Energy Consumption Reading Questions Part II

What are some ways that electricity can be used? (209)

Electricity can be used to power lights, operate electronic devices such as televisions, and even to charge electric cars to name a few examples. Electricity is essential to our everyday life in the modern world. 

What are some uses for hydrogen fuel cells? (209) 

Hydrogen fuel cells can be used to replace batteries such as those in cell phones, laptops, or electric cars. 

What are some pros and cons of storing energy as hydrogen? In batteries? In flywheels? (209)

Hydrogen can be used to store chemical energy. Batteries are the most common source of energy storage and can range in size to power anything from a watch or hearing aid to a car or even parts of a power plant. Flywheels are used in electric motors to capture kinetic energy. While all of these sources have their own pros, one major con is that all of three of these sources are not 100% efficient. Each time energy is transfered, some energy is lost in the process.

How do policy decisions affect the development of energy technologies? (210)

Policy can affect the development of energy technologies by determining how much time, research, and money goes into the development process. Policy can have both positive and negative effects on development, all depending on what type of policy is being passed. Some policies may favor research in alternative sources of energy such as wind or solar while others may do just the opposite.

Image 1: http://investingreenenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/off-grid-lighting-technology-home.jpg

Image 2: http://images.anandtech.com/doci/7324/5battery_678x452.jpg

Image 3: https://grist.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/solar-panels-homepage.jpg

Energy Overview Activity

Hello, everyone!

Today was the start of a new trimester. To kick things off, my Honors Environmental Science class broke into small groups and completed an energy chart. The goal of this chart was to test our knowledge of energy along with how it is transferred. The parameters were to sketch how we believed energy transferred from the Sun to an eagle in mid-flight. Below is my group's interpretation. We hypothesized that the thermal energy from the Sun transfers chemical energy to the grass to help it grow. We then hypothesized that that small rodents, like mice, consume the grass in another chemical energy transfer. Then, the eagle consumes mice in yet another chemical energy transfer ignored to have enough energy to fly.