Electricity in Your Home: Activity 1

One molecule of methane plus two molecules of oxygen will
burn to produce two molecules of water, one molecule of carbon dioxide, and heat.



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Molecular equation

Word Equation

Mass equation


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  1. Using the graph provided, determine the mass (in kilograms) of natural gas that is burned in order to generate

    1. 20kWh of electrical energy.

    2. 40kWh of electrical energy.

    3. 100kWh of electrical energy.

  2. A single 1500 W electrical baseboard heater will use about 216kWh in one month of operation, having a 20% duty cycle (meaning that it is "on" 20% of the time). How much natural gas is burned to generate this amount of electrical energy?

  3. Acquire an electrical utility bill. Examine the bill and determine the amount of electrical energy used. What mass of natural gas was burned to generate this amount of electrical energy?

* Footnote: Fossil fuels are a complex blend of hundreds of kinds of hydrocarbon molecules. The molecule in this example is one of the most abundant in the fuel being described, and as such, represents a good approximation of the entire combustion process

This activity assumes that all the electricity used is from a single type of fuel. This is generally not the case. The actual amount of each type of fuel varies from region to region as will be shown later.

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