Monday, November 14, 2011

Energy, A Self-Administered Test (Modified True or False, 50 Items)

Dr. Abe V Rotor and Ms Melly Tenorio
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (School-of-Air) DZRB 738 KHzAM 8-9pm Monday to Friday
Linked with Living with Nature - School on Blog avrotor.blogspot.com

Wind is the second most abundant energy on earth. Wind turbine in Bangui, Ilocos Norte.
One turbine can generate enough electricity

Here is a practical set of questions to guide you in teaching general science, in helping you answer some of the most common queries about energy. You may download this lesson, print, share with your family and friends. You may come up with a term paper based on this lesson. The answers are provided at the end of the lesson.

1. You need less energy to boil water on the lowland (sea level) than on the highland (mountaintop).

2. When water boils at sea level, and you want to increase the temperature, all you need to do is burn more fuel, and even prolong it.

3. The temperature of boiling water inside a pressure cooker can be raised above 100ºCelsius.

4. It is cooler on the mountain top than on the lowland, because the air is thinner.

5. One-half of the fossil fuels we use for heating, in generating electricity, and running our machines is actually lost; it’s really a waste of energy.

6. All over the world, the contribution of each of these main energy sources is as follows: oil and gas 35 %, coal 60%, nuclear 5%.

7. Worldwide, eighty (80) percent of energy used for cooking comes from firewood.

8. Under normal condition, firewood smoke is generally harmless to health and the environment. If fact smoke from firewood drives pest and other vermin, induces flowering and fruiting of fruit trees.

9. The most popular local firewood comes from madre de cacao (Gliricida sepium) and ipil-ipil (Leucaena glauca).

10. Firewood farming can be integrated into the forestry program, mixed tree farming, strip and contour farming. It helps reduce erosion and siltation.

11. SALT means Sloping Agricultural Land Technology, a program of the DA and DENR to protect our hillsides and uplands.

12. Forests, irrespective of its kind and location, increase supply of O², absorb CO² from the air, create a mini-climate, attract cloud and increase rainfall.

13. Biofuel refers to energy derived from farm wastes, oil from plants such as Jatropha, consuelda, castor bean, lumbang, bitaog, and the like.

14. Gasohol or alcogas is a mixture of ethanol and kerosene.

15. Proper car maintenance includes observing "carless day," planned route, and car pool.

16. There will be one billion cars in the world by 2018. There are some 600 million cars in the world today which consume 20 million barrels of oil a day.

17. Driving at a speed of 100 kph on NLEX is more economical than driving at 80 kph.

18. New sails for sea vessels are being developed – but this is not significant to reduce energy consumption of sea vessels which would rather run on fuel.

19. House plan and design should be environment friendly, low in energy consumption, and easily and economical maintenance.

20. Surging energy of the sea - waves, tides, differential heat and salt content, ocean currents – are just dreams as alternative energy sources.

21. Practice recycling not only to reduce waste, but energy consumption as well.

22. Austerity in electric energy consumption is necessary. The cost of electric energy in the Philippines is one of the highest the world. Ironically our GDP per capita is among the lowest.

23. The world continues to build new nuclear power plants, in spite of the Chernobyl (Kiev) and Fukushima (Japan) nuclear accidents. US and Sweden have recently built new ones.

24. The next generation of cars will be powered by electricity. Just plug battery to charge overnight for next day's use of the car.

25. Energy of falling water is also called gravitational energy. Hydroelectric plants make use of this principle.

26. SWIP means Small Water Impounding Project is self contained for small communities which provide electricity, recreation and irrigation.

27. Energy efficiency in agriculture and industry is crucial in attaining sustainable productivity.

28. Green movement includes greening of city lawns and rooftops, installation of portable solar panels and wind mills, using green charcoal, designing buildings and houses with low-energy requirement.

29. Some 1 million cars are manufactured everyday, 80 percent are sold in developed countries.

30. The old Dutch windmills are coming back in the form of wind power farms. (Remember the windmill Don Quijote fought in Miguel de Cervantes’ novel – Don Quijote?)

31. Ethanol comes from sugarcane, sugar beets and root crops (cassava). One objection to biofuels is direct competition between food and fuel, thus affecting food supply and nutrition, particularly to poor countries.

32. Home biogas generators are mostly found in China and India. We have in the Philippine a commercial biogas model at the Madamba Maya Farms in Rizal.

33. These are some uses of solar energy: reflected light (mirror concentrator) to generate electricity, desalination for potable and irrigation water, direct drying, solar panels, solar battery/cell.

