Deck 17: Nonrenewable Energy Resources

Question 1

Which of the following best describes tight oil? 

A) It is oil of a grade that is much rarer than conventional oil. 
B) It is conventional oil that doesn't flow easily through its host rock. 
C) It is oil that is found only in small local deposits. 
D) It is heavy oil that flows slowly through its host rock.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

What has the highest net energy ratio for transportation? 

A) oil shale 
B) coal liquefaction 
C) natural gas 
D) gasoline

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which application consumes the most oil in the United States? 

A) transportation 
B) generation of electricity 
C) industry 
D) heating and cooling of buildings

Answer 3

A

Question 4

When are affordable oil supplies projected to be economically depleted? 

A) in about 10 to 20 years 
B) in about 20 to 30 years 
C) in about 30 to 50 years 
D) in about 40 to 90 years

Question 5

How many years does it take to phase in new energy alternatives? 

A) at least 5 years 
B) at least 10 years 
C) at least 30 years 
D) at least 50 years

Question 6

What most closely reinforces the concept of net energy? 

A) the first and second laws of thermodynamics 
B) the law of conservation of matter and energy 
C) the principle that everything is connected 
D) the principle of resource partitioning

Question 7

What means is used to separate the components of crude oil? 

A) filtration 
B) gravity 
C) pressure 
D) distillation

Question 8

What is the primary ingredient of petroleum? 

A) nitrogen 
B) sulphur 
C) oxygen 
D) hydrocarbon

Question 9

What percentage of the world's commercial energy is consumed by the United States,although it has only about 5% of the world's population? 

A) about 54% 
B) about 44% 
C) about 34% 
D) about 18%

Question 10

Which of the following is the majority source (99%)of the energy that heats the Earth and all man-made structures? 

A) coal 
B) nuclear power 
C) the sun 
D) oil

Question 11

What percentage of the world's population in developing countries use biomass energy to heat their homes and cook their food? 

A) about 66% 
B) about 50% 
C) about 33% 
D) about 25%

Question 12

Which entity is expected to control the global supplies and prices of oil over the long term? 

A) OPEC 
B) the United States 
C) Russia 
D) Mexico

Question 13

What has the highest net energy ratio for high-temperature industrial heat? 

A) direct solar 
B) coal 
C) coal gasification 
D) oil

Question 14

Which of the following best describes the practice of hydraulic fracturing? 

A) It is a method that uses water to pump more oil out of the ground. 
B) It is the process by which oil is separated into its different fractions. 
C) It is a method for promoting the flow of tight oil through its host rock. 
D) It is a method of drilling oil wells horizontally.

Question 15

What percentage of globally extracted oil is consumed by the United States each year? 

A) about 2% 
B) about 4% 
C) about 14% 
D) about 20%

Question 16

Which of the following best describes net energy ratio? 

A) It is the ratio of the useful energy produced relative to the useful energy used to produce it. 
B) It is the ratio of the energy it took to produce it relative to the new useful energy produced. 
C) It is high when the net energy yield is high. 
D) It is high when the net energy yield is low.

Question 17

Which statement characterizes petrochemicals? 

A) They are impurities that must be burned or buried. 
B) They are additives that increase the octane level of gasoline. 
C) They are removed from oil before the oil is refined. 
D) They are used as raw materials in producing the majority of organic chemicals.

Question 18

What is the net energy ratio of oil expected to do? 

A) It is currently high, and is expected to decline in the future. 
B) It is currently high, and is expected to stay high in the future. 
C) It is currently low, and is expected to increase in the future. 
D) It is currently low, and is expected to stay low in the future.

Question 19

What has the highest net energy ratio for space heating? 

A) passive solar 
B) oil 
C) active solar 
D) electric resistance heating

Question 20

What is net energy? 

A) It is the total useful energy obtained from an energy resource minus the amount of energy used and wasted in producing it. 
B) It is the usable amount of low-quality energy from a given quantity of energy resource. 
C) It is analogous to total income. 
D) It is the total useful energy available from an energy resource.

