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60 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What are 3 oxidation processes?
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respiration, decomposition, and combustion
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What is coal formed from?
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land plants
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What is the main advantage of oil over coal?
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oil is a liquid
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Which resource is most commonly used to produce ELECTRICITY in the United States?
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coal
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Typical gasoline engine efficiency
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25%
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Which ENERGY resource is used the most in the United States?
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oil
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What type of coal has the highest energy content?
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anthracite
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Where does wasted energy go?
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turns into heat
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What is the main advantage of light crude in comparison to heavy crude oil?
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more gasoline can be refined from a barrel of light crude
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What has produced nuclear waste in the U.S.?
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fusion power plants
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What is the process by which glaciers lose ice?
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ablation
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What natural resource may ultimately limit the development of OIL SHALE deposits in some places?
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water
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GAS HYDRATES may worsen which global environmental problem we are already faced with?
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global warming
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What is one of the principal drawbacks of OIL SHALE as an alternative energy source?
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rock expands so there is a waste problem
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U.S./China % of fossil fuels used for energy
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80%/90%
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What is a major advantage of tar sands?
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much is located near the surface and thus amenable to strip mining
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What is bitumen?
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a type of heavy crude found in tar sands
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What are the advantages of ethanol over gasoline? (3)
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carbon-neutral, can be mixed with gasoline, is renewable
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What is the basic fuel supply used in future fusion-type nuclear reactors?
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water
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What isn't an alternative energy source?
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natural gas
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Gyres?
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surface currents, clockwise in N hemisphere
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Eccentricity?
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shape of Earth's orbit
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Obliquity?
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tilt of Earth's axis
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What is a system of ocean currents that distributes both heat and freshwater around the planet called?
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thermohaline circulation
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What is the comparison of the trapping of heat by CO2 and CH4 (methane)?
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CH4 (methane) traps 21 times more heat than CO2
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If there was no natural greenhouse effect, what would the world avg. temperature be?
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-18 degrees celsius
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Earth's axial tilt varies from...
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22.1 and 24.5
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Climate forcing?
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processes that disrupt Earth's heat balance forcing the climate to change
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El Niño?
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when trade winds slacken, every 3-5 years for 9-12 months, produce dry conditions in western pacific, and damaging floods on coasts of N and S America
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What are the impacts of coal mining? (7)
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subsurface mines & strip mines, mountaintop removal & valley fill, acid mine drainage & coal sludge ponds, and reclamation
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Petroleum use impacts?
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spills, air pollution, and increased emissions (CO2 and methane)
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How is petroleum refined?
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crude oil is heated until vaporized, then DISTILLED to seperate products
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What % of electricity is generated by fossil fuels?
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70%
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What can limited oil lead to?
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high price fluctuations and economic/political crisis
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Before peak and after peak?
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Before peak: discovering faster than using. After peak: less production because of less supply
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When did the U.S. reach peak oil?
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1970
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What are tar sands?
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rocks with thick, viscous hydrocarbons that produce crude oil when heated and processed
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What are oil shales?
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rocks containing kerogen
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What is needed to be done to make a coal bed have a better methane flow?
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groundwater needs to be pumped to lower the water pressure
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What is active solar heating?
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uses a circulating liquid for thermal energy
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What are photovoltaic cells?
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convert solar radiation to electric current
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How do geothermal wells work?
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pump hot water/steam which turns the turbine
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What is fuel for nuclear fusion power plants?
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water
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What is nuclear fission?
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uranium-235 atoms are bombarded by neutrons which then spits and releases heat/energy
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Where do glaciers form?
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ice/snow all year round, high latitudes, and high altitudes
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How does ice flow in flat areas? Where is flow fastest?
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flows outward from thickest areas. flow is fastest in center and near surface.
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What is plucking?
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the incorporation of debris freezing onto base of glacier
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What is abrasion?
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grinding of ice and debris which causes smoothness, polished, and striations
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What is a moraine?
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till deposits at the ice margin
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What is a kame?
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hill from ice melt dropping deposit
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What is a loess?
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result of deposition by wind
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What is the composition of the atmosphere?
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NOACO 78, 21, .9, .04, .06%
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What is albedo?
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reflective or absorbant earth surfaces
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What kind of light is in incoming solar radiation and reradiation?
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incoming: UV, visible, & infrared reradiation: infrared
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What are the 4 main greenhouse gases?
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CO2, CH4 (methane), water vapor, and CFCs
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What is the driving force of climate?
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solar energy
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What are 4 causes of climate change?
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plate tectonics, seafloor spreading, volcanic activity, and orbital variations
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What are Milankovich cycles?
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cycles of the correlation between insolation and glacial periods
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Instrument record vs. Proxy record
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instrument-last 150 years Proxy-last millions of years
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What do global circulation models do?
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predict atmospheric and climactic changes on a global scale
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