Study Guide

Energy Basics



1. Energy is essentially something, anything that can power something to be of use. There are many forms of energy and thus the idea of what energy is can be very broad.

2. Potential energy is stored energy. The ability to do work but isn't used at the moment.
Chemical - Energy that is stored in the bond of molecules, in the bonds that hold atoms together.
Nuclear - Using a chemical reaction on a nuclear scale to produce large amounts of energy. Energy that holds the nucleus together.
Gravitational - The energy of position or place. (guy on a bike at the top of a hill)
Stored Mechanical - Energy stored in objects using the object of force. (like a rubber band)

3. Kinetic Energy - Energy from some kind of motion
Electrical - Movement of electrons through a conducting substance.
Radiant - Electro magnetic energy moving in waves.
Thermal - Heat, vibration of molecules.
Motion - Movement of objects when a force is applied (hitting a baseball with a bat)
Sound - Energy is the movement of energy through substances. Vibration.

4. Hydro - Using the flow of water to power a generator to produce electricity.
Solar - Harnessing the suns rays to be used for electricity.
Wind - With use of large turbines in windy areas, catching the wind to spin a generator to make energy.
Nuclear - Using a chemical reaction on a nuclear scale to produce large amounts of energy. Energy that holds the nucleus together.
Biomass - Breaking down of every day items into smaller and smaller piece until we can use them for energy.

5. Energy efficiency - very simply energy efficiency is using energy efficiently and with good reason.



Renewable and Nonrenewable Energy Resources


1. Hydro - Using the flow of water to power a generator to produce electricity.
Solar - Harnessing the suns rays to be used for electricity.
Wind - With use of large turbines in windy areas, catching the wind to spin a generator to make energy.
Nuclear - Using a chemical reaction on a nuclear scale to produce large amounts of energy. Energy that holds the nucleus together.
Biomass - Breaking down of every day items into smaller and smaller piece until we can use them for energy.
Fossil Fuels - Millions of years of dead animals and plants being compressed and decomposing until they turn to oil

2. Fossil Fuels are basically just dead organisms that have been compressed and smashed for millions of years.

3. Oil - obtained by drilling deep into the ground to tap into a source of oil and pumping it out of the ground. Sometimes they are pumped from sea and sometimes they are pumped from the ground.
Hydro - Obtained by holding water behind a dam and releasing little bits at a time to turn a turbine to power a generator to produce energy
Solar - Obtained by taking the suns rays and turning it into energy.
Wind - Using the wind in the air to turn turbines that are high above the ground to power generators
Nuclear - Obtained by splitting an atom and harnessing the energy that it creates.
Biomass - Obtained by anything that was at one point living broken down to the point that we can use it for energy.

5. Each one of these sources can be used to power anything electrical, oil is more used for machinery than power however. All the other forms of energy produce electricity through means of some kind of generator.

6. Fossil Fuels - unbelievably cheap and abundant
Hydro - Efficient and renewable
Solar - There will always be a sun, its self sustaining
Wind - requires minimal building and is pleasant to look at while still producing a lot of energy.
Nuclear - Massive amounts of energy
Biomass - It uses things that we would think of as trash

7. Fossil Fuels - Sources are running out and they emit a toxic gas that destroys our ozone layer of the earth
Hydro - If the dam breaks, it causes disaster and to build a dam, it takes years and the area around the dam must be vacated before construction which messes with the ecosystem of the animals that currently live there
Solar - Doesn't gather energy at night or in the shade. Its very costly to make solar panels
Wind - Doesn't produce as much energy as the other ways of renewable energy because it's not always windy
Nuclear - Threat of a nuclear meltdown. Which basically means anything within a 5 mile radius could be destroyed and the radiation would cause the land to be inhabitable for years in the future.
Biomass - Costly

8. America uses almost double the energy of every other country.