Question 21

Which of the following is/are liquefied petroleum gas? 

A) methane 
B) butane and propane 
C) ammonia 
D) nitrogen oxide

Question 22

How does natural gas compare to coal? 

A) Natural gas has a high net useful energy yield and is a clean-burning fuel, compared to coal. 
B) Natural gas has a high net useful energy yield and is a dirty fuel, compared to coal. 
C) Natural gas has a low net useful energy yield and is a clean-burning fuel, compared to coal. 
D) Natural gas has a low net useful energy yield and is a dirty fuel, compared to coal.

Question 23

What is characteristic of both oil shale and oil sand? 

A) They are usable only for aviation fuel. 
B) They contain large supplies of heavy oils. 
C) They constitute a small but cheap supply of crude oil. 
D) They are principal sources of conventional crude oil.

Question 24

What percentage of the world's electricity is provided by coal? 

A) about 60% 
B) about 50% 
C) about 40% 
D) about 30%

Question 25

In how many years will global coal supplies most likely be depleted,depending on rates of consumption? 

A) about 10 to 20 years 
B) about 20 to 40 years 
C) about 100 to 200 years 
D) about 200 to 1000 years

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT contained in oil sand? 

A) water 
B) sand 
C) coal 
D) bitumen

Question 27

Which list shows the stages of coal formation in order from highest to lowest heat content? 

A) peat-anthracite-bituminous-lignite 
B) peat-bituminous-lignite-anthracite 
C) anthracite-bituminous-lignite-peat 
D) anthracite-lignite-bituminous-peat

Question 28

Which pair of countries has the largest combined reserves of natural gas? 

A) Russia and Iran 
B) Nigeria and Algeria 
C) Canada and the United States 
D) India and Pakistan

Question 29

What comprises 50 to 90% of the content of natural gas obtained from wells? 

A) methane 
B) propane 
C) butane 
D) ethane

Question 30

Why is oil the world's main source of energy? 

A) It has an artificially low cost. 
B) It has a low net useful energy yield. 
C) It is environmentally friendly. 
D) It is relatively expensive.

Question 31

What is one disadvantage of conventional natural gas? 

A) Land may be severely disrupted by the use of natural gas. 
B) Natural gas does not work well for transportation applications. 
C) Natural gas may leak from gas pipelines. 
D) Air pollution associated with the use of natural gas is worse than with other fossil fuels.

Question 32

What is bitumen? 

A) It is the active ingredient in butane. 
B) It is a waste product resulting from the extraction of tight oil. 
C) It is a fuel supplement added to diesel oil. 
D) It is a thick and sticky heavy oil.

Question 33

What is bitumen? 

A) It is an octane-raising gasoline additive. 
B) It is a type of coal. 
C) It is a deep oil shale deposit. 
D) It is a high-sulphur, heavy oil found in oil sand.

Question 34

Which statement best describes natural gas transportation? 

A) Natural gas can be transported by ship in a gaseous form. 
B) Shipment of liquid natural gas is safe and inexpensive. 
C) Conversion of natural gas to liquid natural gas increases reduces transportation costs by ten times. 
D) Explosions in urban areas near liquid natural gas loading facilities could kill people and cause much damage.

Question 35

Which statement best describes oil shale and oil sand? 

A) They have fewer environmental effects than conventional oil. 
B) They have lower net useful energy yield than conventional oil. 
C) They are easier to extract than conventional oil. 
D) They are the sources of more useful products than conventional oil.

Question 36

Which occupation is one of the world's most dangerous because of a high incidence of accidents and disease? 

A) subsurface mining for coal 
B) copper smelting 
C) oil distillation 
D) surface mining for coal

Question 37

Which of the following is a strategic disadvantage of oil? 

A) It destroys nature through oil spills. 
B) It will be commercially depleted within 90 years. 
C) It produces more carbon dioxide than any other fuel. 
D) It can contaminate groundwater supplies.

