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Science of Hydropower – Starter Pack

Summary

This section provides a complete science of hydropower quiz and vocabulary resource tailored for high school students. It defines essential technical terms like gravitational pull, potential energy, kinetic energy, and turbine. The quiz assesses student understanding of core concepts, including how hydropower is generated and the reasons why its future potential is limited.

Bell Ringer

Instructions: Answer the prompt provided by your teacher.










Vocabulary

Instructions: Watch the Science of Hydropower video and listen for the vocabulary words.

WordDefinitionExample
Hydropowernoun; power (usually electrical) created from the energy of moving water“Biomass – burning wood – was our first major energy source, but not too long after came hydropower.”
Power plantnoun phrase; a large building or factory where electricity is generated from primary energy, such as coal, gas, water and uranium“Water ran our first major power plants and it still accounts for three percent of global energy today . . .”
Gravitational pullnoun phrase; a force that pulls objects towards each other – everything that has mass pulls on other things with gravity“ . . . and it does that by tapping into Earth’s gravitational pull.”
Counteractverb; to act against something so that it has less effect or no effect at all“When I lift this tank, the energy I use to counteract gravity is stored in the water.”
Potential Energynoun; energy stored in an object due to its position or state, such as the energy in water held behind a dam“When I lift this tank, the energy I use to counteract gravity is stored in the water. It’s called potential energy.”
Kinetic Energynoun; the energy of an object in motion, such as water falling down a waterfall“. . . the potential energy is turned into kinetic energy as the flowing water turns a turbine.”
Turbinenoun; a machine that converts the energy from flowing air or water into mechanical energy, often used for power generation“. . . the potential energy is turned into kinetic energy as the flowing water turns a turbine.”
Pelton Wheelnoun phrase; a type of water turbine that uses fast-moving water to spin its spoon-shaped blades and make energy“The water turns the Pelton wheel or impeller to which is connected to a generator.”
Impellernoun; a spinning part inside a machine that pushes liquids or air to make them move faster or in a certain direction“The water turns the Pelton wheel or impeller to which is connected to a generator.”
Generatornoun; a machine that works by turning motion into electrical energy“The water turns the Pelton wheel or impeller to which is connected to a generator.”
Reservoirnoun; a large storage area for water, typically behind a dam“One of the benefits of hydro is that you can store . . . a huge reservoir of water behind a dam.”
Emissionsnoun; substances, especially gases, released into the atmosphere, usually as byproducts of energy production or burning fuel“Gravity does the work so the electricity is cheap and the plant burns no fuel, meaning no emissions.”
Base Loadnoun phrase; the minimum level of demand for electricity that is constantly needed and met by power plants as they produce energy“The other great benefit of hydro is it can be base load or peak load power. As long as there’s water, it can run all the time.”
Demand curvenoun phrase; a line on a graph that shows how much electricity people need at different times of the day“Or you can stop and start it almost instantly to follow the demand curve.”
Displaceverb; forcing populations to move from their original location, often due to large projects like building hydroelectric dams“Flooding a river valley to make a reservoir means covering towns and displacing people.”
Refitverb; to fix, change or add new parts to something, so that it works better or can be used in a new way“The rest of the world is refitting old plans with more efficient equipment . . .”

Quiz

Instructions: Circle the correct answer based on what you learned in the Science of Hydropower video.

Q1. How does hydropower generate electricity?

  1. By burning water to release steam.
  2. By using solar panels floating on reservoirs.
  3. By converting the kinetic energy of falling water into mechanical energy that turns a turbine.
  4. By heating water to produce gas that powers a generator.

Q2. Which of the following represents the potential energy associated with a hydroelectric dam?

  1. The energy stored in a dam’s reservoir.
  2. The movement of water through turbines.
  3. The electricity generated by the hydroelectric plant.
  4. The energy used to pump water uphill.

Q3. What is a major benefit of hydroelectric power mentioned in the video?

  1. It requires no land to build.
  2. It can only produce electricity during the day.
  3. It produces electricity with no fuel and no emissions.
  4. It is cheap to build in all parts of the world.

Q4. Why is it difficult for developing countries to build new hydroelectric plants?

  1. They lack water resources.
  2. The technology is not available to them.
  3. The plants are enormous and very expensive to build.
  4. Hydropower is not reliable in developing regions.

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