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Wave Generators
Test your knowledge of wave generators in this enjoyable quiz.

Wave Generators

This GCSE Geography quiz takes a look at wave generators. The demand for energy resources is rising globally but supply can be insecure, for example, conflict in the middle eastern countries could lead to oil shortages. Our traditional energy resources are also finite and at some point in the future, coal, oil, gas and nuclear fuels will no longer be available. The use of fossil fuels as energy resources also releases large quantities of carbon dioxide into the air which may be contributing to global warming. Many industrialised countries have agreed to reduce their carbon footprint.

The impact of these issues has been to promote research into strategies that can increase energy supply and decrease the dependency on the supply of energy resources from outside of a country. The emphasis of this research has been to develop ways of using renewable sources of energy as this helps to solve both problems.

The research is mainly carried carried out by the wealthier countries. The research done in different countries depends on the local resources available. Countries that have high average rainfall and fewer sunny days would be unlikely to research solar power and it would not make sense for a landlocked nation to research wave generators!

In the UK, we are surrounded by sea so developing wave generators to produce electricity could be a good idea. The sea is seldom so calm that there are no waves, but often the weather is so wild that the waves are tens of metres high. This poses a problem for wave generators as they need to be able to survive the most extreme weather but be able to generate electricity even when the sea is quite calm. This illustrates one of the main disadvantages of almost any form of renewable energy - since most of them depend on certain weather conditions, they cannot generate a constant supply of energy.

Anything floating on the sea will bob up and down as the waves pass underneath them. Researchers who are trying to make wave generators rely on this movement to generate electricity. Off-shore wave generators are designed to be anchored out at sea, a little way off the coast. They consist of lines of floats (sometimes called 'ducks') that are all connected to a shaft. The floats move up and down as the waves pass, turning the shaft which turns a generator, producing the electricity. A small on-shore wave generator has been invented, but building these on a useful scale would harm the environment in several different ways.

Unfortunately, there are many disadvantages to wave power that need to be solved before wave generators can be used on anything other than a small scale. There is a lot of energy in the sea but it isn't easy to harvest. To produce a lot of electricity would need huge numbers of these floats and that could interfere with the passage of ships and boats. They need to be anchored firmly and it is very possible that the floats could break loose from their moorings and be lost or pose a hazard to shipping. A lot of research on wave power is carried out in wave tanks. These are like very large scientific swimming pools! Scaling up the wave generators from the models used in these wave tanks is very difficult, the full size versions never seem to produce the expected amounts of electricity.

1.
What is a renewable resource?
A resource that will quickly replenish itself naturally
A resource that requires careful management
A resource that is mined in Australia
A resource that will last for 100 years
The key here is quickly. Coal, oil and gas will form again at some point in the future, however, the time scale for that to happen is millions of years
2.
Which of the following countries is least likely to invest in wave generators?
Australia
Japan
The UK
Tibet
Tibet is surrounded by land, the others are all entirely surrounded by sea
3.
Which of the following is not a disadvantage of off-shore wave generators?
They need to be built to withstand extreme weather conditions
On-shore wave generators need to be built in remote locations
There are nearly always waves on the sea so they will be constantly in motion
You need a lot of them to generate a small amount of electricity
Make sure that you know the benefits and drawbacks of all of the renewable enrgy resources that you have studied
4.
Which of the following would be an advantage of building on-shore wave generators?
There would be no worries about the wave generators breaking loose at sea
It would be a lot easier to get the electricity to the National Grid
Maintenance would be easier
They are all advantages of on-shore wave generators
They are also simpler and cheaper to build
5.
What is the name given to the floats used in wave generators?
Ducks
Geese
Barges
Bouncers
The first floats used for wave generators resembled a duck's head
6.
Which of the following is a technical problem of wave generators?
Wave generators are expensive to build
It is difficult to scale them up from wave tank models
They look ugly
It takes many years of research and development to produce a working wave generator
The first and last alternatives are economic problems whilst the third is a social problem
7.
Why are on-shore wave generators unlikely to be developed on a large scale?
They look really ugly
No-one can afford to build them
They don't work
Habitat destruction
To get a lot of electricity from wave generators would require large numbers to be built. Large areas of seashore would be damaged and building new access roads to get the people, materials and equipment there to build and maintain them would also destroy wildlife habitats
8.
Where might wave generators be sited?
In the middle of oceans
A few hundred metres away from the shore
On a beach
In harbours
In the middle of an ocean would be no good because it would be hard to anchor the generators and to get the electricity back to the shore. On a beach would be no good as there would only be waves at high tide. If they were in harbours, they would get in the way of boats and ships
9.
In what direction do the floats of off-shore wave generators move?
Side to side
Round and round
Backwards and forwards
Up and down
As the waves pass, the floats of an off-shore wave generator will bob up and down
10.
Which of the following is a reason for the government of a country paying for research into wave generators?
They wish to reduce the country's dependence on foreign supplies of fossil fuels
They have a long coastline
They wish to reduce the carbon footprint of the country
All of the above
There are many reasons why governments would wish to invest in renewable energy technologies
Author:  Kev Woodward

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