145 Cards in this Set
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Renewable Energies
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naturally replenished, but can be limited by amt. generated
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Alternative Energies
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any energy source that
is NOT a fossil fuel (including sources that are
finite, like nuclear)
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ex. of renewable energy sources
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biomass
hydropower
geothermal
solar
wind
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ex. alternative energy sources
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hydrogen
nuclear
biomass fuels
human power
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how are renewable energy resources used?
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70% for electricity
25% for heat
rest for vehicles
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T/F
Renewable energy resources are nearly inexhaustible, but are limited by the amount of energy that can be generated
at a given moment.
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TRUE
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Hydropower
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produced from flowing water
Water used is returned to source
Can produce electricity anytime
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impoundment
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dam required
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diversion
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no dam necessary
(natural)
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pumped storage
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essentially an elevated reservoir- gravity at work
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4 drawbacks to hydropower
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1. envr. and geologic impact
2. flooded valleys are no longer useful
3. impact to communities downstream
4. expensive
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What is the main drawback to
hydropower?
A. It is a finite resource
B. Water used is not returned to the river
C. Environmental impacts to land, people and wildlife
D. All of the above
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C
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What is wind energy used for?
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pumping water and producing electricity
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Some advantages to wind energy
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plentiful
renewable
widely distributed
clean
no greenhouse gases
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Disadvantages to wind energy
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non- dispatch able-- can't be stored
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What percent of solar energy is used for heat?
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90%
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Solar thermal electric power plants
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large scale
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Photovoltaic system
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small scale production
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Active solar
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uses photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors to harness the energy
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passive solar techniques
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1. orient a building to a sun
2. select materials favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties
3. design spaces that naturally circulate air
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geothermal energy
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heat is extracted from the ground to produce electricity or heat buildings
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electricity generation via. geothermal energy
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in places where steam is present or water is near boiling point -- drill into earth
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direct space heating
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running hot water in tubing through the floors, ceilings, and walls of buildings
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Which of the following energy
sources is NOT renewable?
A. Solar
B. Geothermal
C. Hydropower
D. Petroleum
E. Wind
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D
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Which of the following energy
sources is renewable?
A. Nuclear
B. Geothermal
C. Hydrogen
D. Petroleum
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B
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What was introduced as an alternative to wood in the late medieval period?
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Coal
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What was introduced as an alternative to whale oil in the 1800s?
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petroleum
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What was introduced to an alternative to fossil fuels... it never really caught on except for in some Gasoline and in Brazil?
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Alcohol
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What did Jimmy Carter push as an alternative to expensive petroleum?
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coal gasification
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H is the _______ and most __________ element in the universe.
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Simplest and most abudant
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3 ways that hydrogen can be produced
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1. from fossil fuels
2. from biomass
3. by electrolyzing water
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Why aren't we really using H vehicles?
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cars would have to store 11-29 lbs of H to enable an adequate driving range
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Explain how nuclear energy is created
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Nuclear energy is used to boil water, which in turn generates steam. The
steam turns the turbines which generate power. Steam is then cooled in the
large towers. The white material exiting the towers is not smoke, it is steam.
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What are the 2 isotopes of Uranium on earth
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U238
U235
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Isotopes have a different number of _______.
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neutrons
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Both major isotopes of U are
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radioactive
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Radioactive means that they spontaneously _______ into another element and give off _______ in the process.
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decay
energy
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what is a half life?
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the amount of time required for half of a quantity of the element to undergo radioactive decay
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U238 half-life?
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4.5 billion years
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U235 half-life?
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700 million years
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The process of radioactive decay in U is called ____________.
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nuclear fission
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______________ involves the joining
of two relatively light elements, such
hydrogen and helium, to form a large
atom. This process also releases
energy. It occurs in our sun and other stars.
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Nuclear fusion
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When a critical mass (sufficient amount of U) is brought together, a _________ of nuclear fission results.
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chain reaction
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The basic reaction that takes place in a nuclear
power plant is ________ .
A. fusion
B. fission
C. meltdown
D. supernova
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B
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Which type of U is fissionable?
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u235
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Which is more abundant on Earth: U235 OR U238?
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U238 IS FAR MORE ABUNDANT
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T/F: The energy content of a U is exceptionally high.
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TRUE
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Where are high concentrations of uranium in and around?
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granites
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What mineral (also called pitchblende) is a major carrier of uranium in and around granitic intrusions?
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unranite
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What is "yellow cake"?
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the first refined and concentrated uranium
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what is yellow cake refined into?
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fuel rods that contain a higher proportion of fissionable U235
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About what percent of the energy produced in SC is uranium sourced?
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50
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If the fuel rods in a nuclear reactor get too hot,
they can cause a _________ .
A. meltdown
B. supernova explosion
C. fission
D. fusion
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A
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Some challenges of nuclear energy:
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1. meltdown potential
2. proper storage of waste
3. unknown consequences
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Some advantages of natural gas:
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minimal processing
burns cleanly
more energy per unit weight
more energy per unit of CO2
potential to become a transportation fuel
growth by fracking
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Some disadvantages of natural gas:
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explosion
methane can leak from pipes
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At what temperatures does the most efficient formation of natural gas occur at?
