Deck 16: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Question 1

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Unnecessary energy waste costs the United States an average of _____

A) $570,000 per minute
B) $475,000 per hour
C) $1,000,000 per day
D) $1,000,000,000 per month
E) $10,000,000,000 per year

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
What percentage of the commercial energy used in the United States is wasted unnecessarily?

A) 11%
B) 23%
C) 33%
D) 43%
E) 51%

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Orienting a building to face the sun in order that solar energy is used to help heat the building,would save what percentage of its heating costs?

A) 20%
B) 30%
C) 40%
D) 50%
E) 60%

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Which of the following is not true of heating a house with passive or active solar energy?

A) moderate to high net energy
B) very low carbon dioxide emissions
C) very low land disturbance
D) low installation and maintenance costs for active systems
E) moderate cost for passive systems

Question 5

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Which of the following is not a means to cool a building naturally?

A) building orientation to catch the sun
B) a living roof
C) open windows to catch the breeze
D) light-colored roof
E) awnings,window overhangs

Question 6

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
What is not an effective means of saving energy in transportation?

A) taxing gasoline
B) switching from electrified rail systems to diesel-powered systems
C) giving tax breaks on fuel efficient automobiles
D) encouraging bicycle use by building bike lanes along highways and city streets
E) building accessible mass transit systems

Question 7

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Cutting down on energy waste has many benefits,yet few people take advantage of the cost savings.What is the least likely reason for this anomaly?

A) The government gives tax breaks and subsidies to employees only.
B) The market price for energy does not include environmental and health costs.
C) There are very few incentives for consumers to use energy-efficient products.
D) The government has placed too much focus on encouraging car fuel efficiency.
E) People tend to resist change even if it saves them money.

Question 8

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Which country gets 95% of its energy from renewable sources?

A) Denmark
B) Brazil
C) Iceland
D) Costa Rica
E) China

Question 9

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
The weakness of electric cars is their ____.

A) noise level
B) maintenance cost
C) batteries
D) slow acceleration
E) price

Question 10

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Which of the following is least likely to waste large amounts of energy and money when used?

A) incandescent light bulbs
B) internal combustion engine
C) nuclear power plants
D) coal-fired power plants
E) mass transit

Question 11

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
The chief ingredient of most solar cells is ____.

A) silicon
B) sodium
C) chromium
D) arsenic
E) calcium

Question 12

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
What percentage of the commercial energy used in the United States is wasted?

A) 54%
B) 64%
C) 74%
D) 84%
E) 94%

Question 13

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
What is the world's fastest growing way to produce electricity?

A) hydroelectric energy
B) solar cells
C) geothermal energy
D) nuclear energy
E) hydrogen cells

Question 14

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Switching the United States to a smart electric grid would save the U.S.economy what amount per year over the next 20 years?

A) $1 trillion
B) $800 billion
C) $500 billion
D) $100 billion
E) $1 billion

Question 15

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
What is the least feasible method for industries to cut energy waste?

A) using combined heat and power systems
B) replacing energy-wasting electric motors
C) switching from coal-burning power plants to nuclear power plants
D) recycling materials
E) switching from incandescent lighting to fluorescent lighting and LED lighting

Question 16

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
What is not an effective means of improving the energy efficiency of buildings?

A) use of energy-efficient appliances
B) use of energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs
C) plugging leaks
D) building big windows into the northern side of new housing
E) use energy-efficient windows

Question 17

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
The hidden costs of gasoline amount to how much per gallon?

A) $3.18
B) $5.50
C) $9.00
D) $12
E) $36

Question 18

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Fuel efficiency for all types of cars would nearly double if ____.

A) all cars were diesels
B) all cars used wind power
C) all cars had smaller engines
D) all cars were made from ultrastrong,ultralight composite materials
E) all cars were shared

Question 19

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
The best way to reduce our unnecessary waste of energy is to improve _____.

A) solar cells
B) hydroelectric power
C) coal mining techniques
D) energy efficiency
E) hydrogen cells

Question 20

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
What is not considered to be a hidden cost of a gallon of gasoline?

A) government subsidies for oil companies
B) tax breaks for car manufacturers and road builders
C) research and development for hybrid cars
D) cost of pollution control and cleanup
E) costs of military protection of oil supplies in the Middle East

Question 21

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
What percentage of Brazil's motor vehicles currently run on ethanol or ethanol-gasoline mixtures?

A) 15%
B) 25%
C) 35%
D) 45%
E) 55%

Question 22

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Which country currently gets almost half of its electricity by burning wood and agricultural waste for cogeneration?

A) Austria
B) Germany
C) Denmark
D) Brazil
E) China

Question 23

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Tapping just 2% of the hot,dry rock geothermal energy in the U.S.could produce how much of the energy needed by the U.S.?

