SOURCES OF ENERGY

Q1.What are the non- renewable and renewable sources of energy?

Ans:-Those sources of energy which have accumulated in nature over a very, very long time and cannot be quickly
replaced when exhausted are called non-renewable sources of energy.
Eg:-Coal, Petroleum, natural gas.
Those sources of energy which are being produced continuously in nature and are in-exhaustible are called
renewable sources of energy.
Eg:-Hydro energy, wind energy, Geo-thermal energy, biomass energy.
Q2.What are fuels?
Ans:-The materials which are burnt to produce that heat energy are known as fuels. Eg: -Wood, Petroleum, Coal.
Q3.Define Calorific value?
Ans:-The amount of heat produce by burning a unit mass of the fuel completely is known its calorific value.
Q4.Define ignition temperature?
Ans:-The minimum temperature to which a fuel must be heated so that it may catch fire and start burning is known
as its ignition temperature.
Q5.State few characteristics of good fuel.
Ans:-A few characteristics of good fuel are:-
1.It should have a high calorific value.
2.It should have a proper ignition temperature.
3.It should be cheap and easily available.
4.It should burn without giving out any smoke or harmful gases.
5.It should burn smoothly.
Q6.Define conventional sources of energy.
Ans:-The traditional sources of energy which are familiar to most people are called conventional sources of
energy.Eg:-Coal, Petroleum, natural gas.
Q7.What are fossil fuel?
Ans:-A natural fuel formed deep under the earth from the prehistoric remains of living organisms like plants and
animals is called a fossil fuel. Eg:- Coal, Petroleum and natural gas.
Q8.Give reasons:-Core is better fuel than coal.
Ans:-Core is better fuel than coal because it produces more heat (than an equal mass of coal)and it doesnot produce
smoke while burning.
Q9.Describe the main constituent of petroleum .
Ans:-The main constituent of petroleum gas is butane.
Q10.State the constituents of LPG.
Ans:-LPG consists mainly of butane, along with smaller amounts of propane and ethane which has been liquefied by
applying pressure.
Q11.Name the substance which gives a foul smell to LPG.
Ans:-Ethyl mercaptan(C2H5SH)
Q12.State a few advantages of LPG.
Ans:-A few advantages are:-
1.LPG has a high calorific value.So it is a good fuel.
2.LPG burns with a smokeless flame and so it doesnot cause air pollution.
3.LPG doesnot produce any poisonous gas on burning.
4.LPG is easy to handle and convenient to store.
5.LPG is a very neat and clean domestic fuel.
Q13.Write the constitutents of natural gas.
Ans:-Natural gas consist mainly of Methane (CH4) with small quantities of Ethane and Propane.
Q14.What is thermal power plant?
Ans:-A power plant in which the heat require to make steam to drive turbans is obtain by burning fossil fuel like
coal,oil and gas is called thermal power plant.
Q15.What do you mean by alternative sources of energy?
Ans:-Those sources of energy which are not based on the burning splitting of atoms of nuclear fuels are called
alternative sources of energy. Eg:-Hydroelectric energy, wind energy, solar energy.
Q16.What is a hydro power plant? How electricity is generated in this plant?
Ans:-A power plant that produces electricity by using flowing water to rotate turbine is called hydro power plant.
Rain flowing on the high ground in hilly areas flows down as rivers. In order to produce electricity, a high rise dam is
built to stop the flowing river water. Due to this a large lake or reservoir builds up behind the dam. In this way the
kinetic energy of the flown river water is converted in to the potential energy of water store behind the dam.
The sluice gates at half of the height of dam are depend to allow some of the stored water to
escape.This water is taken through pipe to the Turbine T installed at the bottom of the dam. Since the water falls
down through a large height from the dam.It flows very fast.A high pressure jet of fast flowing water pushes on the
blades of turbine with a great force and makes the turbine rotates rapidly.The turbine is connected to generator
through its shaft S.When the turbine rotates,its shaft also rotates and drives the generator. The generator produces
electricity.
Q17.State few advantages and disadvantages of generating hydro-electricity.
Ans:-Advantages:-
1.The generation of electricity from flowing water does not produce any environmental pollution.
2.Flowing water is a renewable source of electric energy which will never get exhausted.
3.The construction of dams on rivers help in constructing floods and irrigation.
Disadvantages:-
1.Large areas of agriculture land ,a vast variety of flora and fauna as well as human settlement get submerged in the
water of reservoir formed by the dam.
