Princeton Review AP Environmental Science Chapter 8

energy

the capacity to do work

potential energy

energy at rest; stored energy

kinetic energy

energy in motion

radiant energy

energy carried by light; the only form of energy that can travel through empty space (sunlight)

convection

the transfer of heat by the movement of a heated matter

conduction

the transfer of energy through matter from particle to particle

net energy yield

refers to the comparison between the energy cost of extraction, processing, and transportation, and the amount of useful energy derived from the fuel

energy units

joules (J), calories (cal), British thermal units (Btu), and kilowatt-hours (kWh)- a measure of watts x time

power units

watts (W) and horsepower (hp)

power

the rate at which work is done

First Law of Thermodynamics

says that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only be transferred and transformed (ex. photosynthesis)

Second Law of Thermodynamics

says that the entropy (disorder) of the universe is increasing; in most energy transformations, a significant fraction of energy is lost to the universe as heat (ex. food chains)

fossil fuels

coal, oil, natural gas; 65% of world's electricity

nuclear energy

20% of world's electricity

renewable energy sources

15% of world's electricity

oil, coal, and natural gas

the order in which the fossil fuels are most useful- most used to least used

seams

long, continuous deposits (referring to coal)

exploratory wells

used to drill and sample a particular area for fossil fuel deposits, can provide estimate the proven reserve

proven reserve

an estimate of the amount of fuel that can be obtained from an area

crude oil

oil pumped fresh from a reserve

gusher

an oil well that produces a large amount of oil that can easily be pumped to the surface due to the reserve's high pressure

pressure extraction

a method of extracting oil in which people use mud, CO2 and saltwater to push out the oil from the reserve; this is used when oil is harder to extract

shale oil

oil reserves found in rock

tar sands

mixture of clay, sand, water and bitumen; bitumen can be extracted and refined into oil- dirtiest of all oils extracted and can have detrimental environmental impacts along with a high energy input

anthracite

purest coal; almost pure carbon

bituminous

second purest coal

subbituminous

third purest form of coal

lignite

least pure coal

underground mining

involves sinking shafts to reach underground deposits; networks of tunnels are dug or blasted, and humans enter these tunnels to manually retrieve the coal

subsidence

the gradual caving in or sinking of an area of land

strip mining

involves the removal of the Earth's surface, all the way down to the level of the coal seam (overburden removed and thrown back when coal is extracted fully)

overburden

layer of soil and rock overlying a mineral deposit; surface mining removes this layer

scrubbers

devices containing alkaline substances that precipitate out much of the sulfur dioxide from industrial plants

fly ash

the residue collected from the chimney or exhaust pipe of a furnace; byproduct of burning coal

boiler residue

a waste product produced by the burning of coal

combustion

the process of burning something

wet scrubbing

a process used to remove pollutants from flue gases, in which a fine mist of water is used to transform sulfur oxides (SOx) from an air pollution issue to either a water pollution issue or to a commercial product: sulfuric acid

electrostatic filters

use an electric charge to attract dust particles to metal surfaces where they can be gathered and disposed of as solid waste

acid mine drainage

highly acidic water which flows to surrounding areas, caused by abandoned metal and coal mines

Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS)

provides emission limits for mercury, particulate matter, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen fluoride for approximately 600 coal and oil power plants

liquefied natural gas (LNG)

natural gas converted to liquid form by cooling it at a very low temperature

Hubbert peak (peak oil)

an influential theory that concerns the long-term rate of conventional oil (and other fossil fuel) extraction and depletion. It predicts that future world oil production will soon reach a peak and then rapidly decline

fission

a nuclear reaction in which a massive nucleus splits into smaller nuclei with the simultaneous release of energy

breeder reactors

reactors that generate new fissionable material faster than they consume such material

nuclear fusion

a nuclear reaction in which atomic nuclei of low atomic number fuse to form a heavier nucleus with the release of energy

half-life

the time is takes for half of a radioactive sample to degrade

boiling water reactors

reactors that use the heat of the reactor core to boil water into steam, which is piped directly to the turbines; steam spins turbines- generates electricity; water is cooled back into a liquid and pumped back to the core to be turned into steam again (2 water circulation systems)

pressurized water reactors

reactors that produce electricity by generating steam but contain 3 water circulation systems: heat produced from reactor core is used to heat the first water supply, which is kept under high pressure to prevent it from boiling; it is then passed through the reactor heat exchange, where heat from the first water supply is transferred to the second water supply, which is not kept under high pressure, so that it can form steam to spin the turbines; third water supply cools the steam from the turbines to regenerate the second water supply

meltdown

a dangerous condition in which fuel rods inside a nuclear reactor melt

thermal pollution

a temperature increase in a body of water that is caused by human activity and that has a harmful effect on water quality and on the ability of that body of water to support life

charcoal

wood that has been baked to remove water and impurities

gasohol

a gasoline extender made from a mixture of 90% gasoline and 10% ethanol; reduces some emissions of pollutants, but carbon is a byproduct, and the fuel efficiency is lower

biodiesel

a diesel substitute produced by extracting and chemically altering oil from plants (ex. soybean oil)

fish ladders

a stair-like structure that allows migrating fish to get around a dam

passive solar energy collection

the use of building materials, building placement, and design to passively collect solar energy, such as through windows, that can be used to keep a building warm or cool

active solar energy collection

the use of devices, such as solar panels, that collect, focus, transport, or store solar energy

photovoltaic cells (PV cells)

direct collectors of solar energy, which produce electricity that is later stored in batteries by energizing electrons when sunlight strikes the panels, thus enabling them to flow freely, producing an electric current

wind turbine

a turbine that converts wind energy into electricity

nacelle

the base of the windmill

wind farms

large arrays of wind turbines

geothermal energy

energy that is produced by harnessing the Earth's internal heat due to radioactive decay of elements under the Earth's crust

electrolysis

a process by which hydrogen atoms are stripped from water, leaving the oxygen atom; used for function of hydrogen cells as energy source

co-generation

an energy source in which the waste heat from electricity generation is used in another industrial or residential process, thereby increasing the efficiency of the use of that fuel

energy conservation

the practice of reducing our use of fossil fuels and reducing the impact we have on the environment as we produce and use energy

biofuel

liquid fuel created from processed or refined biomass

Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE)

standards that set mile-per-gallon standards for a fleet of cars; the goal is to reduce energy consumption by increasing the fuel economy of cars and light trucks

cost-benefit analysis

a study that compares the costs and benefits to society of providing a public good

ocean tides

caused by differencees in the gravitational pull of the moon on opposite sides of the earth