Unit 1

What is one of the biggest drivers of spatial variability of energy consumption?

socioeconomic & demographic differences between areas

What is the approximate ratio of total per-person energy use to individual metabolic energy requirements for the U.S.?

100> to 1

Approximately what percentage of U.S. energy consumption is currently provided by oil, natural gas, and coal?

83%

What percentage of the world’s total energy production is consumed by the U.S.?

16% of total energy production

How is global mean temperature projected to change between now and 2030?

rise by 1.5 C

Which of the following best describes the power generation capacity of a modern wind turbine?

2-3 MW

Which of the following best describes the power generation capacity of a typical coal-fired power plant?

300-600 MW

How has the percentage of the U.S. workforce engaged in agriculture changed since the 1700s?

decreased from >90% to less than 1%

Why does the production of electricity vary on hourly timescales?

demand fluctuations, weather, temperature, sunlight

How is the global usage of fossil fuels expected to change over the next decade?

decline modestly but not disappear

define energy

the capacity to do work (or produce heat, light, etc)

what is a Watt?

SI unit of power, 1 watt = 1 Joule/second

list units of energy

watt-hour, kilowatt-hour, joule, kilojoule, gigawatt

list forms of energy

chemical, kinetic, radiant, thermal, electrical potential, potential

What term best describes the energy stored in fossil fuels?

chemical energy

first law of thermodynamics

Energy is conserved – it cannot be created or destroyed

Second law of thermodynamics

in any energy transfer, some energy is lost as heat, and systems tend toward increased entropy

kinetic energy

energy stored in things in motion

Why is some form of “leverage” (concentration) generally needed to make sunlight an efficient energy source?

sunlight is abundant but diffuse when it hits Earth’s surface, so it needs to be concentrated

How does the energy density in gasoline (megajoules/liter) compare to that in batteries?

gas has a higher energy density

What is meant by the term “resource pyramid”?

Resource quality and quantity are inversely related

In general, how is the quality of any particular energy resource related to its quantity?

as product price increases and technology improved, the resource size increases

T/F - Most of the energy that we presently use originally came from the Sun.

true

T/F - US fossil fuels use approximately doubled during the 20th century

true

T/F- Wisconsin has no oil pipelines.

False

T/F- Energy is the rate at which power is transferred

false

T/F- Energy can be transferred from one form to another without loss

false

T/F- the development of new energy technologies has begun to slow down in recent decades

false

T/F- Renewable energy sources are virtually free of negative consequences

false

T/F- energy use correlates with wealth

true

T/F- In practical terms, energy resource quality is more important than quantity

True

T/F - The total rate at which solar energy reaches the Earth vastly exceeds the rate of human energy consumption.

true