Energy Resources and Thermodynamics Practice Flashcards

Vocabulary terms covering energy types, thermodynamics laws, renewable and non-renewable resources, and nuclear physics concepts.

Energy

The ability to do work or cause change.

Energy conservation

The practice of saving energy to reduce demand.

Law of conservation of energy

A principle stating that energy cannot be created or destroyed.

Chemical Energy

Energy stored in the bonds of fuels or food, such as glucose and sugar in plants.

Kinetic Energy

The energy of motion.

Potential Energy

Stored energy available to do work.

Non-renewable resources

Energy sources that take millions of years to form and will run out over time, such as coal, oil, natural gas, and uranium.

Renewable energy

Resources that are replaced quickly by natural processes and will not run out, such as solar, wind, and water.

Fossil Fuels

Energy sources formed from ancient plants and organisms that stored solar energy roughly $500$ million years ago.

Hydrocarbons

Chemical compounds found in fossil fuels in three forms: solid (coal), liquid (oil), and gas (natural gas).

Nuclear fission

The process of releasing energy by splitting atoms (such as uranium or plutonium).

Biomass

A renewable energy source made from dead plants and organic waste that is burned to create fuel.

Solar power

Energy that comes from the Sun through nuclear fusion and travels to Earth as light energy.

Hydropower

Energy produced by using moving water to spin turbines and generate electricity, often using dams to store potential energy.

Wind power

Energy created by the uneven heating of the Earth's surface that turns turbines to produce electricity.

Geothermal Energy

A renewable energy source that harnesses heat from inside the Earth.

Half-life

The amount of time it takes for half of a radioactive substance (such as Carbon or Uranium) to decay.

First Law of Thermodynamics

The law stating that energy is neither created nor destroyed.

Second Law of Thermodynamics

The principle that when energy is converted from one form to another, some is always lost as waste energy (heat).

Tidal power

Energy generated by the motion of ocean waves and tides.