2.Large ecosystem are destroyed when land is submerged under the water of reservoir of a dam.
3.Due to the construction of dam on the river the fish in the down stream area not get sufficient nutrient
due to which the production of fish decreases rapidly.
Q18.State the advantages and disadvantages of wind energy.
Ans:-Advantages:-
1.The advantage of using wind energy for generating electricity is that its use does not cause any pollution.
2.Wind energy is a renewable source of energy which will never get exhausted.
Disadvantages:-
1.Wind energy farm cannot be established everywhere.The wind energy can established only at those places where
wind blows for most part of the year.
2.The wind required for generating electricity should be strong and steady to maintain the desired level of
generation.
3.The wind energy farms require a large area of land.
4.The setting up of wind energy farm is very expensive.
Q19.What is a solar cooker?State the advantages and disadvantages of solar cooker.
Ans:-The solar cooker is a device which is used to cook food by utilizing the heat energy by the sun.
Advantages:-
1.The use of solar cooker for cooking food saves precious fuel like coal,kerosene and LPG
2.The use of solar cooker does not produce smoke due to which it does not pollute air.
3.When food is cooked in solar cooker,its nutrient do not get destroyed. This is because in a solar cooker, food is
cooked at a comparatively lower temperature.
4.In a solar cooker, up to food items can be cooked at the same time.
Disadvantages:-
1.The solar cooker cannot be used to cook food during night because sun here is not available at that time.
2.If the day sky is covered with clouds even then solar cooker cannot be used to cook food.
3.The direction of reflection of solar cooker to be changed from time to time to keep it facing the sun.
4.The box type solar cooker cannot be for baking or frying.
Q20.What is a solar cell?
Ans:-A solar cell is a device which converts solar energy directly into electricity.
Q21.What kind of mirror would be best suited for use in a solar cooker and why?
Ans:-In order to achieve higher temperature required for baking and frying ,spherical reflector type solar
cooker,having a concave reflector,is used.When a concave mirror reflector is attached to a solar cooker it covers a
large amount of sun’s heat rays as its focus due to which a high temperature is produced in the focus area.Thus a
concave mirror reflector is best suited for use in a solar cooker.
Q22.What are biomass?
Ans:- The dead parts of plants and trees,and the waste materials of animals are called biomass.
Q23.Give reasons-
Charcoal is better fuel than wood.
Ans:Charcoal is better fuel than wood because:-
1.Charcoal has a higher calorific value than wood.
2.Charcoal does not produce smoke while burning whereas wood produces a lot of smoke and pollute the air.
3.Charcoal is a compact fuel which is easy to handle and convenient to use.
Q24.Describe a bio gas plant.
Ans:-A biogas plant is consists of a well-shaped underground tank called digester which is made of bricks and has a
done dome shaped roof, also made of cement and bricks. There is a gas outlet at the top of the dome having a valve
.On the left side of the digester tank is a sloping in let chamber and on the right side is a rectangular outlet chamber
,both made of bricks .The inlet chamber is for introducing fresh dung slurry.The outlet chamber is connected to a
mixing tank while the outlet chamber is connected to the overflow tank .
Cow dung and water are mixed in equal proportions in the mixing tank to prepare the
slurry. This slurry of dung water is fed into the digestor tank through the inlet chamber. It takes 50 to 60 days for
new gas plant to become operative. During this period, the cow dung undergoes degradation by anaerobic bacteria
in the presence of water with the gradual evolution of bio gas. The biogas starts collecting in the dome.
Q25.State the few uses of biogas.
Ans:-The uses are:-
1.Biogas is used as a fuel for cooking food.
2.Biogas is also used for lighting.
3.Biogas is used as a fuel to run engines.
4.Biogas is used for generating electricity.
Q26.What is ocean thermal energy?
Ans:-The energy available due to the difference in the temperature of the water at the surface of the ocean and
deeper level is called ocean thermal energy.
Q27.What is Geo-thermal energy?
Ans:-Geo-thermal energy is the heat energy from the rocks present inside the earth.It is one of the few sources of
energy that does not come directly or indirectly from solar energy.
Q28.State a few advantages and disadvantages of geo thermal energy.
Ans:-Advantages:-
1.It is economical.
2.The use of geothermal energy does not cause any pollution.
Disadvantages:-
1.It is not available everywhere.
