Energy and Cars: Introductory Questions

1. 
   Which types of cars are the most fuel-efficient and why?
   

2. 
   What factors might contribute to a desire for increased fuel efficiency in cars?
   

3. 
   How fuel efficient are cars today compared to fifty years ago?
   

1. 
   How and why (or whether) attitudes toward fossil fuel use will change over the next fifty years.
   

2. 
   Why might we see changes in the way cars are powered over the next few years?
   

3. 
   What changes in car technology will occur in order to accommodate changing attitudes toward fuel efficiency and energy sources.
   

1. 
   The ways in which attitudes toward fossil fuel use and the use of alternative energy sources changed between 2000 and 2050, and the reasons for these changes.
   

2. 
   Changes to automobile technology and power sources between 2000 (the year when the oldest cars junked in 2015 probably would have been built) and 2050, and the ways in which these changes reflected changing attitudes toward fossil fuel use and alternative energy sources.
   

Use the Internet and the resources on the Power Library to answer the following questions. The answers must be written in your words, do not copy, cut and paste. If you do you will receive a zero for the assignment. The answers should be written in essay format, notes or paraphrasing will result in a zero. You can use diagrams to help answer the questions.

1. 
   How do present-day internal combustions car engines work?
   
   1. 
      How is fuel processed in the engine in order to make the car operate?
      

2. 
   What can be done to increase a car’s fuel efficiency?
   

3. 
   What types of alternative energy sources are being developed for future cars and for current cars?
   
   1. 
      How do these energy sources power the car?
      
   2. 
      What are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of energy source?
      

4. 
   Which energy sources seem most likely to be commonly used in cars in the future?
   

5. 
   What environmental, political, and cultural factors might contribute to a desire for cars with higher fuel efficiency or cars that use alternative energy sources?
   

6. 
   What factors might detract from creating cars with higher fuel efficiency of cars that use alternative energy sources?
   

When doing research the following websites might be helpful:

• 
  Energy Quest
  
• 
  Fuel Economy Site
  
• 
  Alternative Fuels Data Center
  

1. 
   Create an outline of the features that you want your car to have.
   
   1. 
      The car must be fuel efficient and reasonably priced.
      
   2. 
      This is meant to be a car for the average family, the people who drive the car industry. (no pun intended)
      

2. 
   Describe the different features you are going to use and give a reason why you choose the different features.
   

3. 
   Draw your design.
   

1. 
   Create an outline of the features that you want your car to have.
   
   1. 
      The car must be fuel efficient and reasonably priced.
      
   2. 
      This is meant to be a car for the average family, the people who drive the car industry. (no pun intended)
      

2. 
   Describe the different features you are going to use and give a reason why you choose the different features.
   

3. 
   Draw your design.