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Energy Resources
PRE-LAB QUESTIONS
1.
What is the term for resources which can be used repeatedly and are naturally replenished over time fast enough to keep up with consumption?
Renewable Resources 2.
Name three types of nonrenewable resources.
Oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear energy. 3.
Conventional oil and gas are extracted from porous rock bodies underground known as _C__
rocks.
a.
Source
b.
Peat
c.
Reservoir
d.
Fracking
4.
Name three types of renewable resources.
Wind, solar, hydro.
5.
Photovoltaic cells utilize tiny strips of _
b__
that are joined together into modules.
a.
Biomass
b.
Semiconductors
c.
Turbines
d.
Uranium-235
©eScience Labs, 2018
Energy Resources
EXERCISE 1: ENERGY COMSUMPTION IN THE U.S.A.
Data Sheet
Table 1. Energy Usage by State in 2012
State Name
BTU per Year
Pounds of Coal per Year
Eastern State 1: Florida 136,300,000
14,098
Eastern State 2: Rhode Island
112,900,000
11,678
Central State 1: Iowa 169,800,000
17,563
Central State 2: Colorado
144,700,000
14,967
Western State 1: Oregon
141,800,000
14,667
Western State 2: Alaska
334,200,000
34,568
Exercise 1 Post-Lab Questions
Part 1 Questions:
1.
What are the sources of energy on Earth?`
coal, oil, natural gas, uranium, and biomass
2.
What are the societal impacts of access to energy resources?
The quality of life, national security, environmental quality,
Part 2 Questions:
1.
What are some of the possible major sources of energy consumption in the states you selected?
a.
Eastern States: home heating and cooling, fuel for boats
b.
Central States: Trains, Farm equipment
c.
Western States: Heating, oil
©eScience Labs, 2018
Energy Resources
2.
What are some things you could do to reduce your average daily energy usage?
Being consciousness of you home energy usage, installing solar panels, and increase the use of other modes of transportation.
©eScience Labs, 2018
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Energy Resources
EXERCISE 2: THE DEEPWATER HORIZON INCIDENT
Data Sheet
Background Information Needed to Complete the Assignment:
Diameter of the Deepwater Horizon
drill pipe: 20 inches
Average rate of oil moving through the pipe: 20 inches/second
Area of a circle: πr
2
(
pi times r squared
), where π = 3.14159 and r = the radius of the circle (1/2 of the diameter)
1.
Calculate the interior area of the drill pipe using the formula for the area of a circle. Your answer will be in square inches (in
2
). Show your work below and record your answer in Table 2. 1.
r = 20 / 2 r = 10 inches
2.
A = 3.14159 * (10)^2
A = 314.159 square inches
pipe = 314.159in
2
2.
Calculate the volume of oil escaping the pipe every second by multiplying the interior area of the drill pipe (you calculated above) by the average rate of oil moving through the
pipe. Your answer will be in cubic inches per second (in
3
/s). Show your work below and record your answer in Table 2.
Volume = 314.159 ×20
Volume = 6,283.18
Oil escaping = 6,283in
3
/s
©eScience Labs, 2018
Energy Resources
3.
Calculate the volume of oil escaping the pipe each minute by converting your previous answer to cubic inches per minute (in
3
/min). Remember, there are 60 seconds in 1 minute. Show your work below and record your answer in Table 2.
Volume per minute = 6,283.18 × 60
Volume per minute = 376,989.48
Oil escaping per minute = 376,989.48in
3
/min
4.
Calculate the volume of oil escaping the pipe each hour by converting your previous answer to cubic inches per hour (in
3
/hr). Remember, there are 60 minutes in 1 hour. Show your work below and record your answer in Table 2.
Volume per hour = 376,989.48 × 60
Volume per hour = 22,619,368.8
Oil escaping per hour = 22,619,368.8 in
3
/hr
5.
Calculate the volume of oil escaping the pipe per day by converting your previous answer to cubic inches per day (in
3
/day). Remember, there are 24 hours in 1 day. Show your work and record your answer in Table 2. Volume per day = 22,619,368.8 × 24
Volume per day = 542,864,083.2
Oil escaping per day = 542,864,083.2 in
3
/day
©eScience Labs, 2018
Energy Resources
6.