2.Deep drilling in the earth to obtain this energy is technically very difficult and expensive.
Q29.What is nuclear energy?
Ans: The energy released during during a nuclear reaction is called nuclear energy.
Q30.Define nuclear fission and nuclear fusion.
Ans:-The process in which the heavy nucleus of a radioactive atom such as uranium ,buitoneum etc.splits up in to
smaller nuclei when bomb with low energy neutrons is called nuclear fission.
The process in which two nuclei of light element combine to form a heavy nucleus is called nuclear fusion.
Q31.State the unit in which nuclear energy is expressed.
Ans:-Electron Volt (EV)
Q32.What is IeV?
Ans:-IeV is the amount of energy acquired by an electron having a charge of 1.602X10-19.When accelerated through a
potential difference of 1 volt.
So, IeV= 1.602X 10-19 J
Q33.State few advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy.
Ans:-Advantages:-
1.It produces a large amount of useful energy.
2.It does not produce gases like CO2 and help to reduce green house effect and acid rain.
Disadvantages:-
1.The waste products of nuclear fission are radioactive.So it is very difficult to store or dispose the nuclear waste
safely.
2.The cost of installation of nuclear power plants are very high.
3.There is the risk of accident in nuclear reaction which may lead to the leakage of radioactive materials and can
cause serious damage to the environment.
Q34.If you could use any source of energy for your food, which one would you use and why?
Ans:-I would use LPG, because-
1.It has a high calorific value.
2.It do not produce any harmful gas.
3.It burns with a smokeless flame.
4.It does not leave behind any ash.
Q35.What are the disadvantages of fossil fuels?
Ans:-1.These are non-renewable sources of energy.
2.It may cause acid rain.
3.It also increases green-house effect.
4.The poisonous gases generated from fossil fuels may cause serious health problem.
Q36.Why are we looking at alternate sources of energy.
Ans:-The fossil fuels and nuclear fuels present in earth are limited and may get exhausted.
2.These fuels cause environmental pollution.
Q37.How has the traditional use of wind and water energy been modified for our convenience?
Ans:-1.The traditional use of wind energy has been modified to generate electricity through wind power generator.
2.The traditional use of water energy has been modified to generate electricity through flowing water power
generators.
Q38.What are the limitation of the energy that can be obtained from the oceans?
Ans:-There are very few places around the world where dams can be built to harness tidal energy.Moreover ,only
high tides and low tides is not enough to generate electricity on a large scale.
2.The wave energy on be harnessed only at those places where sea waves are verystrong.Moreover , threre is a
heavy cost of installation of power plant.
3.A temperature difference of 200 or more between the surface water and deeper water of oceans is necessary to
harness OTE and as well as it is very expensive to establish OTE power plant.
Q39.Can any sources of energy be pollution free?
Ans:-No,no sources of energy can be said to be pollution free.For eg:-Obtaining energy from wind generator or solar
cooker is pollution free but the processes involved in making the materials for these devices cause some pollution.
Q40.Hydrogen has been used as a rocket fuel.Would you consider it a cleaner fuel than CNG?
Ans:-Hydrogen is a cleaner fuel than CNG.This is because the burning of hydrogen produces only water,which is
totally harmless.On the other hand burning of CNG produces CO2 which cause green-house effect.
Q41.Name two energy sources that you would considered to be renewable.
Ans:-1.Hydroenergy,because it is supplied by water cycle in nature.
2.Biomass energy contained in wood because if trees are cut from forest for obtaining wood than more trees will
grow in forest in due course of time.
Q42.Give the name of two energy sources that you would considered to be exhaustable.
Ans:-Coal and petroleum.This is because these are fossil fuels which are formed in the earth over a period of millions
of years.If exhausted these will take millions of years to form again.
Q43.Compare and contrast fossil fuel and sun as direct source of energy.
Ans:-1.Sun is renewable source of energy but fossil fuels are nonrenewable source of energy.
2.Sun’s energy does not cause pollution but fossil fuel cause a lot of pollution.
3.Sun’s energy is only available during day time but fossil fuel can be used all the time.
4.The sun’s energy is available in scattered form but fossil fuel provides energy in concentrated form.
Q44.Compare and contrast biomass and hydro electricity.
Ans:-1.The use of biomass cause air pollution but the hydro electricity is pollution free.
2.Biomass gives heat energy which is used for cooking and heating only.But hydro electricity can run all types of
electrical appliances.