Unit 5-Energy Resources and Consumption Study Guide Name_________________________
AP Environmental Science Date__________________________
What’s on the test?
The unit 5 test will be structured in the same manner as the AP Exam but reduced in length and time by approximately 50%. The unit 5 test has 40 multiple choice questions, worth ~1.7 points each, and a choice of one out of two free response questions. Your answers to the free response question will be worth 40 points. The test is worth 100 points total. All tests/quizzes combined are worth 30% of your grade.
What can I use on the test?
The real AP Exam does not allow notes or calculators so they will not be allowed on our unit test.
What part of the textbook should I read for the test? Useful Chapters: 19, 20, 21
Pages with details: 4-5, 100-101, 358, 370-371, 419-423, 543-598, 603-625
What vocabulary should I know for the test?
acid rain, active solar, anthracite, biomass energy, bituminous, boiling point, CAFE, carbon dioxide, carbon sequestration, coal, coal burning power plant, cogeneration, consumption, curies, dam, demand, efficiency, electricity, emissions, energy, first law of thermodynamics, fossil fuel, generator, geothermal, greenhouse effect, half life, heat, hydraulic, hydroelectricity, James Bay, joules, kilo, kinetic energy, lignite, Mega, mercury, miles per gallon, natural gas, natural gas reserves, nuclear energy, nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, oil, passive solar, peat, per capita, percent, petroleum,
photovoltaic, potential energy, power plant, radioactive waste, recoverable reserves, refinery, reserves, second law of thermodynamics, tidal energy, solar, solar hot water system, sulfur dioxide, taxes, uranium, Watt, wet-scrubber units, thermal energy, thermal pollution, wind energy, Yucca Mountain
What questions should I answer to prepare for the multiple choice section of the test? 1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of the fossil fuels?
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What are the first and second laws of thermodynamics and how do they apply to our energy usage and
production?
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What sources of energy are renewable and non-renewable? Explain.
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. How long will our reserves of each fossil fuel last? Where are the largest reserves?
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. What are the various types of solar energy systems and how do they work?
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. How do you convert kW to MW? How do you calculate percentages?
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. How does coal produce electricity? How can we reduce SO2 pollution from coal fired power plants?
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. How are fossil fuels formed, extracted, and refined? What are the products of crude oil?
9. How do you calculate age, number of half lives elapsed, and time of half life of nuclear waste? How do we store it?
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Identify and explain the various types and sources of energy.
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 11. What are the efficiencies of various energy processes? (Lights, engines, power plants)
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 12. What are the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear and hydropower? Where have these negative impacts
been?
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 13. How can people improve the efficiency of the energy we use? How can the government ensure increased
efficiency?
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 14. Where do we get our energy from in terms of percentages?
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ 15. What is the major source of energy for developing countries? Developed countries?
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ 16. How do nuclear power plants work?
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ 17. How much less carbon dioxide would be produced by a car that gets 30mpg as compared to a car that gets
20mpg on a 600 mile trip if each gallon of gas produces 5 pounds of CO2?
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ 18. On an annual basis, what is the per capita electricity usage in Ethiopia ((.2kWh x 10^10)/70,000,000 people)
expressed as a percent of that of the US ((400kwH x 10^10)/300,000,000 people)?
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ 19. If per capita demand of a town with a population of 200,000 is 5kW and the town is growing at 3.5% per year,
what will be the power demand in 40 years?
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ 20. If radioactive waste is considered safe after <4% remains and it has a half life of 500 years, how much time
needs to pass before the waste is considered safe?
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________
Practice Free Response Questions-Two of the following questions will be on the test! You must choose one to answer. 1. (2008 Practice Exam FRQ #3) Studies indicate that between the present and 2050, substantial growth in
population and energy consumption will occur in both less developed countries (LDCs) like China and India and in more developed countries (MDC) like the US and Japan. The table below displays these projections:
Present 2050
Total Population (MDCs) 1.2*109 1.3*109
Total Energy Consumption: LDCs 1.3*1017 5.2*1017
Total Energy Consumption: MDCs 2.5*1017 3.0*1017
a. Describe two current social conditions that support the prediction that most population growth will occur in LDCs between now and 2050.
b. Calculate the percent increase in
1. Total energy consumption by LDCs between present and 2050. 2. Total energy consumption by MDCs between present and 2050
c. Describe two reasons why the percent change in total consumption by LDCs is projected to be so different from the percent change in total energy consumption by MDCs.
d. Describe the process by which fossil fuels are used to provide electrical energy.
e. The increase in global energy demand is expected to outstrip the energy available from the burning of fossil fuels. Describe two sustainable methods of energy production that can make a significant contribution towards meeting the future global energy demand.