Convert the volume of oil escaping the pipe per day from cubic inches per day (in
3
/day) to cubic feet per day (ft
3
/day). The conversion factor is 1 in
3
= 0.000579 ft
3
. Show your work below and record your answer in Table 2.
Volume in cubic feet per day = 542,864,083.2 × 0.000579 Volume in cubic feet per day = 314,294.92
Oil escaping(cubic feet) = 314,294.92 ft
3
/day
7.
Convert the volume of oil escaping the piper per day from cubic feet per day (ft
3
/day) to barrels per day (bbl/day). The conversion factor is 1 barrel = 5.61 ft
3
. Show your work below and record your answer in Table 2.
Volume in barrels per day = 314,294.92 / 5.61
Volume in barrels per day = 56,013.55
Volume of barrels escaping per day = 56,013.55 bbl/day
8.
Volume in barrels per day = 314,294.92 / 5.61Volume in barrels per day = 56,013.55Find
the total barrels of oil discharged during the incident by multiplying the barrels of oil escaping the pipe per day by the total length of time the pipe leaked (86 days). Show your work below and record your answer in Table 2.
Total barrels = 56,013.55 × 86 Total barrels = 4,819,160.3
Total number of barrels over 86 days = 4,819,160.3 million barrels
©eScience Labs, 2018
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Energy Resources
9.
Convert the total barrels of oil (bbl) discharged during the incident to total gallons of oil (gal) discharged during the incident. There are 42 gallons in 1 barrel of oil. Show your work below and record your answer in Table 2.
Total gallons = 4,819,160.3 × 42 Total gallons = 202,675,526.6 gal
Table 2. Deepwater Horizon
Flow Rate Calculations
Interior Area of the Drill Pipe (in
2
):
314.159in
2
Volume of Oil Escaping the Pipe Each Second (in
3
/s):
6,283 in3/s
Volume of Oil Escaping the Pipe Each Minute (in
3
/min):
376,989.48 in3/min
Volume of Oil Escaping the Pipe Each Hour (in
3
/hr): 22,619,368.8 in3/hr
Volume of Oil Escaping the Pipe Per Day (in
3
/day):
542,864,083.2 in3/day
Cubic feet of Oil Escaping the Pipe Per Day (ft
3
/day):
314,294.92 ft3/day
Barrels of Oil Escaping the Pipe Per Day (bbl/day):
56,013.55 bbl/day
Total Barrels of Oil Discharged (bbl):
4,819,160.3 million
barrels
Total Gallons of Oil Discharged (gal):
202,675,526.6 gal
©eScience Labs, 2018
Energy Resources
Exercise 2 Post-Lab Questions
1.
After a lengthy series of court cases, The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana officially ruled that 4.0 million barrels of oil were released from the drill pipe during the incident. Was your calculation of the total barrels discharged in relative agreement with this ruling? Explain your reasoning.
I calculated that the total barrels of oil released during the incident was around 4,819,160.3 barrels, while the official ruling stated 4.0 million barrels. My calculated value is higher, possibly due to differences in input data or the way the District Court calculated it.
2.
Calculate the percent error of your determination of the total barrels released (compared to the official court ruling). The equation for percent error is below. Show your work.
Percent Error= ((4,819,160.3−4,000,000) / 4,000,000) × 100%
Percent Error=(819,160.3 / 4,000,000)×100
Percent Error = 20.48%
3.
The Deepwater Horizon
blowout and spill was a human, economic, and environmental disaster. On a fundamental level, our demand for energy is driving the oil and gas industry into more complex and unknown territory, where the consequences of mistakes and accidents become far greater. By drilling in such areas, the energy industry has determined that the monetary rewards of drilling far outweigh the human and environmental risks. Do you agree with this assessment? Explain your reasoning.
I don’t believe that the assessment of human life and the environmental risks far outweigh the monetary gain that the oil produces. Human life and the environment are similar in that once it's gone or disappeared it’s hard to bring back or revive. We should take care of both because although there may seem to be an abundance of people and many species, there are only so many people who are willing to go out to the sea to manage an oil rig and there are only so many species that you can harm before there are serious repercussion to the environment.
