Energy Sources

1) State the characteristics which a source of energy must have.

Ans:-
i. It should provide an adequate amount of useful energy at a steady rate
over a long time.
ii. It should be safe and convenient to use.
iii. It should be economical.
iv. It should be easy to store and transport.

2) Write the difference between renewable and non-renewable sources of

energy giving examples.
Ans:-
Renewable sources Non-renewable sources
(i) These are the sources from (i) These are the sources from which
which energy can be obtained energy cannot be continuously
continuously over a long period of obtained over a long period of time.
time.
(ii) They will not get exhausted. (ii) They will get exhausted with time.
(iii) Example:- sun, wind, flowing (iii) Example:- coal, petroleum, natural
water, bio mass, tides, oceans, gas
geo thermal spots, nuclear fuel
etc

3) Why the use of wood as a fuel is not advisable although wood is a renewable
source of energy?
Ans: Wood generally takes a long time to get renewed. Trees take more than
15 years of time to grow fully so that their wood can be used as fuel. More
over cutting of forests in large scale causes depletion of forests which results
in global warming and environmental imbalance. Therefore the use of wood as
a fuel not advisable although wood is a renewable source of energy.

4) What do you mean by the following:

(a) Solar energy, (b) Wind energy, (c) Hydro energy, (d) Biomass,
(e) Bioenergy (f) Tidal energy, (g) Ocean thermal energy,
(h) Oceanic or Sea waves energy, (i) Geothermal energy, (j) Nuclear energy
Ans:
 (a) Solar energy:- The energy obtained from the sun mainly in the form of heat
and light is called solar energy.
(b) Wind energy:- The kinetic energy possessed by wind is called wind energy.
(c) Hydro energy:- The kinetic energy possessed by the flowing water is called
hydro energy.
(d) Biomass:- The wastes and dead parts of living beings like plants, trees and
animals is called biomass.
(e) Bioenergy:- The chemical energy stored in the biomass is called bioenergy.
(f) Tidal energy:- The energy possessed by rising and falling water in tides is
known as tidal energy.
(g) Ocean thermal energy:- The heat energy available due to the difference in
temperature of water at the surface and at deeper levels of ocean is ocean
thermal energy.
(h) Oceanic or Sea waves energy:- The kinetic energy possessed by fast
moving oceanic or sea waves is known as oceanic or sea waves energy.
(i) Geothermal energy:- The heat energy possessed by rocks inside the earth is
called geothermal energy.
(j) Nuclear energy:- The energy obtained from certain substances as a result of
loss of nuclear mass is known as nuclear energy.

5) What is a solar power plant? Briefly explain its working.

Ans:- A solar power plant is a device in which heat energy of the sun is used to
generate electricity. It works as follows:
i. A solar power plant consists of a number of big concave reflectors. This
solar reflector reflects the sun rays and thus helps in concentrating the
solar heat at its focus.
ii. At the focus of the reflector, there are black painted water pipes. So the
water inside the pipes absorb the solar heat and boil to form steam.
iii. The steam thus produced is then pressurized sufficiently and is used to
rotate the steam turbine.
iv. The rotating turbine then drives the generator to produce electricity.

6) What is a solar cell?

Ans:- A solar cell is a device which converts solar energy directly into the
electricity. It is made from semiconductors like silicon or gallium with some
impurities added in it in a controlled manner. When sunlight falls on an
impurity added semiconductor, a potential difference is produced between its
 surfaces. Hence a current flows in the circuit connected between the opposite
faces of the semiconductor.

7) What is a solar panel?

Ans:- A solar panel is an arrangement of number of solar cells joined in series.
It done so to produce a significant amount of electricity.

8) Write the advantages and disadvantages of solar panel.

Ans:- Advantages—
i. They do not cause any environment pollution.
ii. They do not require any maintenance and their running cost is almost zero.
iii. They are most suitable for the remote and inaccessible areas where electric
power lines cannot be laid.
Disadvantages—
i. The efficiency of conversion of solar energy to electricity is low.
ii. A solar panel produces d.c. electricity which cannot be directly used for
many household appliances.
iii. The initial cost of a solar panel is high.