2. (2008 Released Exam FRQ #1) Read the article below and answer the questions below. a. Calculate the number of acres required to produce 1,000 gallons of oil in one year from
i. Microalgae ii. Soybeans
b. Describe TWO environmental advantages that biodiesel production from microalgae offers over biodiesel production from the other crops listed in the table.
c. Explain why burning biodiesel fuel has a different impact on atmospheric CO2 concentrations than does burning fossil fuels.
d. Discuss TWO benefits, other than those related to atmospheric impacts, of increased reliance on biodiesel fuels over the next 50 years.
3. (2007 Released Exam FRQ #2) The Cobb family of Fremont is looking at ways to decrease their home water and energy usage. Their current electric hot water heater raises the water temperature to 140 degrees F, which requires 0.2kWh/gallon at a cost of $0.10kWh. Each person in the family of four showers once a day for an average of 10 minutes per shower. The shower has a flow rate of 5.0 gallons per minute.
a. Calculate the following. Be sure to show all your work and include units with your answers. i. The total amount of water that the family uses per year for taking showers.
ii. The annual cost of the electricity for the family showers, assuming that 2.5 gallons per minute of the water is used from the hot-water heater.
b. The family is considering replacing their current hot water heater with a new energy efficient hot water heater that costs $1000 and uses half the energy that their current hot water heater uses. How many days would it take for the new hot water heater to recover the $1000 initial cost?
c. Describe two practical measures that the family could take that would reduce their overall water use at home.
d. Describe two practical measures (other than reducing hot water use) that the family could take to reduce the total amount of energy that they use at home.
4. (2005 Released Exam FRQ #4) The Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) on Alaska’s North Slope is frequently in the news because petroleum geologists estimate that there are billions of barrels of economically recoverable oil beneath the surface of the frozen tundra. According to a 1998 USGS (United States Geological Survey) estimate, ANWR could contain up to 10 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil. Oil companies advocate opening the refuge to oil exploration and the subsequent development of its petroleum reserves. Environmentalists argue that oil exploration and development will damage the fragile ecosystem and urge Congress to protect ANWR by designating it a wilderness area.
a. The United States consumes approximately 20 million barrels of oil per day. According to the USGS estimate, for how many days would technically recoverable oil resources in ANWR supply the total US demand for oil?
b. Describe two characteristics of the Arctic tundra that make it fragile and explain how these two characteristics make the tundra particularly susceptible to damage from human impacts.
c. Identify two activities that would be associated with the development of ANWR petroleum resources and describe a substantial environmental impact of each in ANWR.
d. Identify and describe two major end uses of the 20 million barrels of oil that the US consumes each day and for each use describe a conservation measure that would substantially reduce US consumption. 3. (2011 Released Exam FRQ #3) Shown below is a graph of the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita versus
the annual electrical energy consumption per capita for nine countries in 2009.
b. Despite its low GDP per capita and low annual electrical energy consumption per capita, China has become the world’s largest emitter of CO2 . Explain this apparent contradiction.
c. In addition to contributing to increased atmospheric CO2 concentrations, China is facing other air pollution issues related to the generation of electricity. Identify one such issue and describe the impact it has on human health.
d. Two countries shown on the graph have developed domestic energy sources: sugarcane in Brazil and tar sands in western Canada.
i. Choose EITHER sugarcane or tar sands, then briefly describe the process of fuel production from that energy source.
ii. Describe TWO disadvantages of using the energy source that you chose in part d.i.