34. Among the alternative sources of oil which are being investigated in the light of spiraling oil price, are the following species of Family Euphorbiaceae, to which the rubber tree belongs.
• Soro-soro (Euphorbia neriifolia),
• Gatas-gatas (E. pilulifera),
• Consuelda (E. tirucalli),
• Physic nut (Jatropha curcas),
• Castor-oil plant or tangantangan (Ricinus communis)

35. The ultimate source of energy is the sun, either directly or indirectly.

36. Starlight (other than our sun, of course) can be harnessed as source of power.

37. We have succeeded in inventing the “Perpetual Machine,” a long dream of mankind. Eliminating friction means tremendous energy saving.

38. The human body is a perfect machine in terms of energy conservation and utilization, which no human invention can compare.

39. There are now hydrogen powered car running on the streets – the promise to replace fossil fuels.

40. Magnetic shield protects the earth from deleterious radiation from space.

41. Living organisms do not use energy during dormancy – aestivation and hibernation.

42. Hydrogen bomb works on the principle of fusion, while the atomic bomb works on the principle of fission.

43. Polysaccharides or complex sugars directly release energy in the body.

44. Prisoners become emaciated when, due to prolonged and extreme lack of food, the body converts adipose and muscle tissues into energy.

45. The nemesis of moving parts that reduce fuel efficiency is friction.

46. Synergy means there is "more energy than the sum of its parts."

47. The ultimate end result when energy is transformed from one form to another is low level heat.

48. Energy is neither created nor destroyed.

49. A single lightning bolt, if only it can be stored, is enough to light a community for days.

50. Overall conclusion and recommendation in conserving energy can be summarized into
“Less is More”

ANSWERS
1. False, at sea level water boils at 100ºC; 3,000m – 90ºC; 6,000m – 81ºC; 9,000m – 75ºC)
2. False, Water boils at 100ºC, and remains at this temperature, water will simply change from liquid to gaseous form – steam.
3. True, usually at 120ºC for typical pressure cookers.
4. True. Air absorbs and conserves heat. There is less air at higher elevation.
5. True. 50% is wasted
6. False. Oil and gas 60%, coal 35% nuclear 5%
7. True. In rural communities firewood is the main cooking fuel.
8. True. Environment-friendly. Too much exposure is harmful though. It could lead to resource depletion.
9. True. in the Philippines, or where these trees grow in abundance.
10. True
11. True
12. True. Forests provide food, energy, shelter and serve as wildlife sanctuary. They also “catch” smog (suspended layer of fog and smoke).
13. True
14. False. Alcohol and gasoline
15. True
16. False, computation is based on 1 billion cars.
17. False
18. False. New sails can replace engine power.
19. True
20. False. There are pioneer projects such as gully wave generator, wave power, OTEC Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, CLAM – British wave pressure system, Japanese osmosis system at estuaries.
21. True. Recycle water, wood waste, scrap metal, used tires, plastics. Of all recycled metals, aluminum has the highest recovery.
22. False, exaggerated data. But practice energy conservation, such as fewer and more efficient light bulbs, limit laundry (ex. sun dry, bulk washing and ironing), limit using electricity in bath, pressurized water system)
23. True. There are 500 nuclear plants all over the world – now there is a slowdown for new ones. France, Germany, Belgium and Japan will produce more electricity from nuclear reactors
24. True
25. True
26. True. It is also important in the development of fisheries and forestry in the area.
27. True
28. True
29. False
30. True. But there are only 20,000 wind turbine generators (WTGs) in the world with 15,000 located in California. Total production is only 5,000 MW.
31. True
32. True
33. True
34. True. Anglo-French link – the Old Red Sandstone – produces 76 ºcentigrade, hot enough to heat buildings. We tap volcanic heat at Los Baños, Laguna, and in Tiwi, Albay.
34. True. However, many of these potential energy sources are in the pioneering stage of development.
35. True. Including fossil fuels, wind and water energy.
36. True, potentially, that is. Imagine how dark the night is without stars.
37. False. The rule is, “energy in, energy out.” We still have to solve friction, decay, imprecision, etc.
38. True
39. False. By and large, the Hydrogen engine is still on experimental stage.
40. True. Magnetic lines run from South Pole to North Pole, creating beautiful aurora borealis and aurora austalis
41. False. Energy consumption takes place at very low rate.
42. True
43. False. Hydrolysis before respiration/oxidation.
44. True
45. True
46. True, say the maximum weight the left hand can lift is 20 kg and the right hand is 20 kg, both hands can lift not only 40 kg, but more - perhaps 50 kg. This does not follow the laws of physics.
47. True
48. True
49. True. But we don’t have yet the technology to harness the energy of lightning.
50. True. Conserve so that there will be enough energy for everyone.

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