Modules 34-40 Terms

Question 1

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

Answer 1

fossil fuel

Question 2

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

Answer 2

nonrenewable energy source

Question 3

fuel derived from radioactive materials that give off energy

Answer 3

nuclear fuel

Question 4

an energy source that is bought and sold

Answer 4

commercial energy source

Question 5

an energy source gathered by individuals for their own immediate needs

Answer 5

subsistence energy source

Question 6

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

Answer 6

energy carrier

Question 7

a device that can be turned by water, steam, or wind to produce power

Answer 7

turbine

Question 8

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

Answer 8

electrical grid

Question 9

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

Answer 9

combined cycle

Question 10

in reference to an electricity-generating plant, the maximum electrical output

Answer 10

capacity

Question 11

the fraction of time a power plant operates in a year

Answer 11

capacity factor

Question 12

the use of a fuel to generate electricity and produce heat. Also known as combined heat and power

Answer 12

Cogeneration

Question 13

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

Answer 13

coal

Question 14

a widely-used fossil fuel that occurs in underground deposits, composed of a liquid mix of hydrocarbons, water and sulfur

Answer 14

petroleum

Question 15

liquid petroleum removed from the ground

Answer 15

crude oil

Question 16

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

Answer 16

oil sands

Question 17

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

Answer 17

bitumen

Question 18

the technology to convert solid coal into liquid fuel

Answer 18

CTL (coal to liquid)

Question 19

the energy use per unit of GDP

Answer 19

energy intensity

Question 20

a bell-shaped curve representing oil use and projecting both when world oil production will reach a max and when the world will run out of oil

Answer 20

Hubbert curve

Question 21

the point at which half the total known oil supply is used up

Answer 21

peak oil

Question 22

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

Answer 22

fission

Question 23

a cylindrical tube that encloses nuclear fuel within a nuclear reactor

Answer 23

fuel rod

Question 24

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

Answer 24

control rod

Question 25

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

Answer 25

radioactive waste

Question 26

unit that measures the rate at which a sample of radioactive material decays; 1 Bq=decay of 1 atom or nucleus per second

Answer 26

Becquerel (Bq)

Question 27

a unit of measure for radiation; 1 curie= 37 billion decays per second

Answer 27

Curie

Question 28

a reaction that occurs when lighter nuclei are forced together to produce heavier nuclei

Answer 28

nuclear fusion

Question 29

finding and implementing ways to use less energy

Answer 29

energy conservation

Question 30

a billing system used by some electric companies in which customers pay higher rates as their use goes up

Answer 30

tiered rate system

Question 31

the greatest quantity of energy used at any one time

Answer 31

peak demand

Question 32

construction designed to take advantage of solar radiation without active technology

Answer 32

passive solar design

Question 33

a property of a building material that allows it to maintain heat or cold

Answer 33

thermal mass

Question 34

an energy source that can be regenerated indefinitely as long as it is not over harvested

Answer 34

potentially renewable

Question 35

an energy source that cannot be used up

Answer 35

nondepletable

Question 36

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

Answer 36

renewable

Question 37

liquid fuel created from processed or refined biomass

Answer 37

biofuel

Question 38

carbon in biomass that was recently in the atmosphere

Answer 38

modern carbon

Question 39

carbon in fossil fuels

Answer 39

fossil carbon

Question 40

an activity that does not change atmospheric CO2 concentrations

Answer 40

carbon neutral

Question 41

the process of removing more than is replaced by growth, typically used when referring to carbon

Answer 41

net removal

Question 42

alcohol made by converting starches and sugars from plant material into alcohol and CO2

Answer 42

ethanol

Question 43

a diesel substitute produced by extracting and chemically altering oil from plants

Answer 43

biodiesel

Question 44

a vehicle that runs on either gas or a gal/ethanol mix

Answer 44

flex-fuel vehicle

Question 45

electricity generated by the kinetic energy of moving water

Answer 45

hydroelectricity

Question 46

hydroelectricity generation in which water is retained behind a low dam or no dam

Answer 46

run-of-the-river

Question 47

the storage of water in a reservoir behind a dam

Answer 47

water impoundment

Question 48

energy that comes from the movement of water driven by the gravitational pull of the moon

Answer 48

tidal energy

Question 49

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

Answer 49

siltation

Question 50

energy captured from sunlight with advanced technologies

Answer 50

active solar energy

Question 51

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

Answer 51

photovoltaic solar cell

Question 52

energy generated from the kinetic energy of moving air

Answer 52

wind energy

Question 53

a turbine that converts wind energy into electricity

Answer 53

wind turbine

Question 54

heat energy that comes from the natural radioactive decay of elements deep within the earth

Answer 54

geothermal energy

Question 55

a technology that transfers heat from the ground to a building

Answer 55

ground source heat pump

Question 56

an electrical-chemical device that converts fuel, such as hydrogen, into an electrical current

Answer 56

fuel cell

Question 57

the application of an electric current to water molecules to split them into hydrogen and oxygen

Answer 57

electrolysis

Question 58

an efficient, self-regulating electricity distribution network that accepts any source of electricity and distributes it automatically to end users

Answer 58

smart grid