iii. Which of the two energy sources is more sustainable? Justify your answer with an explanation. 5. (2004 Released Exam FRQ #2) West Fremont is a community consisting of 3,000 homes. A small coal-burning
power plant currently supplies electricity for the town. The capacity of the power plant is 12 megawatts (MW) and the average household consumes 8,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electrical energy per year. The price paid to the electric utility by West Fremont residents for this energy is $0.10 per kWh. The town leaders a considering a plan, the West Fremont Wind Project (WFWP), to generate their own electricity using 10 wind turbines that would be located on the wooded ridges surrounding the town. Each wind turbine would have a capacity of 1.2MW and each would cost the town $3 million to purchase, finance, and operate for 25 years.
a. Assuming that the existing power plant can operate at full capacity for 8,000 hrs/year how many kWh of electricity can be produced by the plant in a year?
b. At the current rate of electrical energy use per household, how many kWh of electrical energy does the community consume in one year?
c. Compare your answers in a and b and explain why you would or would not expect the numbers to be the same.
d. Assuming that electrical energy needs of the community do not change during the 25 year lifetime of the wind turbines, what would be the cost to the community of the electricity supplied by the WFWP over 25 years? Express your answer in dollars/kWh.
e. Identify and explain two environmental benefits to West Fremont of switching from coal to wind power and two environmental costs to West Fremont of switching from coal to wind power.
6. (2004 Released Exam FRQ #3) Radioactive isotopes are widely used in the field of medicine, in the generation of electricity, and in the military. The use of radioactive isotopes has increased significantly over the past 50 years, leading to a corresponding increase in the amount of radioactive waste produced. The question of how to deal with radioactive waste is a topic of ongoing environmental concern.
a. Explain how the properties of low level radioactive waste differ from those of high level radioactive waste and how those properties lead to different storage requirements. For one of the two types of radioactive waste, give an example of a specific isotope that may be present in the waste, and explain how human activity generates the waste.
b. The US Department of Energy recently chose Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the site for the deep underground burial of high-level radioactive waste. Describe three characteristics of an ideal deep underground storage site for high-level radioactive waste.
c. Identify two other options that have been suggested for the long-term management of radioactive waste. Describe the feasibility of each method.
d. Exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation has adverse effects on human health and can result in immediate death. Identify one sublethal adverse effect on human health that can result from exposure to ionizing radiation, and explain how this effect is caused by the radiation.
7. (2009 Released Exam FRQ #2) Anaerobic methane digesters have been used for many years to reduce energy costs on farms throughout Europe and on some large farms in the United States. The digesters operate by using anaerobic bacteria to break down animal waste. During the process, which typically uses a tank heated to about 100°F (38ÁC) to speed the reactions, raw manure is broken down and methane is produced. The methane can then be used to generate electricity or produce heat. For a certain dairy farm with 500 cows, the cost of installing a digester is approximately $400,000. Assume that the farm uses 800,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity each year at a cost of $0.10 per kWh. The waste from a single cow can produce 3.0 kWh of electricity each day.
a. Describe the steps by which methane produced in the digester can be used to generate electricity. b. Discuss TWO environmental benefits that may result from the installation of an anaerobic methane
digester.
c. Assuming that the cost of electricity remains constant and the farmer starts using the manure from the cows in an anaerobic digester to produce electricity on the farm, calculate:
i. The number of kWh of electricity that can be produced in one year
ii. The amount of money the farmer can save in one year, NOT counting the installation cost of the digester. (You may round your answer to the nearest $1,000.)
d. Calculate the minimum number of cows the farm would need to produce 800,000 kWh of electricity per year.
8. (2006 Released Exam FRQ #1) Upon receiving notice from their electric utility that customers with solar power systems are permitted to sell excess power back to the utility, an Arizona family is considering the purchase of a photovoltaic solar energy system for their 2,700 square foot suburban home. The initial costs of the systems they are considering range from $7,000 to $30,000. While gathering information prior to making their decision, the homeowners find the following information at the Web site of the United States Department of Energy.
a. Describe one environmental benefit and one environmental cost of photovoltaic systems.
b. From the two types of solar systems described on the government Web site, select the system (either stand-alone or grid-connected) that you think meets the needs of the homeowners. Write an argument to persuade them to purchase the system you selected. Include the pros and cons of each system in your argument.
c. Describe two ways that government or industry could promote the use of photovoltaic power systems for homeowners in the future.