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between 150 and 225 degrees C
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How many years supply of natural gas is there in the US?
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300
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True or false?
Shale and "tight" gas production last year accounted for about half of US natural gas production.
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TRUE
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What is shale?
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fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of very small clay particles
rich in organic material
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What do you call small grains or clasts cemented together?
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clastic
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Conventional gas reserves are found in ____ and ____ reservoir rocks like sandstones
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porous and permeable
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Unconventional gas reserves include ______ gas from impermeable sandstone reservoirs and _________ gas where the reservoir rock IS the ___________ rock.
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tight
shale
source
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Reserve growth in natural gas has come primarily in the form of _______ gas.
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shale
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How is shale gas extracted?
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by horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking technologies
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When did fracking become a thing?
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in the 1940s
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What are 3 environmental concerns related to fracking?
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water pollution
groundwater contamination
induced earthquakes
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What is the process of pumping of water, sand and chemicals at high pressure into oil and gas wells to fracture the rock and thereby make it possible to
more efficiently extract more oil and gas?
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fracking
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Hydraulic fracturing is the process of extracting natural gas directly from the _____ rock.
A. Reservoir
B. Seal
C. Source
D. Both A & C
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D
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How much water is injected/used for a typical horizontal shale gas well?
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3-4 million gallons
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The primary environmental risks with "fracking" operations are:
A. Water Pollution
B. Groundwater contamination & depletion
C. Induced Earthquakes
D. All of the above
E. None of the above
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D
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What are some contents of "produced water" in fracking?
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fracturing fluids, heavy metals, brine waters, dissolved minerals or organic matter from the shale
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What is a byproduct of the stimulation and drilling process of fracking?
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"produced water"
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Issues with wastewater treatment plants
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Cannot handle the quantity of waternused
• Unsure of the chemical composition of the proprietary chemicals used in the acid fracturing process
• Do not successfully remove salts and other dissolved solids
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True or false?
The US Government HEAVILY regulates
hydraulic fracking operations to prevent
water pollution.
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FALSE
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During the process of preparing a hydraulicly fractured well, what is
done after drilling and before the shale formation is fractured?
A. the well is cased with cement
B. a canary is sent into the well
C. water is pumped in to clean the well
D. All of the above
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A
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What is used to fracture the shale formation?
A. a diamond-tipped drill bit
B. water, sand, and chemicals
C. water only
D. none of the above
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B
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What is the position of the movie Fracknation?
A. Pro Fracking
B. Anti Fracking
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A
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How was the movie Fracknation funded?
A. American Natural Gas Alliance
B. Independently funded by the narrator
C. A Kickstarter campaign
D. none of the above
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C
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How does the narrator, Shelly, prove
that methane in water can occur
naturally?
A. She asked 12 environmental geologists.
B. She captures methane from a local creek and lights it.
C. She lights tap water on fire in the shower.
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B
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Shelly and her family came up with a list of
questions they had about fracking. How did Shelly go about finding answers to these questions?
A. She visited and interviewed 12 experts
B. She did hours of internet research
C. She debated Josh Fox on camera
D. She made educated guesses
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A
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What percent of terrestrial volcanism occurs at convergent plate boundaries?
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80%
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Approx. how many active volcanoes are at convergent boundaries?
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400
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Volcanoes can form at convergent and divergent boundaries and within plates as a result of ______ ______ _______.
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hot spot activity
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shield volcanoes
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largest of the common types of volcanoes on earth
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cinder cones
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smallest volcanoes
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stratovolcanoes are also called _______
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composite volcanoes
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stratovolcanoes
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interemediate in size b/n shield and cinder cones types
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shield volcanoes are composed of almost entirely of _______
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basalt
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what is basalt
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hot magma (1200-1300 C)
low viscosity (relatively fluid type of melt)
low volatile content (low H2O and CO2)
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What are the 2 textures typical of Basaltic Lava
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A'A' Lava
Pahoehoe Lava
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A'A' Lava
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thick, rubbly, and sharp
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Pahoehoe lava
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smooth and ropy
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Columnar jointing
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basaltic lavas contract and sometimes fracture during final stages of cooling
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Mafic lava erupted from a shield volcano can
produce __________ .
A. an a'a' flow
B. a cinder cone
C. a pahoehoe flow
D. layers of ash and pumice.
E. answers A and C
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E
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What do cindercones look like?
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relatively steep sides and large crater at top (summit)
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Cindercones composed of what 3 things
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lava
volcanic ash
scoria
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Cinder cone volcanoes are...
A. Composed of layers of ash, lava, and scoria.
B. Massive and produce explosive eruptions.
C. Not damaging to property.
D. Not found in the USA.
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A
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Stratovolcanoes are ____ and ________
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large and steep-sided
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What are pyroclastic materials ?
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hot chunks
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Volcanic ash is small pieces of ______ and _______ which were ground up during an eruption.
