Photovoltaics
What is the function of photovoltaics (PV)
Converting light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect
Who are typically stakeholders in environmental policy?
People affected by the policy
What is Avogadro's number, and its function 🥑
6.022 x 1023 / represents the number of particles (atoms, molecules, or ions) in one mole of a substance?
How much water is used in a 100-word AI prompt?
One bottle of water
What are types of space debris?
Old satellites, rocket parts, or other objects left in orbit create hazards for future missions.
What is the emission amount of PV
ZERO emissions during operation!
→ Significantly reduces greenhouse gases
→ Improves air quality
→ Photovoltaic (PV) systems can produce energy equal to the energy used to manufacture it within 1-4 years!
What is the definition & importance of biodiversity?
the variety of life on Earth at all its levels, from genes to ecosystems (can encompass the evolutionary, ecological, and cultural processes that sustain life)
→ Relationships we form and strive for with each other and the rest of nature
→ Higher level of diversity = higher chance of survival for all species, including humans,
What is the reason why ice floats
density and hydrogen bonding?
→ Ice is ~9% less dense than water
→ When frozen, hydrogen bonds arrange ice molecules into a rigid, hexagonal crystal lattice that increases the space between them (Ice occupies MORE volume for SAME mass = lighter than liquid water)
What AI technique involves teaching a computer to learn from experience and make decisions?
reinforcement learning
Orville and Wilbur achieved the first sustained, controlled, powered heavier-than-air flight on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. What is it called?
The Wright Flyer
There are 2 main parts to a solar cell- n type and p-type. What does n and p stand for?
negative and positive
What is a keystone Species?
a species (usually top predator) in which other species in an ecosystem largely depend on
→ Introducing or taking away a keystone species would cause a trophic cascade (damaging ripple effect in food chain)
What is a compound that has trigonal bipyramidal molecular geometry + hybdrization (state)
PCl5 + sp3d hybridization (Potential answer)
→ Check other answers
What is the difference in the environmental implications of CPU (central processing unit) & GPU (graphics processing unit)?
→ GPUs are utilized in computing results in intensive AI workloads
Power required to manufacture GPU > simpler CPU...
→ Fabrication process is more complex
→ GPU’s carbon footprint is compounded by the emissions related to material and product transport
→ Obtaining raw materials for GPUs involve dirty mining procedures and the use of toxic chemicals for processing
What is the ethical risk when COST is favored over SAFETY?
withholding risk information
What is the sun's role in generating solar power from a PV cell
light energy releasing electrons from the n-type layer
What is the chemical buildup in organisms, often caused by pesticides, called?
Bioaccumulation
In a Levenspiel plot, a reactant's molar flow rate over it's reaction rate is plotted versus what variable?
conversion!
→ Used to find the volume
What was AI data centers' global electricity consumption percentage? (2024/2025)
1.5% of the WORLD'S electricity consumption
→ Demand is projected to DOUBLE to 945 TWh by 2030, potentially exceeding Japan’s current total electricity consumption.
→ Data centers currently contribute about 1% of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions and are among the fastest-growing sources of emissions
What is the transfer of thermal energy by movement of fluid?
convection
→ Warmer, less-dense material rises and cooler, denser material sinks, creating circulation currents
What is the phenomenon, representing a loss in PV efficiency, occuring when a photon has less energy than the bandgap and passes through the cell?
transmission / transmission loss
What is a nonanthropogenic source of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere?
The cellular respiration of plants
→ Ex. Coal-fired power plant and a hydrogen-powered car are both UNNATURALLY occurring man made processes
What value used to describe CSTR (Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor) and PFR (Plug Flow Reactor) reactors is found by dividing reactor volume by volumetric flow rate?
space time!
→ Represents the time necessary to process one volume of reactor fluid at entrance conditions
What is the way electricity usage differs from traditional VERSUS generative AI?
→ Researchers have estimated that a ChatGPT query consumes about five times more electricity than a simple web search
→ With traditional AI, the energy usage is split fairly evenly between data processing, model training, and inference, which is the process of using a trained model to make predictions on new data
What is the classic adimensional number for mass transfer relating momentum diffusivity to heat conduction diffusivity?
The Prandtl number