APES Unit 5 Vocabulary

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and definitions from APES Unit 5.

Fossil fuel

A fuel derived from biological material that became fossilized millions of years ago.

Nonrenewable energy resource

An energy source with a finite supply, primarily the fossil fuels and nuclear fuels.

Nuclear fuel

Fuel derived from radioactive materials that give off energy.

Commercial energy source

An energy source that is bought and sold.

Subsistence energy source

An energy source gathered by individuals for their own immediate needs.

Energy carrier

Something that can move and deliver energy in a convenient, usable form to end users.

Turbine

A device with blades that can be turned by water, wind, steam, or exhaust gas from combustion that turns a generator in an electricity-producing plant.

Electrical grid

A network of interconnected transmission lines that joins power plants together and links them with end users of electricity.

Combined cycle

A power plant that uses both exhaust gases and steam turbines to generate electricity.

Capacity factor

The fraction of time a power plant operates in a year.

Cogeneration

The use of a fuel to generate electricity and produce heat.

Coal

A solid fuel formed primarily from the remains of trees, ferns, and other plant materials preserved 280 million to 360 million years ago.

Petroleum

A fossil fuel that occurs in underground deposits, composed of a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons, water, and sulfur.

Oil sands

Slow-flowing, viscous deposits of bitumen mixed with sand, water, and clay.

Bitumen

A degraded petroleum that forms when petroleum migrates to the surface of Earth and is modified by bacteria.

CTL (coal to liquid)

The process of converting solid coal into liquid fuel.

Fission

A nuclear reaction in which a neutron strikes a relatively large atomic nucleus, which then splits into two or more parts, releasing additional neutrons and energy in the form of heat.

Fuel rod

A cylindrical tube that encloses nuclear fuel within a nuclear reactor.

Control rod

A cylindrical device inserted between the fuel rods in a nuclear reactor to absorb excess neutrons and slow or stop the fission reaction.

Radioactive waste

Nuclear fuel that can no longer produce enough heat to be useful in a power plant but continues to emit radioactivity.

Nuclear fusion

A reaction when lighter nuclei are forced together to produce heavier nuclei.

Energy conservation

Means finding and implementing ways to use less energy.

Passive solar design

Construction designed to take advantage of solar radiation without active technology.

Renewable

In energy management, an energy source that is either potentially renewable or nondepletable.

Nondepletable

An energy source that cannot be used up.

Biofuel

Liquid fuel created from processed or refined biomass.

Biodiesel

A diesel substitute produced by extracting and chemically altering oil from plants.

Flex-fuel vehicle

A vehicle that runs on either gasoline or a gasoline/ethanol mixture.

Hydroelectricity

Electricity generated by the kinetic energy of moving water.

Water impoundment

The storage of water in a reservoir behind a dam.

Tidal energy

Energy that comes from the movement of water driven by the gravitational pull of the Moon.

Siltation

The accumulation of sediments, primarily silt, on the bottom of a reservoir.

Photovoltaic solar cell

A system of capturing energy from sunlight and converting it directly into electricity.

Wind energy

Energy generated from the kinetic energy of moving air.

Wind turbine

A turbine that converts wind energy into electricity.

Geothermal energy

Heat energy that comes from the natural radioactive decay of elements deep within Earth.