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pumice and scoria
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A large, cone-shaped volcano consisting of
alternating layers of ash and lava is a(n)
____________.
A. stratovolcano or composite volcano
B. shield volcano
C. cinder cone
D. ignimbrite
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A
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Pyroclastic flow
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hot, incandescent rock and ash flowing along the ground surface
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Pyroclastic cloud
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billowing hot ash cloud above the flow
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Volcanic ash consists of __________. An
avalanche of hot ash flowing down the flanks
of a volcano is known as a(n) ____________.
A. cobbles of basalt / ash fall
B. tiny shards of glass / pyroclastic flow
C. marble-sized cinders / lahar
D. blocks of rhyolite / debris flow
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B
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Lahars
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floods of mud and muddy water produced during and after a explosive volcanic eruption that produces large volumes of pyroclastic debris
can easily bury single story structures in a matter of a few minutes
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A __________ can form when ash from a
volcanic eruption mixes with water (often from
melted snow).
A. Pyroclastic flow
B. Cinder cone
C. Lahar
D. Ignimbrite
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C
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limnic eruption.
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the rapid over-turn and degassing of the lake
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A limnic eruption is the result of...
A. Sudden release of CO2 gas
B. Large volumes of ash in a lake
C. Nuee ardente
D. Snow & ice melting and flowing down a
volcano
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A
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What 3 things must you understand to understand earthquakes?
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FORCE
STRESS
STRAIN
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Newton's 2 Law of Motion
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Force= Mass x Acceleration
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Stress equation
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stress= force/area
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Strain=
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the change in shape that an object experiences in response to an applied stress
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Stress leads to _____
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strain
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Types of Stress
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compression
tension
shearing
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Earthquakes occur when rock that is under _____ suddenly breaks along _____ _____ sending ground vibrations or ____ in all directions through the Earth and along the Earth's surface
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stress
fault plane
seismic waves
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Seismic waves are essentially ______ waves
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sound
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Body waves move________________
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through the interior of hte Earth
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P Waves are called
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primary waves
OR
compressional waves
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S Waves are called
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secondary waves
or
Shear waves
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Surface waves move across ______________________________
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the surface of the Earth
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P waves, rock vibrates in a __________________ direction of wave propagation
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back-and-forth
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What are the fastest moving of the different types of seismic waves
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p waves
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S waves, rock vibrates ________________________ to the direction of wave propagation
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up and down at 90 degrees
(Like doing the wave)
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S waves are slower than _____ waves
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P
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S waves cannot move through ______
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liquids
this is how geologist know the Earth's outer core is partially molten
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What type of waves are by far the greatest source of ground shaking and destruction that occurs at the Earth's surface from earthquakes?
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Surface waves
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Which is the correct sequence of seismic
waves that will be recorded at a distance from the epicenter?
← first to arrive last to arrive →
A. S-waves / surface waves / P-waves
B. Surface waves / P-waves / S-waves
C. P-waves / S-waves / surface waves
D. Bogus question: all seismic wav…
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C
P-waves then
S-waves then
surface waves
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The point on the surface of the Earth that lies
directly above the place where a slip on a fault
occurs is the ____ .
A. hypocenter
B. focus
C. epicenter
D. all of the above
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C. epicenter
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point on the fault plane where energy is released in an earthquake is called the
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focus OR hypocenter
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point on Earth's surface that lies immediately about the hypocenter is called the
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epicenter
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what is the instrument used to measure seismic waves created by earthquakes?
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seismographs
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the basis for locating an earthquake is the difference in the arrival time between the first __ wave and the first ___ wave.
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P and S
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magnitude
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estimates the amount of energy released at the source of the earthquake
|
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intensity
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a measure of the degree of earthquake shaking at a given locale based on the amount of damage
|
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What 3 things is Earthquake Intensity dependent on?
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1. energy released during the earthquake
2. distance from the site of the hypocenter of the earthquake
3. type of bedrock (the ground or substrate) in the place where the shaking is felt
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The Richter scale is a ___________ scale.
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logarithmic
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Each ground displacement increases by a factor of ____ with each magnitude a unit of 1.
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10
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an increase of one magnitude unit on
Richter's scale translates into a factor
of __ increase in the amount of energy
released
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40
M5 quake is 40X the energy released in M4 quake
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intensity measured on the ________ _______ intensity scale
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Modifed Mercalli intensity scale
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The "intensity" of an earthquake . . .
A. is a measure of the amplitude of vibrations
recorded by a seismograph.
B. is defined by the amount of damage caused by the earthquake.
C. is a measure of the elevation change of the
ground caused by the earthquake.
D. is a constant throughou…
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b
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Intra-plate earthquakes are earthquakes that occur within plates and are about ___ % of earthquakes.
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5
|
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3 things that cause intraplate Earthquakes?
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1. Old faults
2. Weak zones
3. That Concrete stress
Charleston earthquake was intraplate earthquake
|
|
All else being equal, which building would
more likely survive a large earthquake?
A. one whose foundation is built on an exposure of granite bedrock
B. one built over a reclaimed swamp, so that the foundation lies over layers of wet clay
C. one built over recent deposits of wet sand,…
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A
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Process involving the build up of elastic strain and the sudden release of that strain during an earthquake
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elastic rebound thepry
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GEOL 110: Quiz 1