What is geothermal energy?
Intense heat from Earth's interior that warms the magma
What products can be made from biomass fuels?
Alcohols
What is a mixture of gasoline and alcohol?
Gasohol
What is a disadvantage of biomass fuels?
It takes time to replace trees that have been cut down; it is expensive to produce alcohol and methane in large quantities
What is an advantage of solar energy?
It is available anywhere the sun is shining; it does not cause pollution; it will not run out for billions of years
What is the reactor vessel in a nuclear power plant?
The part of the nuclear reactor in which nuclear fission occurs
How can wind energy be captured?
Turbines
What is electricity produced by flowing water?
Hydroelectric power
What is a disadvantage of hydroelectric power?
Dams prevent some species of fish from breeding and can damage aquatic habitats.
What are two examples of renewable energy?
Sunlight, water, wind, biomass fuels, and geothermal energy
What is an advantage of nuclear power?
It does not produce air pollution because no fuels are burned.
How can you generate electricity from geothermal energy?
Water is pumped underground where magma heats it and changes water to steam which turns turbines connected to generators
What was probably the first fuel ever used for heat and light?
Wood
If the reactor vessel gets too hot, what is inserted near the fuel rods to slow the reaction down?
Control rods
How does a solar power plant work?
Rows of mirrors focus the sun's rays to heat a tank of water which creates steam which can be used to generate electricity
What is an electric car?
A car that runs entirely on batteries
How do nuclear power plants produce electricity?
Nuclear fission occurs in fuel rods; water is heated and produces steam; the steam turns turbines; the turbines are connected to generators
What are disadvantages of geothermal energy?
There are only a few places where Earth's crust is thin enough for magma to come close to the surface; drilling deep wells is expensive
What are biomass fuels?
Fuels made from living or recently living things including wood, leaves, food wastes, and manure
How does water produce electricity?
Water flows through a dam and turns a turbine which is connected to a generator
What is a disadvantage of nuclear power?
The process can be dangerous and cause explosions; wastes can be dangerous if disposed of improperly
What is the fastest growing energy source in the world?
Wind energy
What part of the reactor vessel contains rods of radioactive uranium?
Fuel rods
What is nuclear fission?
The splitting of an atom's nucleus into two nuclei
How do solar cells work?
When light hits the cell, an electric current is produced.
Explain the water cycle.
The sun heats water at the Earth's surface. The water turns into water vapor. The water vapor condenses into clouds and falls as precipitation.
What is active solar heating?
Light strikes a dark metal surface of solar collector & is changed to thermal energy; water is pumped through pipes in solar collector & then through building
What is passive solar heating?
Light is converted to heat which is distributed without pumps or fans. It is how a car heats up on a hot day.
What is solar energy?
Energy from the sun
What is the cause of wind?
Uneven heating of Earth's surface