Quick-Fire Review: Energy Resources and Energy Security
Every light in this room is being paid for right now, by fuel dug out of the ground, a river that was dammed, or a breeze that happens to be blowing.
0:00 / 9:34
Quick-Fire Review: Energy Resources and Energy Security
This is a fast pass through the energy material in Environmental Systems and Societies, with eleven questions, each one followed by the answer and the reasoning that earns the mark.
What this review covers
Fossil fuels and energy density. Where coal, oil and gas come from, how the common fuels compare for the energy in each kilogram, and how much carbon dioxide a gas plant saves against a coal one for the same electricity.
Sunlight, wind and electricity. A solar panel against a solar water heater, what a large share of wind does to an electricity system, and a capacity-factor calculation for a small wind farm.
Nuclear, biomass and the mix. Why nuclear power is low carbon but not renewable, what is wrong with calling wood pellets carbon neutral, and how to read a country's generation mix.
Efficiency, demand and energy security. Efficiency against conservation and the rebound effect, and what actually protects an island that runs its electricity on imported diesel.
How to use it
Answer each question before the host gives it away. The pause is there for exactly that. If you get one wrong, the reason that follows is the part worth repeating, because that is where the marks live.
The ones that catch people out are a rated megawatt against the electricity a turbine really delivers, renewable against low carbon, and efficiency against conservation. Each turns on a single distinction, so say the distinction out loud before you say the answer.
Replay the whole thing the night before, and once more on the way to the exam.
This story was produced automatically by a channel. One sentence is all it takes for Neodrop to keep producing for you.