Question 38

What is the most desirable type of coal,due to its high heat content and low sulphur content? 

A) peat 
B) lignite 
C) bituminous 
D) anthracite

Question 39

How long would it take for the crude oil reserves in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be depleted if it were the world's only source of oil,and if global consumption continued at the current rate? 

A) about 1 week 
B) about 1 to 5 months 
C) about 1 year 
D) about 5 years

Question 40

Which of the following characterizes the production of crude oil from oil sands? 

A) Large quantities of water are used. 
B) Little waste is created. 
C) Little energy is used. 
D) Small quantities of air pollution are released.

Question 41

What was the primary cause of the Fukushima nuclear accident? 

A) terrorist attack 
B) record tsunami 
C) poor design 
D) human error

Question 42

What can coal be converted to? 

A) bitumen 
B) synthetic oil sand 
C) synthetic natural gas 
D) radioactive isotopes

Question 43

How do sulphur dioxide,particulates,and arsenic relate to coal-fired plants? 

A) They are waste products produced in the combustion of coal. 
B) They are solid wastes that must be disposed of properly. 
C) They are additives that make coal burn cleanly. 
D) They are removed almost entirely when pollution controls are used.

Question 44

Which of the following is NOT part of the nuclear fuel cycle? 

A) the cyclotron 
B) the uranium mine 
C) fuel fabrication 
D) interim underwater storage

Question 45

For how many years should it be possible to store radioactive waste if the fuel pellets in spent fuel rods are processed to remove the plutonium and the other very long-lived radioactive isotopes? 

A) about 100 years 
B) about 1 000 years 
C) about 10 000 years 
D) about 100 000 years

Question 46

Which statement best describes synfuels? 

A) Synfuels are cheaper than coal. 
B) Synfuels have a very limited potential supply availability. 
C) Synfuel combustion produces more air pollution than coal. 
D) Synfuels are used to produce more than unconverted coal.

Question 47

What was the cause of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster? 

A) terrorist attack 
B) record hurricane 
C) poor design and human error 
D) large earthquake

Question 48

What is the role of the moderator in a nuclear reactor? 

A) It releases neutrons. 
B) It slows down neutrons. 
C) It absorbs neutrons. 
D) It reflects neutrons.

Question 49

What are two major reasons why burning coal is a popular means of producing electricity and high-temperature heat? 

A) because of coal's high heat content and low carbon dioxide output 
B) because of coal's great abundance and high net useful energy yield 
C) because of coal's low net useful energy yield and high versatility 
D) because of coal's relative abundance and low rate of pollution

Question 50

Which substance is the fissionable fraction of the fuel in a nuclear reactor? 

A) deuterium 
B) uranium-235 
C) plutonium-235 
D) hydrogen

Question 51

Where are about 25% of the world's proven coal reserves found? 

A) the Middle East 
B) the United States 
C) Mexico 
D) Canada

Question 52

What is the environmental impact of the fuel cycle of nuclear plants compared to the fuel cycle for coal that is used to produce electricity? 

A) The nuclear plant fuel cycle causes more deaths than the coal fuel cycle. 
B) The nuclear plant fuel cycle causes more air pollution than the coal fuel cycle. 
C) The nuclear plant fuel cycle causes more water pollution than the coal fuel cycle. 
D) The nuclear plant fuel cycle causes less land disruption than the coal fuel cycle.

Question 53

What is the world's most abundant conventional fossil fuel? 

A) coal 
B) biomass 
C) crude oil 
D) natural gas

Question 54

Where is Three Mile Island? 

A) Connecticut 
B) Pennsylvania 
C) New Jersey 
D) Massachusetts

Question 55

How many large CANDU reactors are currently operating in Canada? 

A) 0 
B) 11 
C) 19 
D) 45

Question 56

What is the dirtiest fossil fuel to burn? 

A) conventional natural gas 
B) oil 
C) unconventional natural gas 
D) coal

Question 57

Which statement best describes the safety of nuclear plants? 

