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A solar cooker is a device that uses the energy of sunlight to cook, heat, or pasteurize drinks and other food materials. A solar cooker converts the light energy of the sunlight to heat energy.
- The first solar cooker was invented by Horace de Saussure in 1767.
- The main advantage of a solar cooker is that it uses sunlight which is a renewable source of energy and is abundantly available.
- The working principle of solar cookers is concentrating sunlight, converting light energy to heat energy, and tapping heat energy.
- Basically, a solar cooker is of two types Box-type solar cooker and Parabolic-type solar cooker.
Very Short Answers Questions [1 Mark Questions]
Ques. Who invented the solar cooker?
- Sir Issac Newton
- Albert Einstein
- Ampere
- Horace de Saussure
Ans. The correct answer is d. Horace de Saussure
Explanation: The first solar cooker was invented by Swiss scientist Horace de Saussure in 1767.
Ques. What is pasteurization?
- Process of producing water
- Process of treating water by heating it mildly
- Process of treating water by biological techniques
- Process of capturing the sun’s heat
Ans. The correct answer is b. Process of treating water by heating it mildly
Explanation: The process of treating water whether packaged or non-packaged by heating it mildly to destroy destroys pathogenic microorganisms.
Ques. Why does a solar cooker have walls with a shining surface?
Ans. The walls of the solar cooker have a shining surface to reflect the light into the cooking pot.
Ques. Which of the following majorly affects the phenomenon of concentrating sunlight?
- Geometry of the reflecting structure
- Black surface
- Non-reflecting surface
- Type of food
Ans. The correct answer is a. Geometry of the reflecting structure
Explanation: The phenomenon of concentrating sunlight affect by the geometry of the reflecting structure. The geometry of the reflecting structure controlled the amount of sunlight being concentrated.
Ques. The cooking pan used in solar cookers converts ______ energy into ______ energy.
- Electrical, Light
- Electrical, Heat
- Heat, Light
- Light, Heat
Ans. The correct answer is d. Light, Heat
Explanation: The cooking pan of the solar cooker converts light energy into heat energy.
Short Answers Questions [2 Marks Questions]
Ques. What is a Solar cooker?
Ans. A solar cooker is a device that uses the energy of sunlight to cook food, usually employing reflective panels to focus the light on a dark-colored pot in an insulated box.
Ques. Why is only black color used in solar cookers?
Ans. Black color has the property to absorb the sunlight of almost all wavelengths. Therefore, black color is used in a solar cooker which helps to absorb heat and further increase the temperature of the solar cooker.
Ques. Why is a glass sheet used in a solar cooker?
Ans. The use of glass sheets in a solar cooker is to trap heat inside the solar cooker which helps to raise the temperature inside it up to the desirable amount to cook the food.
Ques. What are the benefits of using a Parabolic Cooker?
Ans. The benefits of using a parabolic solar cooker are
- They focus light coming from the sun to a single point to achieve high temperatures of about 350 degrees Celsius that allow the food to be cooked.
- They are not harmful to the environment.
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Long Answers Questions [3 Marks Questions]
Ques. Which part of the solar cooker is responsible for the greenhouse effect?
Ans. The greenhouse effect in a solar cooker is due to the use of a glass sheet in it. The main purpose of the glass sheet is to allow the infrared rays of a shorter wavelength coming from the Sun to get into the device but the glass sheet does not allow the infrared rays of a longer wavelength to leave the solar heating device. Therefore heat is trapped inside the cooker which further helps to cook food.
Ques. What are the different types of solar cookers?
Ans. There are mainly two types of solar cookers
- Box-type solar cookers: Cooking utensils are heated by reflecting heat into a box, which then gets trapped by the top glass like a greenhouse effect.
- Parabolic-type solar cooker: In this type of solar cooker, Cooking utensils are heated to a point where the heat is concentrated and it cooks the food.
Ques. Which type of mirror is used in a solar cooker, and why?
Ans. A concave mirror is mostly used in a solar cookers because
- Concave mirrors converge all the light coming from the sun to a single focal point.
- The concentrated light at the focal point is very powerful as it contains a lot of concentrated thermal energy.
- A cooking pot placed on the focal point of a concave mirror gains enough energy to cook the food inside the cooking pot.
Very Long Answers Questions [5 Marks Questions]
Ques. What are the advantages and disadvantages of solar cookers?
Ans. The advantages of solar cookers are
- It depends on sunlight, a renewable source of energy, and is abundantly available.
- It does not require fuels like oil, gases, or firewood making a solar cooker cost-effective.
- It does not produce smoke.
- It has a simple design and low maintenance cost.
- Cooking is hygienic
The disadvantages of solar cookers are
- Since a solar cooker depends on sunlight, its working is weather dependent.
- It takes a longer time to cook food.
- It is not effective for all types of cooking food.
- They may be expensive
- It does not work in places
Ques. Solar cooker takes more time as compared to LPG to boil potato or rice, yet Kunal uses solar cooker for such type of cooking:
- Why does Kunal use a solar cooker instead of LPG? Give reasons for your answer.
- Name the phenomenon which is responsible for obtaining high temperatures in a solar cooker.
Ans. (a) Kunal uses solar cookers instead of LPG because of the following reasons:
- LPG is costly while the solar cooker operates from sunlight which is abundantly available.
- Since cooking by solar cooker is in a controlled environment, therefore no loss of energy takes place while LPG leads to energy loss.
- No smoke is produced in cooking by a solar cooker.
(b) The phenomenon which is responsible for obtaining high temperatures in a solar cooker is the Greenhouse effect. A transparent glass sheet is used to produce the greenhouse effect in a solar cooker that helps to trap the infrared radiation coming from the sun. The trapped heat increases the temperature of the solar cooker which helps to cook food.
Ques. What is the working principle of a solar cooker?
Ans. The working principle of a solar cooker is
- Concentration: The reflecting panels concentrate the rays of light (UV) to a point. These reflecting panels are made of materials like silver, chromium, and aluminum that have shiny and reflective surfaces.
- Absorption: The interior of the solar cooker is usually black in color. Dark colors absorb the heat, whereas light colors do not absorb heat well.
- Retention: It is the final principle in solar cooking. If a solar cooker is not well insulated then all of the absorbed heat will dissipate into the air. For a solar cooker to be able to effectively cook, it must be capable of capturing and holding the concentrated heat.
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