AP Environmental Science (Energy) Flashcards
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| 6812410163 | Nonrenewable | A resource that can be depleted such as fossil fuels. | 0 | |
| 6812410164 | Fossil fuels | Derived from biological material that became fossilized millions of years ago. (Coal, Oil, Natural gas) | 1 | |
| 6812410165 | Nuclear Fuels | Derived from radioactive materials that give off energy | 2 | |
| 6812410166 | Commercial energy sources | Those that are bought and sold, (coal, oil, wood, etc) | 3 | |
| 6812410167 | Subsistence energy sources | Those gathered by individuals for their own immediate needs. More used in developing countries. | 4 | |
| 6812410168 | Energy Carrier | Something that can move and deliver energy into a convenient, usable form to end users. | 5 | |
| 6812410169 | Turbine | Large device that will turn to spin a shaft of a generator which produces electricity. | 6 | |
| 6812410170 | Electrical Grid | Connects power plants together and links them with end users of electricity. | 7 | |
| 6812410171 | Combined Cycle | Natural gas-fired power plant. 2 turbines and generators. Natural gas is burned to spin a turbine and the waste heat will boil water which will turn another turbine. | 8 | |
| 6812410172 | Capacity | Maximum Electrical output of a plant | 9 | |
| 6812410173 | Capacity Factor | Fraction of time a plant is operating. | 10 | |
| 6812410174 | Cogeneration | Combined heat and power. Use of fuel to generate electricity and heat. | 11 | |
| 6812410175 | Coal | Solid fuel formed by remains of plants that were preserved at least 280 million years ago. | 12 | |
| 6812410176 | Petroleum | Widely used fossil fuel. Mixture of hydrocarbons, water and sulfur that occurs in underground deposits. | 13 | |
| 6812410177 | Crude Oil | Liquid petroleum that is removed from the ground. Oil=crude oil=petroleum | 14 | |
| 6812410178 | Oil Sands | Slow flowing viscous deposits of bitumen mixed with sand, water and clay. | 15 | |
| 6812410179 | Bitumen | (Tar/Pitch) Degraded type of petroleum that forms when a petroleum deposit is not capped with nonporous rock. | 16 | |
| 6812410180 | Power | How much electricity is used per unit of time | 17 | |
| 6812410181 | Energy Intensity | Total energy is increasing, but energy per person is staying constant. | 18 | |
| 6812410182 | Hubbert Curve (Dealing with Oil) |  | 19 | |
| 6812410183 | Peak Oil | Maximum amount of oil that can be extracted before it begins to decline. | 20 | |
| 6812410184 | Fission | Nuclear reaction in which a neutron strikes a relatively large atomic nucleus which then splits into 2 or more parts. | 21 | |
| 6812410185 | Fuel Rods | Containment structure enclosing the nuclear fuel which is contained in a cylindrical tube. | 22 | |
| 6812410186 | Control Rods | Cylindrical devices that can be inserted between the fuel rods to absorb excess neutrons. thus slowing and stopping the fission reaction. | 23 | |
| 6812410187 | Radioactive Waste | Waste after the nuclear fuel is used up and can't produce heat, but still emits radioactivity. | 24 | |
| 6812410188 | Becquerel (Bq) | Measures the rate at which a sample of radioactive material decays. | 25 | |
| 6812410189 | Curie | Another unit of measure for radiation. 37 billion decays per second. | 26 | |
| 6812410190 | Nuclear Fusion | Reaction that powers the Sun and other stars. Lighter nuclei are forced together to produce heavier nuclei. Lots of heat is generated. | 27 | |
| 6812410193 | Potentially Renewable | As long as we do not consume them more quickly than can be replenished. Wood Biofuel | 28 | |
| 6812410194 | Nondepletable | Solar, Wind, Hydro etc. Energy for all time. | 29 | |
| 6812410195 | Renewable | A resource that is not depleatable and can be reused over time | 30 | |
| 6812410196 | Energy Conservation | Finding ways to use less energy | 31 | |
| 6812410197 | Tiered Rate System | Customers pay a low rate for the first increment of electricity they use and pay higher rates as their use goes up. | 32 | |
| 6812410198 | Peak Demand | Greatest quantity of energy used at any one time. | 33 | |
| 6812410199 | Passive Solar Design | Technique that takes advantage of solar radiation to maintain a comfortable temperature in a building. | 34 | |
| 6812410200 | Thermal Inertia | Ability of a material to retain heat or cold. Stay hot when heated or cold when cooled. | 35 | |
| 6812410201 | Biofuels | Biomass can be processed or refined into liquid fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. | 36 | |
| 6812410202 | Modern Carbon | Carbon in biomass | 37 | |
| 6812410203 | Fossil Carbon | Carbon in fossil fuels. | 38 | |
| 6812410204 | Carbon Neutral | An activity that does not change atmospheric CO2 concentrations | 39 | |
| 6812410205 | Net Removal | Removing more timber than is replaced by growth. Unsustainable practice -> Deforestation. | 40 | |
| 6812410206 | Ethanol | Alcohol. Made by converting starches and sugars from plant material into alcohol and CO2. | 41 | |
| 6812410207 | Flex-Fuel Vehicles | Can run on either gas or E-85 (85% ethanol, 15% gas) fuel. | 42 | |
| 6812410208 | Hydroelectricity | Electricity generated by the kinetic energy of moving water. 2nd most common form of renewable energy. | 43 | |
| 6812410209 | Run-of-the-river | Hydroelectricity generation, water behind a low dam and runs through a channel before returning to the river. | 44 | |
| 6812410210 | Water Impoundment | Storing water in a reservoir behind a dam. Allows for on demand electricity generation. | 45 | |
| 6812410211 | Tidal Energy | Comes from the movement of water. This is driven by the gravitational pull of the moon. | 46 | |
| 6812410212 | Active Solar Energy | Technologies capture the energy of sunlight with the use of technologies. Includes, Small scale solar water heating systems, photovoltaic solar cells etc. | 47 | |
| 6812410213 | Photovoltaic Solar Cells | Capture energy from the sun as light, not heat, and convert it directly to electricity. | 48 | |
| 6812410214 | Geothermal Energy | Heat that comes from the natural radioactive decay of elements deep within the earth. | 49 | |
| 6812410215 | Ground Source Heat Pumps | Take advantage of the high thermal inertia of the ground. | 50 | |
| 6812410216 | Wind Energy | Widely used in some countries and making a comeback in others. | 51 | |
| 6812410217 | Wind Turbine | Converts kinetic energy of moving air into electricity. | 52 | |
| 6812410218 | Fuel Cell | Operates like a battery. This reaction happens in a closed container to which no additional elements are added. | 53 | |
| 6812410219 | Electrolysis | Electric current is applied to water to split it into hydrogen and oxygen. | 54 | |
| 6812410220 | Smart grid | Efficient, Self-Regulating electricity distribution network that accepts any source of electricity and distributes it automatically to end users. | 55 |