©eScience Labs, 2018
Energy Resources
EXERCISE 3: SOLAR ENERGY
Data Sheet
Description of Weather at the Time of the Exercise: is mostly cloudy but an okay amount of sunlight
Table 3. Solar Cell Observations
Environmental Variable
Motor Speed (Select One)*
Direct Sunlight
VF F M S NM
100% Shaded
VF F M S NM
50% Shaded
VF F M S NM
45° Angle Toward Sun
VF F M S NM
45° Angle Away from Sun
VF F M S NM
Under Red Filter
VF F M S NM
Under Blue Filter
VF F M S NM
Under Green Filter
VF F M S NM
Under Yellow Filter
VF F M S NM
*VF = Very Fast; F = Fast; M = Medium; S = Slow; NM = No Motion
Exercise 3 Post-Lab Questions
1.
Develop hypotheses for the efficiency of solar energy for direct sunlight versus the other three variables to be tested:
a.
Direct vs. Indirect (at a 45° angle) Sunlight:
The fan will still spin but most likely have a medium fan speed.
b.
Direct Sunlight vs. Shade: The fan at 50% shade will have a slow fan speed. The
fan with 100% will have no movement.
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Energy Resources
c.
Direct Sunlight vs. Filtered Light: The filtered light will most likely have a medium fan speed.
2.
Based on your results, would you accept or reject your hypotheses in Question 1. Why?
a.
Direct vs. Indirect (at a 45° angle) Sunlight: I would accept the hypothesis because it is still possible to for the fan to reach a medium fan speed at 50% shade but there would have to be more sun.
b.
Direct Sunlight vs. Shade: I would reject the 1
st
part of my hypothesis because after testing the fan could only use have of the solar energy due to the shade. The solar cell would need a lot more solar energy and even on sunny days it would be hard for the fan to reach a medium fan speed due to only being able to use half of the solar cell. For the 2
nd
part of my hypothesis, I would accept it because the solar cell needs solar energy to be able to work properly, and with 100% shade, it doesn’t work properly resulting in no movement.
c.
Direct Sunlight vs. Filtered Light: I would reject the hypothesis because the filters had a variety of effects on the fan. The yellow and red filters had the least negative effect on the fan while the green filter had more of a negative effect in comparison to the red fan. The blue filter had the strongest negative effect on the
fan.
3.
What factors increased the current generated by the solar cell? What factors decreased the current generated by the solar cell? Explain your reasoning based on your data.
The factors that increased the current generated would be the position of the sun and the position of the solar cell. The solar cell would have a stronger current if the sun was right above it. The angle of the solar cell would affect the current generated because it would be pointed directly at the sun the cell can absorb more energy and on cloudy days it would help the solar cell get more energy. The factors that would reduce the current generated are the same as the factors that help generate more solar energy. If the sun is on the horizon there would be less solar energy that the solar cell can absorb and the same applies to the angle at which the solar cell is placed, if the sun is behind the cell the cell will have less energy to absorb. Other factors would be shade, weather, and debris. If plants like trees block the panel the amount of energy the cell reserves is reduced and if leaves from the tree fall on the panel the amount of energy that cells can receive is also reduced. Weather also has a similar effect to shade because if there are very dark clouds the panel will receive almost no energy.
©eScience Labs, 2018
Energy Resources
4.
Below is an image of the electromagnetic spectrum. The Sun produces radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, but solar panels only use radiation within the visible
light range to produce electricity. Most solar cells produce their maximum energy output from light that has a wavelength around 700 nm (nanometers). Do your exercise results agree with this energy output trend? Explain why or why not.
Electromagnetic radiation is classified by its wavelength and separated into different types of
waves (nm = nanometers).
My results would mostly agree with the spectrum. The green and blue filters had the most impact on the cell because the cell produces the most amount of energy in around 700nm range. The results for the range of 700nm disagree with the output trend because I had the highest fan speed with the yellow filter which is close to 600-650nm range and the red filter had the 2
nd
best result.
5.
How could you increase the overall electricity generated by a solar cell throughout the day as the Sun’s angle in the sky changes?
I would make sure that the position of the solar cell is directed at the sun as much as possible and try my best to remove things that could cause shade.
©eScience Labs, 2018
Energy Resources
6.
Based on the overall climate and environment where you live, would solar panels work well for your home? Explain. I don’t believe that solar panels could work well because there would be too meany trees that would cause shade and block the sun. The only time of day that it would work is around 12am to 5pm. ©eScience Labs, 2018
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