Questions from Textbook Chapter 20

  1. In 2007 in the United States there were approximately 480 cars for every 1000 people. The total number of cars in the United States in 2007 was closest to
  2. 150,000
  3. 30,000,000
  4. 150,000,000
  5. 300,000,000
  6. 3,000,000,000

480 out of 1000 is about 50%. 50% of 300,000,000 is 150,000.

  1. Pollution is considered an external cost when
  2. It has harmful effects borne only by the people who purchase the product that cause the pollution
  3. The cost to the environment is not reflected in the price of the products that produce the pollution CORRECT ANSWER
  4. It has s significant impact on the consumers decision to buy a product that pollutes
  5. It is a hidden cost that would result in the great demand for the product if the consumer were aware of the hidden cost
  6. It is produced in the external environment by a malfunction in the operation of the product
  7. A sustainable society would emphasize
  8. Maintaining the current rates of energy flow and resource use
  9. Converting the world’s high-quality energy resources to low-quality heat
  10. Recycling both matter and high-quality energy
  11. Using energy efficiently and reusing and recycling matterCORRECT ANSWER
  12. Quickly expanding nuclear power, because it is a renewable resource
  13. What is a breeder reactor? Discuss fuel, coolant, price and global risks

A breeder reactor uses uranium-238 as fuel, creating plutonium-239 in the process. Breeder reactors make better use of fuel, generate more power, and produce less waste than conventional nuclear fission reactors. However, they are more dangerous because highly reactive sodium rather than water, is used as a coolant, raising the risk of accidents. Breeder reactors are more expensive than conventional reactors, and they can be used to supply plutonium to nuclear weapons programs, so most of them have been shut down. Pg.577

  1. What provides Sweden with most of its total energy and virtually all of its electricity?

Hydroelectric, nuclear, biofuels and new renewables.

  1. When did nuclear power plants experience the most growth?

During the 1970’s and 1980’s

  1. What is the ITER?

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor is located in southern France. It is composed of a consortium of industrialized nations that collaborated to build a prototype fusion reactor. Energy from fusion reactions are likely to remain many years in the future because fusion reactions in the lab still require more energy than they produce from the process. If we were able to find a way to control fusion in a reactor, we could produce vast amounts of energy using water as fuel. Pg 578

  1. Where does the majority of the money come from to build and maintain nuclear power plants in the U.S.?

Public anxiety in the wake of Chernobyl made utilities less willing to invest in new plants, as well as the enormous expense of building, maintaining, operating and ensuring the safety of nuclear facilities. Almost every nuclear plant has turned out to be more expensive than expected. In addition, plants have aged more quickly than expected because of problems that were underestimated such as corrosion in coolant pipes. The plants that have shut down—well over 100 around the world—have served on average less than half their expected lifetimes. Moreover, shutting down, or decommissioning a plant can sometimes be more expensive than the original construction. As a result of these economic issues, electricity from nuclear power plants today remain more expensive than electricity from coal and other sources. Governments are still subsidizing nuclear power to keep consumer costs down, but many private investors lost interest long ago. Pg 588

  1. What health issue increased dramatically in the Ukraine after Chernobyl?

In the wake of the nuclear power plant accident at Chenobyl in 1986, medical scientists from around the world rushed to study how the release of radiation would affect human health. Radiation destroys cells in the body and if the destruction outpaces the body’s ability to repair the damage, the person will soon die. The major health impact of Chernobyl’s radiation, however, has been thyroid cancer. The thyroid gland is where the human body concentrate iodine, and one of the most common radioactive isotopes released early in the disaster was iodine-131. Children have large and active thyroid glands, so they are especially vulnerable to thyroid cancer induced by radioisotopes of iodine.

  1. What does the “megatons to megawatts” program refer to?

Radioactive material can be stolen from plants and used in terrorist attacks. This possibility is especially worrisome in the cash-strapped nations of the former Soviet Union, where hundreds of former nuclear sites have gone without adequate security for years. In a cooperative international agreement, the US government through the megatons to megawatts program has been buying up some of this material and diverting it to peaceful use in power generation. Pg. 583 Currently 1 in 10 American homes, businesses, schools and hospitals is generated by the Megatons to Megawatts fuel.

