Earth Science: Reviewer Long Quiz
Lesson 5: Energy Sources
Geothermal Energy
- Heat energy stored in the earth, generated by natural sources.
Found from rock and fluids beneath earth’s crust. (magma)
From the Greek Word GEO (earth) THERMOS (heat)
Different Geothermal Sources:
- Natural Steam Reservoirs
- Geo-pressured Reservoirs
- Hot Water Reservoirs
How does the system work:
1. Direct sources function by standing water down a well to be heated by the
earth’s warthm.
2. Then a heat pump is used to take the heat from the underground water to the
substance that heats the house.
3. Then after the water is cooled it is injected back into the earth.
Different types of Geothermal ( 3 diff. types )
➢ Low – Temperature Geothermal Energy;
at 20°c – 90°c, geothermal heat and water is used for geothermal
heating.
➢ Medium – Temperature Geothermal Energy;
at 90°c – 160°c, the water is used on the surface in liquid form. It
transfers its heat to another fluid, which vaporizes at low
temperatures and drives a turbine to generate power.
➢ High – Temperature Geothermal Energy;
above 160°c, the water turns into steam when its reaches the earth’s
surface. It drives a turbine to generate power.
Power Plants – use steam produced from geothermal reservoirs to
generate electricity.
□ DRY STEAM POWERPLANT / PLANT
> use hydrothermal fluids that are primarily steam. The steam
travels directly to a turbine, which drives a generator that produces
electricity.
> the first type of geothermal power generator plants built
> used in the geysere in Northern California, the worlds largest
single source of geothermal power.
□ FLASH STEAM POWERPLANT / PLANT
> the most common type of geothermal power generation plants
in operations today.
□ BINARY STEAM POWERPLANT / PLANT
> the water or steam from the geothermal reservoirs never comes
in contact with the turbine/generation units.
How Geothermal Powerplant Work;
1. Hot water is pumped from the underground and turned into steam in the
flash tank.
2. The steam turns the turbine
3. The turbine turns the generator which products electricity
4. The electricity is exported to the grid.
Hydropower: (hydro energy)
A form of renewable energy that uses the water stored in dams, as well as
flowing in rivers to create electricity in hydropower plants.
Modern Hydropower: sometimes reffered to as “white coal”, is harnessed in
plants where electricity is generated. Hydropower for 16% of electricity world
wide.
3 Main Types of Hydropower plants
1. Impoundment Facility : uses dam to create a large reservoirs of water
2. Pumped – Storage Facility : have a second reservoir below the dam
3. Diversion Facility / Run of river facilities : rely on natural water flow rates,
diverting just a portion of river water through turbines, sometimes without
the use of a dam or reservoir.
3 Main Components of Hydroelectric powerplant
1. Dam – creates a large waterfall and stores enough water to always supply
the plant, helps to regulate flooding.
2. Penstock – channels water from its natural environment to supply the dam
reservoir. (open channel, tunnel, pipeline)
3. Powerhouse – houses the turbines driven by the waterfall and the
generator driven by the turbines.
How do Hydrothermal Work ?
Generator – turned by the turbine – produces electrical energy.
Dam – raises river level creating drop of water
Reservoirs – sources of water
Lesson 6: Earth’s Water Resources and the Effect of Human
Activities on the Water Quality and Availability
Water Quality;
4. Describes the condition of water, including chemical and biological
characteristics usually concerning its sustainability for a particular purpose
such as drinking and swimming.
PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES OF WATER
➢ Temperature (may nakapaloob ata rito guyses)
• thermal capacity – property of a material to absorb heat when it is
heated and to release when it is cooled.
• density – measurement of the mass of a substance or object
• viscosity – tendency of a fluid to resist any change in its motion
• surface tension – tension of the surface film of a fluid caused by
the attraction of the particles in the surface layer by the bulk of the
fluid, which tends to minimize surface area.
• specific conductivity
• salinity
• solubility of dissolved gases
➢ Color – primarily a concern of water quality for a aesthetic reasons.
It can indicate presence of organic substances (algae/humic
compounds)
○ grayish tint (aluminum)
○ blackish (copper, iron, manganese/nuisance bacteria)
○ bluish green (metals)
○ tea (iron)
➢ Taste -
➢ Odor ;
Phenolic/strong smell – petrochemicals and solatile organics
Chemical Smell – synthetic organic compounds and industrial
chemicals
“Methane” – like smell: mercaptons
Oily Smell – gasoline/petrochemicals/surfactants
Rotten egg smell – sulfur, hydrogen, sulfide, microbiological
contaminants
Perfume smell – surfactants
Fishy smell – surfactants, barium, cadmium, high organic matter,
algal blooms in surface water or reactions with chloromine/ammonia
in water
Musty/earthy smell – iron, bacteria , mold, fungi, algal blooms in
surface water sources, or high bacterial count.
Cucumber smell – may be related to algal blooms and iron bacteria.
Chlorine smell – high levels of chlorine and chlorine by products.
➢ Turbidity – measure of light transmitting properties of water
Sources of water: (7 sources of water natural resources) rainwater, oceans, rivers,
lakes, streams, ponds and springs.
(5 man made sources) dams, wells, tube wells, hand-pumps, and canals.
2 Main Sources of Water
• Surface Water
• Underground Water
Water Distribution on Earth
SALINE – 97%
- Found in oceans
Fresh Water – 3%
0.3 % surface water
2% rivers
11% swamps
WATER SCARCITY
- Occurs when the amount of water withdrawn from lakes, rivers, or
groundwater is so great that water supplies are no longer adeguette to
satisfy all human or ecosystem requirements, resulting in increased
competition between water users and other demands.
Human Activities (7)
Sedimentation, pollution, climate change, deforestation, landscape changes, urban
growth, human waste disposal.
