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Chapter 17
Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Energy | The ability to do work or cause a change |
| Kinetic energy | The energy that an object has due to its motion. |
| Potential energy | The energy that an object has because of it's position or shape. |
| Combustion | The process in which a fuel burns because it combines rapidly with oxygen. |
| Energy efficieny | An expression of how much of the energy put into a system actually does useful work |
| Renewable energy | Nearly always available some-where on Earths surface, or they are replaced in a relatively short time. |
| Non-renewable energy | In contrast, cannot be replaced. Things such as fossil fuels, coal, oil and natural gas. |
| Electricity | The energy made available by the flow of an electric charge, is considered a secondary source of energy because it must be produced using a primary energy resource. |
| Strip Mining | Is the extraction of a mineral by removing a strip of layers soil and rock on top of the mineral deposit. |
| Subsurface mining | Is typically the practice of digging shifts deep into the ground to find and remove a mineral. |
| Petroleum | A dark, liquid fossil fuel made up by mostly of hydro-carbons. |
| Petrochemicals | Chemicals compounds that are derived from oil and used to make products. |
| Oil sands | Deposits of moist sand and clay containing bitumen. |
| Oil shale | A rock filled with a mixture of hydro carbons . |
| Methane hydrate | Is an ice like solid that consists of molecules of methane within a crystal network of water molecules. |
| Acid drainage | Occurs when sulfide minerals in exposed rock surfaces react with oxygen and rainwater to produce sulfuric acid. |
| Energy conservation | The practice of reducing energy use to meet goals. |
| Nuclear energy | The energy that holds these particles together in the nucleus. |
| Nuclear fission | The splitting of an atoms nucleus into two smaller nuclei. |
| Nuclear reactor | A nuclear power plant contains a __ |
| Meltdown | The fuel rods produced so much heat that they melted a condition known as __ |
| Nuclear waste | Nuclear power plants produce a __ |
| Nuclear fusion | Small nuclei of lightweight elements are forced together to form a heavier nucleus. |