Unit 6 Non/Renewable Resources APES

Renewable vs. Nonrenewable Energy:

1. Q: What is the primary difference between renewable and nonrenewable energy sources? A: Renewable energy sources can be replenished naturally on a human timescale, such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power. Nonrenewable energy sources are finite and cannot be readily replaced, including fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas.

2. Q: Can you provide examples of renewable energy sources? A: Examples include solar energy, wind energy, hydroelectric power, geothermal energy, and biomass.

3. Q: Can you provide examples of nonrenewable energy sources? A: Examples include coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear energy (due to finite uranium resources).

Global Energy Consumption:

4. Q: How do you calculate the percent change in energy usage over a period? A: Percent change is calculated by taking the difference between the new and old values, dividing by the old value, and then multiplying by 100. Formula: ((New Value - Old Value) / Old Value) × 100.

5. Q: What factors contribute to the global increase in energy demand? A: Factors include population growth, industrialization, economic development, and increased use of technology.

Fuel Types and Uses:

6. Q: What are the main types of fossil fuels, and how are they formed? A: The main types are coal, oil, and natural gas. They are formed from the decomposed remains of ancient plants and animals subjected to heat and pressure over millions of years.

7. Q: How is gasoline produced from crude oil? A: Through a process called refining, crude oil is heated and separated into various components based on boiling points. Gasoline is one of the products obtained during this fractional distillation process.

8. Q: What is cogeneration, and can you provide an example? A: Cogeneration, or combined heat and power (CHP), is the simultaneous production of electricity and useful heat from the same energy source. An example is a natural gas power plant that generates electricity and captures the waste heat for heating buildings.

Distribution of Natural Resources:

9. Q: Which countries have the largest reserves of coal, oil, and natural gas? A: The United States, Russia, and China have significant coal reserves; Saudi Arabia, Canada, and Venezuela have large oil reserves; and Russia, Iran, and Qatar possess substantial natural gas reserves.

10. Q: How are natural gas and oil formed? A: They are formed from the remains of marine microorganisms that settled on the ocean floor, buried under sediment, and transformed by heat and pressure over millions of years.

11. Q: What types of rock formations are typically associated with natural gas extraction? A: Natural gas is often found in porous sedimentary rocks such as sandstone, limestone, and shale.

Fossil Fuels:

12. Q: What is hydraulic fracturing (fracking), and how does it work? A: Fracking is a technique used to extract oil and natural gas from shale rock formations by injecting high-pressure fluid to create fractures, allowing the resources to flow to the surface.

13. Q: What are some environmental impacts of fracking? A: Potential impacts include groundwater contamination, increased seismic activity, and significant water usage.

14. Q: What are the steps involved in generating electricity from coal? A: Coal is burned to produce heat, which converts water into steam. The steam drives turbines connected to generators, producing electricity.

15. Q: What environmental issues are associated with coal mining and combustion? A: Issues include air pollution (e.g., sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter), greenhouse gas emissions, habitat destruction, and water contamination from mining activities.

Nuclear Power:

16. Q: How does a nuclear power plant generate electricity? A: Nuclear fission of uranium atoms releases heat, which produces steam to drive turbines connected to generators, generating electricity.

17. Q: What were the three major nuclear power plant disasters, and what caused them? A: The three major disasters are:

    • Three Mile Island (1979, USA): A partial meltdown due to equipment failure and human error.

    • Chernobyl (1986, USSR): A reactor explosion caused by a flawed reactor design and operator errors.

    • Fukushima Daiichi (2011, Japan): A meltdown triggered by a tsunami following a massive earthquake, leading to loss of power and cooling.

18. Q: How do you calculate the half-life of a radioactive substance? A: The half-life is the time required for half of the radioactive atoms in a sample to decay. It can be calculated using the formula: N(t)=N0×(0.5)(t/t1/2)N(t)=N0​×(0.5)(t/t1/2​) Where N(t)N(t) is the remaining quantity, N0N0​ is the initial quantity, tt is the elapsed time