A) 50% of the energy for electricity
B) three-fourths of all energy
C) all the energy necessary for electricity
D) 10 times the energy needed from coal burning power plants
E) 2,000 times the current annual use of electricity

Question 24

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Which country is not one of the top four producers of hydropower?

A) Canada
B) China
C) Brazil
D) Germany
E) United States

Question 25

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Which of the following is not considered biomass?

A) wood
B) crop residues
C) charcoal
D) animal manure
E) coal

Question 26

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Which of the following cannot (at least currently)be used to generate electricity directly?

A) ocean tides
B) ocean waves
C) heavy rains
D) water behind dams
E) flowing river water

Question 27

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
What is the world's leading renewable energy source used to produce electricity?

A) hydrogen
B) biomass
C) ethanol
D) hydropower
E) coal

Question 28

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
What is not a viable method of producing hydrogen gas?

A) passing electricity through water
B) stripping it from methane
C) initiating a chemical reaction involving coal,oxygen,and steam
D) removing it from the atmosphere
E) taking off the gasoline molecule

Question 29

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
What is the world's single largest human-caused source of methane?

A) cattle belching
B) flatulence
C) pig manure
D) melting tundra
E) world's largest dams

Question 30

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
If all of the corn grown in the U.S.was processed into ethanol each year,the resulting ethanol would meet how much of the U.S.current demand for gasoline?

A) 6 months
B) 2 months
C) 7 months
D) 30 days
E) 5 weeks

Question 31

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Which of the following is true about hydrogen?

A) It is fairly rare in the universe.
B) It is abundant in the atmosphere as a free gas.
C) It has a high net energy yield.
D) Hydrogen gas is a fuel produced by using other forms of energy.
E) Hydrogen is a fuel resource like gasoline.

Question 32

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
A 2009 study estimates that the United States has enough wind power potential to produce _____ times its current electricity needs.

A) 16-22
B) 26-32
C) 6-12
D) 36-42
E) 46-52

Question 33

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
The world's second-fastest-growing energy resource is ____.

A) hydroelectric dams
B) wind power
C) nuclear power
D) coal-fired power plants
E) tidal energy

Question 34

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
A 2009 U.S.Department of the Interior study indicates that wind farms off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts could generation enough electricity to eliminate all ____.

A) solar energy
B) hydroelectric power
C) coal-burning power plants
D) nuclear power plants
E) geothermal plants

Question 35

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Growing biomass in plantation settings has some disadvantages.What is not one of these?

A) Soil nutrients are depleted.
B) Clearing forests for plantations degrades biodiversity.
C) Non-native species planted in plantations can spread to nearby ecosystems.
D) Plantation grown biomass is very expensive to burn.
E) Clearing forests for plantations reduces carbon dioxide capture .

Question 36

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
What is the world's most energy-efficient country?

A) China
B) United States
C) France
D) Germany
E) Denmark

Question 37

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Which of the following is a disadvantage of hydroelectric plants?

A) low net energy
B) large land disturbance
C) little untapped potential
D) high-cost electricity
E) high emissions of carbon dioxide

Question 38

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
The country that is the world's largest producer of geothermal electricity is ____.

A) Finland
B) China
C) Iceland
D) the Philippines
E) the United States

Question 39

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
The United States government heavily subsidizes ethanol production from corn because ____.

A) farmers demand it
B) of a very low net energy yield
C) of lower carbon dioxide emissions
D) of higher gas mileage
E) there is too much corn in the U.S.

Question 40

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
In Europe,more than half of all cars run on diesel,primarily because ____.

A) it produces less smoke
B) it burns more slowly
C) diesel engines are 40% more efficient
D) diesel engines are less heavy
E) diesel is less expensive

Question 41

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Several underwater turbines have been installed to tap the tidal flow of the East River in New York City.

Question 42

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Experts suggest in the next few decades,we will probably shift from our current model of producing electricity to which of the following?

A) de-centralized micropower system
B) a highly centralized macropower system
C) a highly de-centralized macropower system
D) some new,unforeseen system
E) a central,megasystem

Question 43

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Solar cells have many advantages.What is not one of these?

A) moderate net energy yield
B) little or no direct emissions of carbon dioxide
C) electricity storage systems readily available
D) easy to install and expand as needed
E) competitive costs for newer cells

Question 44

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Experts have concluded that the best way to make the transition to using mostly renewable energy resources during this century is a combination of improved energy efficiency and the carefully regulated use of ____.

A) coal
B) fuel oil
C) nuclear power
D) natural gas
E) petroleum

Question 45

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Of all commercial energy used in the United States,roughly 35% is wasted.

Question 46

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
The U.S.Department of Energy estimates that the wind farms in North Dakota,Kansas,and Texas could meet the electricity needs of ____.

