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About This Quiz
No longer the stuff of science fiction, the future is now when it comes to green energy. Test your biofuel and energy crop IQ with this electrifying quiz.
Which of the following is not a biofuel?
ethanol
natural gas
Ethanol and methanol are biofuels created when carbohydrates from various plants are distilled into alcohol. Natural gas is a fossil fuel.
methanol
butanol
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Which was the first automobile designed to run on ethanol?
Mustang
Packard
Model T
Henry Ford was a huge proponent of ethanol as a source of fuel. He designed the Model T's engine to run on gasoline, ethanol or both.
Rolls Royce
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Which gas can be collected from landfills and used to generate energy?
nitrogen
methane
The world's landfills are huge sources of methane gas, which is produced when bacteria breaks down organic materials, such as yard and food waste. Gas recovery systems capture methane and use the gas to generate electricity.
carbon dioxide
oxygen
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Which biofuel is produced by the fermentation of corn or sugar cane?
ethanol
Refineries can turn starchy plants, such as corn, sugar beet and sugar cane into ethanol. Methanol is made from wood, butanol is made generally from farm waste.
butanol
methanol
biodiesel
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Which of the following is the most popular "energy" crop?
cotton
wood
Wood easily outdistances cotton and soybean as a major energy crop. Millions around the world use wood as a source of fuel. Wood is also used in biomass-fired heating and electricity generating plants.
soybean
Brazil nuts
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Which country began substituting ethanol-powered vehicles for gasoline-powered vehicles in the 1980s?
Mexico
Chile
Brazil
After the energy crisis of the 1970s, Brazil stepped up its production of ethanol from sugar cane. By the end of the 1980s, most Brazilians drove ethanol-powered vehicles.
United States
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Which biofuel is known as wood alcohol?
methanol
Methanol distilled from wood was once a popular fuel. Today, most methanol is made from natural gas.
ethanol
butanol
biodiesel
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Which biofuel did the U.S. government ban during Prohibition?
methanol
biodiesel
ethanol
Because ethanol was a product of fermentation, the government considered it a liquor. As such, the feds banned ethanol when Prohibition began in 1920. However, people could sell ethanol if it was spiked with poison.
butanol
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Which of these biofuels produces more energy from corn?
butanol
When distilled from a bushel of corn, butanol generates 24 percent more energy than ethanol.
methanol
ethanol
biodiesel
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Which form of biomass has the potential to dwarf all other types of biomass with minimal impact to the environment?
wood
algae
Some scientists believe that 43,000 square feet of algae could one day produce more than 3,500 gallons of biodiesel each year. With water covering more than 70 percent of the planet, that's a lot of biodiesel.
cow dung
cornhusks
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In which year was the first ethanol-powered engine built?
1862
In 1862, American inventor named Samuel Morey built the first engine that ran on ethanol and turpentine.
1867
1890
1903
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Which state produces the most ethanol?
Iowa
As of 2009, Iowa was the main producer of ethanol in the United States, growing more than 3.2 billion bushels of corn for use as ethanol. Nebraska was the second largest ethanol producer. Montana and Minnesota didn't make the cut.
Nebraska
Montana
Minnesota
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Which biofuel can power a fuel cell?
butanol
Butanol is high in hydrogen atoms. Those atoms can be easily and cheaply recovered during the distillation process and used in fuel cells.
ethanol
methanol
biodiesel
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Scientists can convert the biofuel from which vegetable into a working battery?
carrot
potato
Not only can you mash or bake a potato, but you can convert the tuber into a battery. Scientists at Hebrew University say potatoes could provide a cheap source of electricity in rural regions.
turnip
radish
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Which of the following countries leads the world in building biogas digesters that convert fuel from animal and crop waste in to energy?
Russia
United States
India
India has more than 2.5 million biogas digesters, which use cow dung as a source of energy. Out of 100,000 dairy farms in the Untied States, only 62 use biogas digesters.
Finland
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In the United States, biodiesel fuel is mostly made from which type of oil?
palm
cottonseed
soybean
According to the University of Connecticut, Americans grew 3.4 billion bushels of soybeans in 2009, which had the potential to produce 5.1 billion gallons of biodiesel.
sunflower seed
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Which process allows green plants to convert sunlight into chemical energy?
photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants turn carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and oxygen, using light energy trapped by chlorophyll.
metabolic
respiration
digestion
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Of the following, which country is the largest producer of ethanol?
Brazil
Chile
United States
The United States led the way in ethanol production in 2009, producing 10.6 billion gallons. Brazil was second, producing about 8 billion gallons.
Italy
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Which ingredients are needed to break down the sugar in a plant to make ethanol?
carbon dioxide/water
sunlight/rain
bacteria/yeast
Bacteria and yeast break down long strings of sugar molecules into alcohol.
sodium/chlorine
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Which of the following states uses the most amount of ethanol?
Connecticut
California
Californians use on average 900 million gallons of ethanol each year.
Texas
New York
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You Got:
/20
Images by Fabio/Moment/Getty Images