9) Briefly explain how wind is used to generate electricity.

Ans:- A wind generator is used to convert wind energy into electrical energy.
Wind has kinetic energy which makes the blades of a large wind mill or wind
turbine to rotate. The shaft of the wind turbine is coupled to the armature of a
wind generator. So the rotating wind turbine drives the generator and
produces electricity. To generate a large amount of electricity, a number of
wind generators are arranged in series over a big area called a wind farm.

10) Write the advantages and disadvantages of using wind energy to generate
electricity.
Ans:- Advantages—
i. No pollution is caused to the environment.
ii. Wind is an everlasting source of energy.
Disadvantages—
i. A wind farm can be established only at places near the coastal areas
where wind blows around the year steadily with a speed not less than
15 kmh-1.
ii. A large tract of land is required to set up a wind farm.
 iii. The establishment cost of a wind farm is very high.

11) What is hydroelectric power (hydroelectricity)? Briefly explain its

generating procedure.
Ans:- The electricity obtained from hydro energy using turbines is known as
hydroelectricity or hydroelectric power. It is generated in a hydroelectric
power plant.
The water of a flowing river is checked and stored in a dam
generally built at high altitude. The stored water has potential energy. When
water from the dam falls on the turbine, the potential energy of water changes
to kinetic energy. This kinetic energy of water makes the blades of the turbine
to rotate. The shaft of the turbine is coupled to the armature of a generator.
So the rotating turbine drives the generator and produces electricity.

12) Write the advantages and disadvantages of using hydro energy to

generate electricity.
Ans:- Advantages—
i. No pollution is caused to the environment.
ii. Water is a renewable source of energy.
iii. The dams constructed over the rivers are helpful in irrigation and to
control floods in rivers.
Disadvantages—
i. The flowing water is not available everywhere.
ii. A large tract of land gets inundated in the dam causing people to
migrate and plants, animals of that place get destroyed or killed.
iii. The establishment cost of a hydro power plant is very high.

13) Name the process used to produce electricity from nuclear energy. Name
a substance used for this purpose. Name the device in which this process is
carried out.
Ans:-
i. A controlled chain reaction of nuclear fission is the process by which
electricity can be produced from nuclear energy.
ii. A substance like uranium-235 or plutonium-239 is used for this purpose.
iii. The above process is carried out in a device known as a Nuclear Reactor.

14) What is a nuclear power plant? Briefly explain its working.

 Ans:-
i. A nuclear power plant is a set up in which electricity is produced from
nuclear energy.
ii. The main part of a nuclear power plant is a nuclear reactor in which a
chain reaction of nuclear fission of uranium-235 or plutonium-239 takes
place in a controlled manner.
iii. This process releases a large amount of nuclear energy in the form of
heat. This heat is absorbed by a coolant which then passes through the
coils of a heat exchanger containing water.
iv. The water in the heat exchanger gets heated and turns into steam. The
steam thus produced is then pressurized sufficiently and is used to
rotate the steam turbine. The rotating turbine then drives the
generator to produce electricity.

15) Write any two advantages of using nuclear energy to generate electricity.
Ans:- (1) A small amount of nuclear fuel can produce a tremendous amount
of nuclear energy which in turn can be used to produce large amount of
electricity.
(2) Once the nuclear fuel is loaded into a nuclear power plant, it continues
to release energy over a long period of time.
16) Write any two limitations of using nuclear energy to generate electricity.
Ans:- (1) It is not a clean source of energy as harmful radioactive radiations
are produced which can cause health hazard.
(2) The disposal of nuclear waste released from a nuclear power plant is not
very easy and that causes environmental pollution.

17) Name some nuclear power plants located in India.

Ans:- (1) at Tarapur in Maharashtra
(2) at Rana Pratap Sagar in Rajasthan
(3) at Kalpakkam in Tamilnadu
(4) at Narora in Uttar Pradesh