Chapter 8: Energy Sources and the Environment

According to the law of conservation of energy, energy cannot be .

• created or destroyed
• transformed

• used

• wasted

The greatest percentage of energy used in the United States is utilized for .

• transportation
• heating homes and operating appliances

• manufacturing products and producing food

• providing electricity to businesses and office buildings

Which of the following contains the most usable energy per kilogram?

• asphalt

• coal

• natural gas

• petroleum

Which of the following occurs first during the conversion of fossil fuels to electricity in an electrical power station?

• Fuel is burned in a combustion chamber.

• Thermal energy heats water and produces steam.

• Steam causes the blades of a turbine to spin.

• A spinning turbine shaft rotates magnets and generates electric current.

Which of the following statements about fossil fuels is true?

• Fossil fuels are renewable resources.

• The smoke produced from burning fossil fuels contains particulates.

• The processes used to obtain fossil fuels are not hazardous to workers.

• The overall efficiency of using fossil fuels to produce electricity is 65 percent.

A(n) is a resource that is replaced by natural processes nearly as quickly as it is used.

• nonrenewable resource

• reserve

• energy option

• renewable resource

Solar cells utilize , which eject electrons when sunlight strikes them.

• electron-poor materials

• generators

• semiconductor materials
• turbines

Which of the following is true of solar energy?

• Producing electricity using solar cells is expensive.

• The Sun's rays strike the Earth continuously; therefore storing electricity generated by solar cells is not necessary.

• A technique for generating electricity using solar energy has not been developed.

• The quantity of solar energy available to produce electricity is not affected by location on Earth's surface.

Electricity produced from the energy of moving water is called __________.

• aquatic power

• geothermal energy

• hydroelectricity

• nuclear power

Which of the following is not true of tidal power plants?

• Generating electricity from tidal motion creates large amounts of water pollution.

• The movement of the tides spins turbines that generate electricity.

• There is only one functioning tidal power station in North America.

• The efficiency of a tidal power plant is similar to that of a conventional hydroelectric power plant.