Technology 9 Unit 1 Assignment

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

electricity:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.

Turbines in nuclear plants

Hydroelectric stations
Fossil fuels
Solar panels/collectors
Windmills
Batteries
Hydrogen cells

2. The following diagram shows how electricity is distributed from a

power source to homes and business.

Describe the purpose of each of the following items in the

diagram:
i.
ii.
iii.

Transformer
Substation
Explain why electricity is carried at very high voltages
during transmission.

1. i) Turbines in nuclear plants convert the energy from the high

pressure steam to mechanical energy in the form of shaft
rotation so that the generator will turn.

Technology 9 Unit 1 Assignment

ii) A hydroelectric generating station is a plant that produces
electricity by using water to propel the turbines, which, in turn,
drive the generators.
iii) 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) Any of numerous devices or systems designed to capture and
use solar radiation for heating air or water and for producing
steam to generate electricity. Also called collector.
v) A windmill is a mill that converts the energy of wind into
rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades.
vi) a device consisting of two or more electrochemical cells that
convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy
vii) a device that produces electricity by combining a fuel,
usually hydrogen, with oxygen. In this reaction, electrons are
freed from the hydrogen in the fuel cell by a catalyst, and gain
energy from the chemical reaction binding hydrogen and oxygen;
this provides a source for electric current.
2. i) Transformer: Transformers are also used extensively in
electronic products to decrease (or step-down) the supply
voltage to a level suitable for the low voltage circuits they
contain. The transformer also electrically isolates the end user
from contact with the supply voltage.
ii) Substation: The purpose of a substation is to 'step down'
high voltage electricity from the transmission system to lower
voltage electricity so it can be easily supplied to homes and
businesses through our distribution lines.
iii) Electricity is carried at very high voltages during transmission
because it reduces the energy that is lost over long distance
transmissions.