Electricity Generation

Worksheets
Table of contents
Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. Electricity Generation Facts

2. He started it!
3. So, what’s the plant?
4. Let there be light!
5. The choice is yours
6. Generation Truth
7. In solar, We Trust
8. The way of the win
9. Not cool with coal
10. Blow off steam
11. I’ve got the power!

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 Electricity Generation Facts

Electric generators are designed to convert various forms of energy, such

as mechanical, chemical, thermal, or light, into electrical energy. The
energy generated can be used to power homes, businesses, and cities. In
addition, electric generators are also used to power vehicles and portable
devices, providing us with power versatility and ease of use.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

★ Michael Faraday's discovery in 1831 that moving a magnet inside a coil

of wire can induce an electric current to flow has led to most of the
world's electricity generation.
★ With the use of this magnetic and electrical interaction, he developed the
first electricity generator, known as a Faraday disk, which served as the
model for modern electromagnetic generators.
★ Generators based on this principle are the backbone of the global power
industry. While there have been technological advancements in electricity
generation, Faraday's discovery remains the most widely used method.

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 Electricity Generation Facts
HISTORY and DEMAND

★ When electric power distribution became feasible, producing electricity in

one location became useful. Power transformers with variable voltage
were needed for this. Alternating current might be cheaply sent across
vast distances over electric power lines.
★ Coal, nuclear, natural gas, hydropower, and
petroleum power have all been used to
power generators, as have modest
amounts of solar energy, tidal power, wind
power, and geothermal energy.
★ Two main approaches exist for generating
and distributing electricity: centralized
projects and decentralized alternatives. Since the late 19th century, people
have been employing electric
The former strategy creates large projects lightbulbs, electric motors, and
that require significant infrastructure to other electrically powered
transfer electricity, often resulting in devices.
environmental damage such as flooding. In
contrast, decentralized approaches use
renewable energy sources that are cleaner
and require less infrastructure, negating
many environmental risks. Decentralization
allows smaller, localized projects that can
be expanded or contracted as needed,
rather than relying on national grids,
providing a more sustainable solution. Strict pollution control regulations
Ultimately, a combination of both strategies have forced the closure of several
may be required to effectively manage the coal-fired power stations.
world's electricity needs while reducing
environmental impact.
★ Smaller-scale power production occurs at many points throughout the
electrical network thanks to distributed generation. These locations
frequently produce electricity as a byproduct of other industries, including
using landfill gas to drive turbines.
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 Electricity Generation Facts
TURBINES

★ The majority of the electricity utilized in the

United States and throughout the world is
produced by electric power plants that use
turbines to drive energy generators. A
flowing fluid, such as air, water, steam,
combustion gases, or water, pushes a series
of blades placed on a rotor shaft in a turbine
generator. The fluid's push on the blades
Steam turbines, combustion (gas)
turbines, hydroelectric turbines, causes the rotor shaft of a generator to circle
and wind turbines are a few of the or spin. In turn, the generator transforms the
several types of turbines.
rotor's mechanical (kinetic) energy into
electrical energy.
★ STEAM TURBINES. Steam turbines, which also generated 45% of the
country's electricity in 2021, create the majority of the electricity in the
world. The boiler in the majority of steam turbines burns fuel to produce
hot water and steam in a heat exchanger. A turbine is then propelled by
the steam, and the turbine turns a generator. Most geothermal power
plants and solar thermal power plants employ steam turbines.
★ COMBUSTION GAS TURBINES. Combustion gas turbines, which are
used to power turbine blades, produce hot gases by burning gaseous or
liquid fuels, much like jet engines do.
★ HYDROELECTRIC TURBINES. By
harnessing the force of moving water to spin
turbine blades, hydroelectric turbines produce
energy. Water pumped from a river or stream
or kept in a reservoir is what most
hydroelectric power plants use.
★ WIND TURBINES. Wind energy is captured In the United States, 9% of
by wind turbines to power a generator, which electricity was produced by
wind turbines in 2021.
drives the rotor's blades. The horizontal axis
and vertical axis turbines are the most
common and commonly utilized types of wind
turbines. KIDSKONNECT.COM
 Electricity Generation Facts
RECIPROCATING ENGINES

★ Small reciprocating engines that burn

diesel, biogas, or natural gas are
frequently used to power electrical
generators. Usually at low voltages, diesel
generators are frequently employed as
backup power sources.
★ Wherever biogas is created, such as a
landfill or wastewater treatment facility, it is
An engine that uses one or more
frequently burned with a reciprocating pistons to transfer pressure into
engine or a microturbine, a small gas rotational motion is referred to as a
turbine. reciprocating engine.

SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS

★ Solar photovoltaic cells directly transform

sunlight into electricity. They are used to
power items as small as wristwatches and
can be joined together in panels that are
connected in arrays to power individual
homes or large power plants.
★ Up until recently, photovoltaics were mostly
employed as a backup source of electricity
Despite the fact that sunlight is
for private houses and companies or in free, solar panels are expensive to
rural locations without access to a produce and only have a 10–20%
commercial power system. conversion efficiency.

★ Solar panel adoption has been further boosted by recent improvements in

manufacturing efficiency and photovoltaic technology, as well as subsidies
motivated by environmental concerns. Solar capacity that has been
installed is increasing by 30% annually in a number of places, including
Germany, Japan, California, and New Jersey.

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 Electricity Generation Facts
POWER PLANTS

★ NUCLEAR POWER PLANT produces a large amount of electricity using

uranium as fuel and a nuclear fission reaction. Nuclear power plants are
often seen as a more environmentally benign alternative because they are
low-carbon energy sources.
★ HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANT.
Utilizing the gravitational pull of moving
water allows for the creation of
hydroelectric power. Power facilities
using hydroelectricity produce fewer
greenhouse gases. However, it costs a Nuclear power plants are extremely
efficient once they are up and
lot of money to build dams and running because they require little
hydroelectric power facilities. fuel to produce large amounts
of power.

★ COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT. Steam coal is the energy source used by

coal-fired power plants to produce electricity, and as a result, they release
a lot of dangerous gases into the sky.
★ DIESEL-FIRED POWER PLANT. This kind of power plant produces
electricity on a modest scale using diesel as the fuel.
★ GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANT. Dry steam power stations, flash steam
power stations, and binary cycle power stations are the three primary
categories of geothermal plants, and they are all powered by steam
turbines to generate electricity.
★ GAS-FIRED POWER PLANT. Natural gas, an energy source that is
rapidly expanding globally, is burned in gas-fired power plants to produce
electricity.
★ SOLAR POWER PLANT. Solar energy plants use one of the cleanest and
most plentiful renewable energy sources—the sun—to transform solar
energy into thermal or electrical energy.
★ WIND POWER PLANT. Wind power facilities are often seen as being very
cost-effective since when the wind turbines are constructed, operational
costs associated with maintaining them are minimal. KIDSKONNECT.COM
 Electricity Generation Facts
ELECTRICITY: GENERATION, TRANSMISSION and DISTRIBUTION

A sophisticated engineering process goes into the generation, transmission, and distribution of
electricity. Both money and professional labor must be invested heavily in the process.

★ GENERATION. Turbines are turned or rotated to create or produce

electricity. Any type of energy can be used to turn these turbines, including
coal, steam, nuclear power, renewable energy sources like solar energy,
etc. Turbines are typically rotated in power plants by the pressure of
steam. This steam is produced by enormous boilers that boil water while
burning coal. Steam is at such pressure that it turns turbines, which
produce energy.
★ TRANSMISSION. After electricity is produced in a power plant,
transmission must take place. Step-up transformers that raise the voltage
are used for this. A system of copper or aluminum wires that are
electrically conductive is used to transfer this high-voltage power. These
lines, which can transport power across great distances, are known as
high-voltage transmission lines.
★ DISTRIBUTION. Electric distribution substations are used to distribute
electricity. Step-down transformers at the substation lower the voltage of
the high-voltage electricity coming from the high-voltage transmission
lines. The local electric distribution network receives the electricity after
that. Step-down transformers are used to reduce the voltage once more
before power enters a home. In a home, power is transferred to various
outlets through a network of cables using electrical wiring.
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Name: ______________________

Let there be light!

A sophisticated engineering process goes into the
generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity.
Describe the process for each phase on how electricity
generates, transmits and distributed to a community.

_______________________
__________________________
_______________________
__________________________
_______________________

______________________________
______________________________

___________________ ________________________________
___________________ ________________________________
___________________ ________________________________
___________________

ELECTRICITY GENERATION WORKSHEETS KIDSKONNECT.COM

 Let there be light!
ANSWER KEY

Transformers are installed on

Power plants generate electricity
poles to step down the
through the conversion of
electricity voltage before it
various forms of energy.
enters houses.
Transmission lines are essential for
transporting electricity from power
stations to distribution systems.

Transformers are used A neighborhood transformer is an

to increase the voltage electrical device that reduces the voltage
of electricity for efficient of electricity before it reaches homes
transmission through and businesses.
power lines.

ELECTRICITY GENERATION WORKSHEETS KIDSKONNECT.COM

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