.

B) sugarcane.

C) algae.

D) soybeans.

E) palm oils.

26) 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.

27) Which country is the world leader in wind energy?

A) The United States

B) Denmark

C) France

D) Japan

E) Brazil

28) Transportation consumes about ________ percent of all energy used in the US each year.

A) 13

B) 20

C) 27

D) 33

E) 39

29) 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

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

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

32) Energy is the capacity to do work.

33) Cogeneration is the combined production of methane and coal.

34) 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.

35) Energy is measured in what units?

A) joule

B) power

C) calorie

D) amps

36) The largest oil supply in the Americas comes from tar sands.

37) The down side of using palm oil as a biofuel is the loss of nutrients being placed back into the soil from decomposition of dead vegetation.

38) A geyser is an example of geothermal energy.

39) Where in the United States is the greatest solar resource?

A) the southwestern states

B) the northeast

C) the Pacific Northwest

D) the Ohio River Valley

E) the upper Midwest

40) Where is the greatest wind resource in the United States?

A) the great plains and Rocky Mountain states

B) the southeastern states

C) the southwestern states

D) the Ohio River Valley

E) the northeastern states

41) What do concentrating solar power, wind turbines, nuclear power, and coal-fired power plants have in common?

A) They all use the energy collected to turn a turbine that produces electricity.

B) They are all powered by renewable resources.

C) They are all powered by nonrenewable resources.

D) They all use energy found in equal amounts around the country.

E) They are all efficient sources of power.

42) The majority of energy produced for electricity generation and transportation is "rejected energy" in the energy flow diagram for the United States. What does this mean?

A) It is energy not used because it is lost through leakage and inefficiency.

B) It is energy that wasn't needed for these sectors.

C) It was the energy used directly for electricity generation or transportation.

D) It is the energy from nonrenewable resources.

E) It is the energy from renewable resources.