A) 50% of their populations
B) the populations of their states
C) the population of the western United States
D) the population of all the United States
E) the population of the lower 48 states

Question 47

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Green building certification now exists in more than 100 countries around the world.

Question 48

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Wind power is the second fastest growing source of energy worldwide.

Question 49

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
What is the least likely effect of reducing unnecessary energy waste?

A) prolonging fossil fuels
B) increasing energy costs
C) creating local jobs
D) reducing pollution and environmental degradation
E) providing a very high net energy yield

Question 50

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Why does cloudy Germany have more solar water heaters and solar cell panels than sunny France and Spain?

A) Germany won a contest between the three countries to see who could install the most.
B) German citizens voted for it.
C) Germany artificially increased the cost of fossil fuels
D) Germany passed a law requiring the use of solar power.
E) Germany made the public aware of the benefits of these technologies through education.

Question 51

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Many energy analysts argue that one of the most important steps that governments can take to level the economic playing field for energy resources is to ____.

A) phase out subsidies and tax breaks for fossil fuels and nuclear power
B) provide no subsidies for any energy resources
C) pass regulations making it more difficult to use fossil fuels
D) keep prices low on fossil fuels until they run out
E) require the use of solar powered water heaters

Question 52

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Large numbers of birds killed each year by various hazards.How many are killed by wind turbines?

A) 440 thousand
B) 67 million
C) 80 million
D) 100 million
E) 100+ million

Question 53

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
China and the United States,combined,use what percentage of the world's energy?

A) 19%
B) 29%
C) 39%
D) 49%
E) 59%

Question 54

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
The United States wastes almost none of its energy.

Question 55

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Photovoltaic cells do not produce any of the greenhouse or acid gas emissions associated with electricity generated by the combustion of fossil fuels.

Question 56

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Anela Belcher,materials scientist at MIT,is working on a novel new type of battery based on which of the following?

A) water
B) salt
C) seaweed
D) alcohol
E) viruses

Question 57

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Molten salt systems allow solar thermal power plants to produce electricity around the clock.

Question 58

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Cogeneration in Denmark produces a majority of its electricity.

Question 59

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
According to the United Nations,about 60% of all the world's potential for hydropower has been developed.

Question 60

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Coal fired power plants waste about two-thirds of the energy released by burning the coal.

Question 61

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
The promotion that hybrid cars do not contribute to climate change because they do not emit carbon dioxide is correct,but misleading.Explain why this statement is misleading.

Question 62

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Because of their abundance and artificially low prices,fossil fuels will continue to be used in large quantities in the future.

Question 63

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Brazil makes its ethanol from ____________________,a residue produced when sugarcane is crushed.

Question 64

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
A(n)____________________ would require buyers of fuel-inefficient vehicles to pay a high fee,and the resulting revenues would be given to buyers of fuel-efficient vehicles as rebates.

Question 65

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
____________________ automatically adjust the tint of glass to reflect or absorb light.

Question 66

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Designing buildings based on energy-efficient,resource-efficient,and money-saving designs is referred to as ____________________.

Question 67

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Geothermal heat pumps and geothermal exchange may be used to tap the geothermal energy stored in the earth's mantle.

Question 68

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
One or more groups of suitcase sized ____________________ generators can be placed in any stream or river without altering its course and be used to produce electricity around the clock.

Question 69

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Analysts expect an increased number of ____________________ wind farms because of steadier air flow.

Question 70

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
A better alternative to using corn for the production of ethanol is ____________________ ethanol,produced from the inedible biomass of most plants.

Question 71

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
By the end of this century,solar cells will be the world's number one source of electricity according to the chief engineer for General Electric.

Question 72

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
If all costs are included for all sources,wind power is the cheapest way to produce electricity.

Question 73

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
A(n)____________________ is a device that uses hydrogen gas as a fuel to produce electricity.

Question 74

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
A(n)_______________ solar heating system captures energy from the sun by pumping a heat absorbing fluid through special collectors.

Question 75

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
A(n)____________________ uses the temperature differential between the surface and 3-6 meters underground to heat and cool a house.

Question 76

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Huge ____ use only about 10% of the electrical energy they pull off the grid.The other 90% ends up as low-quality heat that flows into the environment.

Question 77

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
The world's largest producer of electricity from geothermal electricity from ____________________ is the United States.

Question 78

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Heat energy stored in soil,underground rocks,and fluids in the earth's mantle that can be tapped as a resource is called ____________________.

Question 79

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
Because hydrogen must be produced using other forms of energy,it has a(n)____________________ net energy yield.

Question 80

Use the hypothetical dose-response curve above to answer the question(s)below.
An energy-efficient,digitally controlled,ultra-high-voltage system with superefficient transmission lines is referred to as a(n)____________________.