Final Assessment – Fossil Fuels and Alternative Energy Sources

Energy, Earth, and Oil – Answer 3 of the following 5 questions.

1. What is a hydrocarbon and why is it named that? What is a fossil fuel and why is it named that? What is meant by a petrochemical?
2. What are the most important fossil fuels? What is meant by the term reserves? What are the relative sizes of the energy reserves represented by the fossil fuels that you listed in your answer to the first part of this question?
3. How did there come to be such dramatic differences in the availability of fossil fuels with respect to ones' location on the earth? What regions of the world have the most abundant supply of each of the major fossil fuels?
4. What are the methods currently employed in making each of the fossil fuels available for use?
5. When is the planet going to run out of fossil fuels? What are the most important factors in answering that question?

Fossil Fuel Impact – Answer 2 of the following 3 questions

1. Name at least 3 (bonus points for more than 3) major environmental problems related to the use of fossil fuel. Explain the ecological, scientific, and economic ramifications of these problems.
2. What are hydrocarbons/fossil fuels/petrochemicals used for? What are the implications of running out of these raw materials?
3. Describe some of the geopolitical issues that arise as a result of the world's reliance on fossil fuels. Have countries with large supplies of oil and fossil fuels used these resources wisely and to the benefit of their citizens? Give examples.

The Rest of the World

1. Pick a country or a region (out of a selection, not one that your group studied), pick up respective data sets (supply, consumption) for that country/region, and describe the following:

1. The supply of fossil fuels and the net contribution or consumption of energy to the world supply over time.
2. A historical summary of the role this country or region played in our current energy situation.
3. The major alternative energy sources and the reason why they are the most important.

1. With respect to fossil fuels, why does quantification of the reserves require one to assume a specific market price for the end product. Draw a graph demonstrating the relationship between the price of oil, and available reserves.
2. Discuss issues of energy transmission and storage as related to alternative energy production.
3. With each data set, name the optimal regression that describes both data sets.
4. How accurately does this regression represent the data?
5. If this regression is an accurate indication of what will happen, when will the supply of oil run out for that country?

Alternative Energy Sources – Go to the matrix on the last page of this exam.

Supplemental (Required of students not receiving an adequate score on the Energy Summit participation grade.)

1. What are your recommendations regarding the creation of a sustainable energy policy for one of the following entities – Austin , Texas , the US , or the World?

Bonus (The Future) – Up to 5 points bonus for each question.

1. What role does conservation play in addressing the problem of world energy supply? What methods of conservation are important, and what is their potential impact?
2. List and explain at least 3 ways that an individual person can impact our energy future?
3. What countries are likely to be the key participants in planning and executing a policy of sustainable energy supply and utilization? What is it about these countries that makes them the most important participants?

Alternative Energy Sources – First list at least 5 alternative energy sources, then match the characteristics in the right hand column with those sources. Score equals number correct minus the number incorrect.