EUES - Energy Use and Energy Sources Module Overview

Energy Use and Energy Sources 

Coal Plant in PennsylvaniaEnergy makes things happen and is usually described as the ability to do work, but what does this really mean? Energy is an often discussed concept in environmental science; whether in food chains or solar energy driving most biological processes or the waning sources of fossil fuels. Energy is a perpetual theme because it is responsible for making change and the maintenance of all processes on Earth. This module will focus on the fundamentals of energy and energy sources, renewable and nonrenewable, that support the human population. Our dependence on nonrenewable fossil fuels to support our lifestyles has created many environmental problems. There is now a focus to move toward renewable fuels sources that support the growing population and reduce the impact on our planet. The picture to the right is of a coal plant in Pennsylvania in 1942.

Essential Questions

  • What is energy?
  • What is the difference between potential and kinetic energy?
  • How does the energy in a hamburger come from the sun?
  • What is combustion?
  • What are the laws of thermodynamics?
  • Do Americans use more renewable or nonrenewable energy sources?
  • Which energy source in the U.S. generates the most electricity?
  • Why are fossil fuels so commonly used?
  • Which fossil fuel is most abundant in the U.S.?
  • Which two elements are present in all fossil fuels?
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages to rising oil prices?
  • Renewable energy sources provide what percentage of total U.S. energy consumption?
  • Which of the renewal energy sources are realistic fuels for the future?
  • What roles do conservation and improving energy efficiency have in energy use?

 

Key Terms

  • Renewable- something that can be remade to be used within a short period of time
  • Nonrenewable- something has a definite supply and or cannot be remade to be used within a short period of time
  • Nuclear Fuel Cycle- the series of processes that involve the production of electricity from uranium in nuclear power reactors
  • Fossil fuels- hydrocarbon-based fuels (source of potential energy) formed over millions of years from organic material due to incomplete decomposition and long term exposure to pressure and temperature
  • Laws of thermodynamics- physics principles describing how energy and work in a system
  • Energy efficiency- a measure of input to the output of desired energy often represented as a percentage
  • Potential energy- energy source capable of but not yet converted to another form of energy
  • Kinetic energy- energy associated with motion
  • Entropy- in a system, the decreased availability, increased disorder, of usable energy due to the Second Law of Thermodynamics
  • Fuel- a source of potential energy that can be converted to another form of energy
  • Fuel cell- a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent
  • Conservation - saving resources by using them more efficiently, using less of them, or not using them at all.

 

RESOURCES IN THIS MODULE ARE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER) OR CREATED BY GAVS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. SOME IMAGES USED UNDER SUBSCRIPTION.