  1. Which country leads the world in hydropower consumption? CANADA
  2. What is E-85? What fuels the B.I.O. bus?

E-85 is a mix of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. Over 5 million cars that use this FLEX FUEL are on the road today, but so few gas stations offer E-85 that drivers generally are forced to fill these cars with conventional gasoline. Pg 590 Biodiesel is produced from vegetable oils. Oil is mixed with small amounts of ethanol or methanol (wood alcohol) in the presence of a chemical catalyst. In Europe, where most biodiesel is used, rapeseed oil is the oil of choice, whereas in the US producers use mostly soybean oil. In addition, biodiesel producers can utilize animal fats and used grease and cooking oil from restaurants. Vehicles with diesel engines can run on 100% biodiesel. In fact, when Rudolf Diesel invented the diesel engine in 1895, he designed it to run on a variety of fuels,a nd he showcased his invention at the 1900 World’s Fair using peanut oil. Since then we have mainly used petroleum-based fuel (petrodiesel) because it is cheaper. Today’s diesel engines are designed to work with petrodiesel, and although biodiesel will also power the vehicle, some engine parts wear out more quickly with its use. Most frequently, biodiesel is mixed with conventional petrodiesel; a 20% biodiesel mix (called B20) is common today. Each summer a group of alternative-fuel advocates goes on tour in the “BioBus,” a bus fueled entirely on used vegetable oil from restaurants. Their “Bio Tours” sponsor events across North America that include music, dancing, and seminars on environmental sustainability and alternative fuels. Their motto: “Solar-powered sound, veggie-powered bus.”

  1. Why is waste disposal a significant problem in nuclear power generation? Discuss YuccaMountain

Nuclear fission uses uranium-235 as fuel, leaving most of the remaining uranium-238 as waste. The half-lives of the isotopes that make up the fragments of fission are physical constants and cannot be manipulated or shortened. Because uranium has a long half-life, waste emits dangerous levels of radiation for thousands of years. It msut be placed in a stable and secure location where radiation will not escape and estimates that, by 2012, 75% of US nuclear power plants will have no room left for waste storage. In 2002, Congress recommended nuclear waste storage deep underground at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Although studies show that the area has minimal earthquake risk and little chance of waste infiltration into the water supplies due to the dry climate and deep water table, concerned Nevadans have challenged these assumptions. Although it is a relatively unpopulated area, waste transportation to this remote site poses risks of accidents or sabotage en route.

  1. Compare the accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Include causes of failure and long term consequences.

Three mile island and Chernobyl were catastrophic nuclear power plant accidents that spawned a great deal of public anxiety over nuclear power. As a result of mechanical failure and human error, Three Mile Island experienced a partial reactor core meltdown. Most of the radiation remained within the containment building. The incident at Chernobyl was much more extensive and harmful than Three Mile Island. When engineers turned off safety systems to conduct tests, human error and unsafe reactor design caused an explosion that completely destroyed the reactor and released radioactive debris and fallout into surrounding areas for up to 10 days. The accident directly killed 31 people and sickened many more. Atmospheric currents carried radioactive fallout across much of the Northern Hemisphere, radioisotopes were detected as far away as Sweden. The Soviet government did not admit to the accident until days later. Pg 579-582

In 1997 the World Resources Institute estimated the world’s proven oil reserves to be 1,000 billion barrels and the ultimately recoverable reserves to be 2,000 billion barrels. The table below shows the world consumption of oil from 1986 to 1997.

Year / Consumption (million barrels per day)
1986 / 62
1987 / 63
1988 / 65
1989 / 66
1990 / 66
1991 / 67
1992 / 67
1993 / 67
1994 / 68
1995 / 70
1996 / 72
1997 / 74
  1. What was the approximate percent increase in consumption from 1986 to 1997? Show your work! No calculators!

Percent Increase = (new value-original value)/original value x 100%

(74-62)/62 X 100% =19.354%

  1. At the 1997 rate of consumption, about how long will the estimated 2,000 billion barrels of oil last?
  2. 25 years
  3. 50 years
  4. 75 years
  5. 200 years
  6. 500 years

Set up your problem so that you are left with YEARS.

2,000 BILLION / 1,000 MILLION / 1 DAY / YEARS
1 BILLION / 74 MILLION / 365 DAY
  1. The half-life of radon gas is approximately four days. Four weeks after the introduction of radon into a sealed room, the fraction of the original amount remaining is closest to
  2. ½
  3. 1/8
  4. 1/32
  5. 1/64

e. 1/128There are 7 half-lives of radon gas in 28 days (4 weeks). Therefore (1/2)7 =1/128