Questions and Problems
- Page ID
- 307387
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)
\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)
\( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)
\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)
\( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)
\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)
\( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)
\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)
\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}} % arrow\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}} % arrow\)
\( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)
\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)
\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)
Access to and use of the internet is assumed in answering all questions including general information, statistics, constants, and mathematical formulas required to solve problems. These questions are designed to promote inquiry and thought rather than just finding material in the text. So in some cases there may be several “right” answers. Therefore, if your answer reflects intellectual effort and a search for information from available sources, your answer can be considered to be “right.”
1. The tail of a firefly glows, although it is not hot. Explain the kind of energy transformation that is most likely involved in the firefly’s producing light.
2. What is the standard unit of energy? What unit did it replace? What is the relationship between these two units?
3. Which law states that energy is neither created nor destroyed.
4. What is the special significance of 1,340 watts?
5. What is the reaction in nature by which solar energy is converted to chemical energy?
6. In what respects is wind both one of the oldest, as well as one of the newest, sources of energy?
7. What are two major problems with reliance upon coal and petroleum for energy?
8. Why does natural gas contribute less to greenhouse warming than does petroleum and much less than coal?
9. How might coal be utilized for energy without producing greenhouse gas carbon
10. What is a large limiting factor in growing biomass for fuel, and in what respect does this limit hold hope for the eventual use of biomass fuel?
11. What relationship describes the limit to which heat energy can be converted to mechanical energy?
12. Why does a diesel-powered vehicle have significantly better fuel economy than a gasoline-powered vehicle of similar size?
13. Why is a nuclear power plant less efficient in converting heat energy to electricity than is a fossil-fueled power plant?
14. Instead of having a sparkplug that ignites the fuel, a diesel engine has a glow plug that operates only during engine startup. Explain the operation of the glow plug
15. Cite two examples of vastly increased efficiency of energy utilization that took place during the 1900s.
16. Describe a combined power cycle. How may it be tied with district heating?
17. Describe a direct and an indirect way to produce electricity from solar energy.
18. What is the distinction between donor and acceptor layers in photovoltaic cells?
19. Using internet resources for information list some possible means for storing energy generated from solar radiation?
20. What are the advantages of Pittsosporum reiniferumandEuphorbia lathyrus for the production of biomass energy?
21. Corn produces biomass in large quantities during its growing season. What are two potential sources of biomass fuel from corn, one that depends upon the corn grain and the other that does not?
22. Does the use of biomass for fuel contribute to greenhouse gas carbon dioxide? Explain.
23. What fermentation process is used to generate a fuel from wastes, such as animal wastes?
24. What are two potential pollution problems that accompany the use of geothermal energy to generate electricity?
25. What basic phenomenon is responsible for nuclear energy? What keeps the process going?
26. What is the biggest problem with nuclear energy? Why is it not such a bad idea to store spent nuclear fuel at a reactor site for a number of years before moving it?
27. What is meant by passive stability in nuclear reactor design?
28. What is the status of thermonuclear fusion for power production?
29. Arrange the following energy conversion processes in order from the least to the most efficient:(a) electric hot water heater, (b) photosynthesis, (c) solar cell, (d) electric generator, (e) aircraft jet engine.
30. Considering the Carnot equation and common means for energy conversion, what might be the role of improved materials (metal alloys, ceramics) in increasing energy conversion efficiency?
31. Justify describing the sun as “an ideal energy source.” What are two big disadvantages of solar energy?
32. What are some of the greater implications of the use of biomass for energy? How might such widespread use affect greenhouse warming? How might it affect agricultural production of food?