Geothermal Energy Quiz

<p>5-8 km</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Pumping heated underground water to the surface</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Water</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>California</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Low temperature resources</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>They don't burn fuel to generate electricity</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Along major plate boundaries</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Hydrothermal resources have two common ingredients: water and heat. Depending on the temperature, the heat energy can be used for making electricity. High temperature hydrothermal resources (250-700°F, 150-370°C) can be used to make electricity by drilling wells into the Earth and piping the steam or hot water to the surface.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Some visible features of geothermal energy are volcanoes, hot springs, geysers, and fumaroles. Geologists use different methods to find geothermal reservoirs, and the only way to be sure there is a reservoir is to drill a well and test the temperature deep underground.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Geothermal power plants do not have to transport fuel, as they sit on top of their fuel source.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Geothermal energy produces almost 16 billion kilowatt-hours, or less than one percent of the electricity produced in the U.S. Geothermal energy does little damage to the environment and produces almost no emissions because it does not burn fuel to generate electricity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Most geothermal power plants in the U.S. are located in California, Nevada, Utah, Hawaii, Oregon, Idaho, and New Mexico. The widely used type of geothermal energy to make electricity is hydrothermal energy.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Geothermal energy is generated in the Earth’s core, almost 4,000 miles beneath the Earth’s surface, where very hot magma surrounds a solid iron center. The immense pressure on the core and mantle continuously produces very high temperatures. Rocks in the crust are also warmed by the slow radioactive decay of rock particles, and magma comes close to the Earth’s surface near the edges of tectonic plates, where volcanoes occur. The heat from this magma is absorbed by rocks and water in the crust, which can be pumped to the surface to harness geothermal energy.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The mantle is about 1,800 miles thick and is made of magma and rock. It surrounds the outer core and is located between the core and the Earth's crust. The heat from the mantle contributes to the generation of geothermal energy.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The outermost layer of the Earth, the crust, is not a solid piece but is broken into pieces called plates. It forms the continents and ocean floors and is three to five miles thick under the oceans and 15 to 35 miles thick on the continents.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Geothermal energy is harnessed by digging wells to pump heated, underground water to the surface. This heat can be used for heating homes and buildings, as well as for producing electricity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Magma comes close to the Earth’s surface near the edges of tectonic plates, where volcanoes occur. This proximity to tectonic plate boundaries contributes to the concentration of geothermal activity in these areas.</p> Signup and view all the answers