Sustainable Energy
1. Since the late 1980s, automobile gas mileage averages in the United States have (p. 488)
A. risen significantly due to increased technological advances.
B. risen slowly.
C. dropped slightly.
D. dropped precipitously.
E. remained about the same.
2. According to estimates from the Rocky Mountain Institute, raising the average fuel efficiency of cars and light trucks by one mile per gallon would save (p. 489)
A. in one year approximately the same amount of oil as is hoped to be extracted. from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
B. approximately 300,000 barrels per year.
C. enough oil to keep the United States from having to import oil.
D. A and B.
E. all of the above.
3. Increasing utilization efficiencies in home building would include (p. 489)
A. passive solar design.
B. more wall and ceiling insulation.
C. double and triple glazed windows.
D. caulking to stop air infiltration.
E. all of the above.
4. Nuclear power plants can produce energy with small amounts of fuel, yet their net useful energy yield is quite low. Why is this? (p. 490)
A. the total amount of energy they produce is rather low
B. the technology is old and inefficient
C. even though the energy produced is high, the energy it takes to build a plant, mine and process ore, and store spent fuel also takes vast amounts of energy
D. the energy produced is very high
E. none of the above
5. Rather than build expensive new power generation facilities, electrical power companies are finding it cheaper to (p. 491)
A. increase their net energy yield.
B. decrease their net energy yield.
C. reduce demand through conservation programs.
D. increase demand for their services through aggressive marketing.
E. none of the above.
6. The process of producing both electricity and capturing waste heat is called (p. 491)
A. regeneration.
B. passive heat absorption.
C. a megawatt program.
D. cogeneration.
E. none of the above.
7. Even though the amount of solar energy that reaches the earth's surface in a day is 10,000 times the commercial energy used each year, solar energy has not been used optimally because (p. 491)
A. much of it is already used by plants and photosynthetic bacteria and algae.
B. it is too diffuse and low in intensity for use.
C. it requires chloroplasts to convert into energy.
D. much of its energy needs to go into heating the environment before it could be used by humans.
E. none of the above.
8. Adobe houses, whose thick walls absorb heat during the day and release it at night, are examples of (p. 491)
A. active solar heating.
B. passive solar heating.
C. a modified greenhouse effect.
D. eutectic chemical storage.
E. none of the above.
9. You are an architect interested in designing a house with solar heat storing capacity. Which of the following techniques might you consider in your design? (pp. 492-493)
A. eutectic storing
B. massive heat storage
C. insulated water tanks
D. A and C
E. all of the above
10. One low-cost alternative to smoky cooking fires in Third World countries is a simple (p. 495)
A. photovoltaic cell.
B. parabolic mirror assembly.
C. eutectic storing facility.
D. solar cooker box.
E. none of the above.
11. Photovoltaic cells work by (p. 496)
A. storing solar energy as electricity for long periods of time.
B. amplifying the energy of the sun.
C. using solar energy to release electrons from one layer of the cell to migrate to another layer, thereby setting up an electric current.
D. A and C.
E. all of the above.
12. The price of electricity generated by photovoltaic cell technology has (p. 496)
A. increased since 1980 due to shortages in silicon compounds.
B. decreased slightly since 1980.
C. decreased a lot since 1980.
D. increased sharply since 1980.
E. none of the above.
13. One reason the amount of electricity supplied by photovoltaic cells is expected to increase rapidly in the next few years is (pp. 496-497)
A. technology is making it the cost per watt much less than previously.
B. alternative sources of energy, like coal and nuclear energy, are getting more expensive.
C. developing countries can adopt photovoltaic technology without having to develop an expensive energy grid and generation system.
D. A and B.
E. all of the above.
14. Electricity potentially can be stored for future use (pp. 497-498)
A. in new superconducting ceramics.
B. through electrolytic conversion of water into oxygen and hydrogen gases.
C. in photovoltaic holding cells.
D. A and B.
E. all of the above.
15. When humans use energy from biomass, they are (p. 499)
A. really using solar energy captured by plants and converted into chemical bonds.
B. using a potentially renewable resource.
C. not contributing to the net carbon increase in the atmosphere, provided the biomass is a renewable crop.
D. A and B.
E. all of the above.
16. What percentage of the world's population relies on firewood and charcoal as their primary energy source? (p. 500)
A. 1%
B. 10%
C. 40%
D. 80%
E. none of the above
17. When biomass is combined with a little heat in anaerobic conditions, the result is (p. 501)
A. an electric current.
B. propane.
C. methane and nutrient rich sludge.
D. butane.
E. none of the above.
18. Small scale alternatives to large hydroelectric projects include (p. 504)
A. low-head hydropower technology.
B. run-of-the-river flow turbines.
C. the proposed James Bay hydropower projects.
D. A and B.
E. all of the above.
19. One unfortunate impact of the Rural Electrification Act of 1935 was the (p. 506)
A. creation of giant wind farms.
B. huge increase in wind generated power.
C. decline in small-scale renewable energy systems.
D. decline in large scale electrical generation projects.
E. none of the above.
20. Federal funding for renewable energy research during the 1980s (p. 510)
A. doubled the funding of the 1970s.
B. remained about the same as the 1970s.
C. decreased by 25% as compared to the 1970s.
D. was slashed by 90% as compared to the 1970s.
E. none of the above.