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Technology 9 Unit 1 Assignment

1. Describe the following sources that can be used to produce


electricity:

i.

Turbines in nuclear plants


A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in
which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical
in all conventional thermal power stations the heat is
used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine
connected to an electric generator which produces
electricity.

ii.

Hydroelectric stations
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity
generated by hydropower; the production of electrical
power through the use of the gravitational force of
falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form
of renewable energy, accounting for 16 percent of global
electricity.

iii.

Fossil fuels
Fossil fuel is a general term for buried combustible
geologic deposits of organic materials, formed from
decayed plants and animals that have been converted to
crude oil, coal, natural gas, or heavy oils by exposure to
heat and pressure in the earth's crust over hundreds of
millions of years.

iv.

Solar panels/collectors
Solar panel refers to a panel designed to absorb the
sun's rays as a source of energy for generating electricity
or heating.

v.

Windmills

Technology 9 Unit 1 Assignment


A windmill is a mill that converts the energy of wind
into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or
blades
vi.

Batteries
An electric battery is a device consisting of two or more
electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical
energy into electrical energy. Each cell has a positive
terminal, or cathode, and a negative terminal, or anode.

vii.

Hydrogen cells
A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy
from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction
of positively charged hydrogen ions with oxygen or
another oxidizing agent. Fuel cells are different from
batteries in that they require a continuous source of
fuel and oxygen or air to sustain the chemical reaction,
whereas in a battery the chemicals present in the
battery react with each other to generate an
electromotive force (emf).

2. The following diagram shows how electricity is


distributed from a power source to homes and business.

Technology 9 Unit 1 Assignment

Describe the purpose of each of the following items in the


diagram:
i.

Transformer
Transformers (sometimes called "voltage
transformers") are devices used in electrical circuits
to change the voltage of electricity flowing in the
circuit. Transformers can be used either to increase
the voltage (called "stepping up") or decrease the
voltage ("step down").

ii.

Substation
A substation is a part of an electrical generation,
transmission, and distribution system. Substations
transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or
perform any of several other important functions.
Between the generating station and consumer,
electric power may flow through several substations
at different voltage levels.

iii.

Explain why electricity is carried at very high


voltages during transmission.

Technology 9 Unit 1 Assignment


Electricity is carried at very high voltages during
transmission because when electricity travels long
distances it is better to have it at higher voltages.
Another way of saying this is that electricity can be
transferred more efficiently at high voltages.

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