A) Nuclear waste from plants are stored safely underground using a method called deep disposal. 
B) Nuclear plants cannot withstand attacks by terrorists because they have insufficient security. 
C) All nuclear waste from plants can easily be converted into less-harmful isotopes. 
D) All nuclear plants can withstand a direct hit from a large jet traveling at high speed.

Question 58

Which province contains the most nuclear reactors? 

A) British Columbia 
B) Quebec 
C) New Brunswick 
D) Ontario

Question 59

In how many years will identified coal reserves in the United States most likely be depleted at current usage rates? 

A) about 50 years 
B) about 100 years 
C) about 250 years 
D) about 500 years

Question 60

Which situation would lead to a meltdown of the reactor core in a nuclear plant? 

A) if the containment building develops an air leak 
B) if control rods are inserted into the core 
C) if the proportion of uranium-238 is too high 
D) if too much coolant is lost

Question 61

The three major forms of fossil fuels are coal,oil,and natural gas.

Question 62

Natural gas has a higher net energy ratio than gasoline.

Question 63

How did Forbes magazine describe the failure of the nuclear power program in the United States? 

A) It was the largest economic disaster in U.S. business history. 
B) It was the largest managerial disaster in U.S. business history. 
C) It was the largest environmental disaster in U.S. business history. 
D) It was the largest technological disaster in U.S. business history.

Question 64

Which country put the world's first full-sized commercial breeder reactor into operation in 1986? 

A) Germany 
B) the United States 
C) Canada 
D) France

Question 65

Which proposal for disposing of high-level radioactive wastes is,at present,a technological impossibility? 

A) burying radioactive wastes under ice sheets in Antarctica 
B) burying radioactive wastes in thick deposits of mud on the deep ocean floor 
C) sending radioactive wastes to the sun 
D) converting radioactive wastes into harmless isotopes

Question 66

The world's dependence on fossil fuels has increased because of subsidies and tax breaks that support fossil-fuel processing industries.

Question 67

Which conversion takes place in breeder nuclear fission reactors? 

A) uranium-238 converts to plutonium-239 
B) fast-moving neutrons convert to slow-moving ones 
C) high-level wastes convert to harmless isotopes 
D) uranium-235 converts to uranium-238

Question 68

The world's dependence on nonrenewable fossil fuels is affecting the economies of individual nations.

Question 69

What is one method of decommissioning nuclear power plants? 

A) mothballing 
B) decomposition 
C) immediate retrofitting 
D) spent fuel reprocessing

Question 70

The cost of synfuels is presently too high to make them commercially attractive.

Question 71

Coal is easier to get out of the ground and transport than petroleum.

Question 72

Relative to the populations of other nations,the population of the United States uses a far greater proportion of the world's commercial energy.

Question 73

Which statement best describes breeder reactors? 

A) The use of a breeder reactor would not extend the supplies of uranium in the world. 
B) If a breeder reactor's safety system failed, the reactor would be fine. 
C) Many experimental breeder reactors are safe. 
D) A breeder reactor would generate more fuel than it would consume.

Question 74

Nuclear power is not used extensively in the United States because of the threat it poses to homeland security.

Question 75

Nuclear fission is not a feasible energy source because of the difficulty of making nuclear plants secure and the difficulty of storing radioactive waste safely.

Question 76

Petroleum and natural gas are the main sources of energy for industrialized society.

Question 77

Oil fuel,in all of its usable forms,is a refined product,unlike coal and natural gas which can often be burned in their natural condition.

Question 78

The United States is out of step with Canada and the rest of the world in terms of the energy resources it uses.

Question 79

Liquefied natural gas consists of mostly methane with small amounts of ethane,propane,and other liquefied petroleum gases,and it is generally handled at an extremely low temperature.

Question 80

Which type of coolant is used in a breeder reactor? 

A) plutonium 
B) nitrogen 
C) sodium 
D) water