SCIENCE ENERGY Flashcards
(23 cards)
Name three fossil fuels.
Coal, Oil and Natural gas
What happens when you burn fossil fuels?
Burning Fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This causes climate change.
What is Nuclear Power?
Uses Nuclear energy from uranium to boil water. The steam spins a turbine, which generates electricity, like with the fossil fuels.
Pros of Nuclear Power:
Non-polluting and produces a lot of electricity from a small amount of fuel.
Cons of Nuclear Power:
Produces radioactive waste that must be stored for thousands of years.
What is Energy measured in?
Joules (J)
What is Non-renewable?
Non-renewables will one day run out.
What is a renewable?
Renewables never will run out.
What is Wind power?
The wind causes a turbine to spin. This motion generates electricity.
Pros of Wind power:
Wind is free and non-polluting.
Cons of Wind power:
A lot of wind turbines are needed; also the wind doesn’t always blow, so it is not as reliable as other resources.
What is Solar power?
Sunlight is absorbed by chemicals in the solar cells, directly generating electricity.
Pros of Solar power:
Sunlight is free and non-polluting.
Cons of Solar power
Solar cells are expensive; also, the Sun doesn’t always shine, so it is not as reliable as other resources.
What is Hydroelectric power?
The falling water causes a turbine to spin. This motion generates electricity.
Pros of Hydroelectric Power:
Very reliable and very quick.
Cons of Hydroelectric Power:
Requires a river to be dammed, which is very expensive and very damaging to the environment.
What is Biofuels?
Crops are grown (or animal poo collected!) and then burnt to boil water. The steam spins a turbine to generate electricity, just like non-renewables.
Pros of Biofuels:
Cheap, easy and non-polluting.
Cons of Biofuels:
Often uses land that could be used for growing crops instead.
What happens first in process of coal?
Before the dinosaurs, many giant plants died in swamps.
What happens second in process of coal?
Over millions of years, the plants were buried under water and dirt.
What happens third in process of coal?
Heat and pressure turned dead plants into coal.
