Question 14
ComprehensionJAMB 2011 Passage III: The biocell
In 1962, a team of scientists produced a special radio station that had a range of fifteen moles. Even though communication was being accomplished in space at a range of more than a million times this distance, the new radio station caused must excitement among scientists. The reason: its power supply was 'battery' made of bacteria. For the first time, practical amounts of electricity were being produced by a form of life and put to use.
'Biocell', the new power supply had a liquid fuel containing tiny forms of life that changed the fuel directly into electric energy. This was far more than an interesting experiment. The biocell is being developed as producer of electricity for radios, for signals to guide ships, for lighting and for other uses. Thought the working biocell is only a few years old, some scientists feel that it will one day produce power cheaply as is now being done by other methods, and that the biocell will use materials that would otherwise be considered a waste. Early biocells were powered with sugar, but a wide range of fuels can be used. Work is being done using sea water to feed the bacteria.
Electricity from living cells is no new idea. Man experienced the strange 'shock' produced by some fish even before electricity was really discovered. Then in time, there were other discoveries. Benjamin Franklin found that lightning in the sky was electricity. Luigi Galvani found some electricity in the muscles and nerves of animals. Bust the African catfish produces far more electricity than most other living creatures. And another fish, the electric eel, well named, for it has an even greater electric charge. Research works also discovered that even humns produce small amounts of electricity in their bodies. Our hearts produce a very small amount that can be measured, so do our brains. The biocell is completely new in the field of power production and, as yet, no mass-produced models have begun to replace the older types of batteries. It might be wondered, then, what the excitement is all about.
Adapted from The Department of English (1988) Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife: The Use of English Text
'Biocell', the new power supply had a liquid fuel containing tiny forms of life that changed the fuel directly into electric energy. This was far more than an interesting experiment. The biocell is being developed as producer of electricity for radios, for signals to guide ships, for lighting and for other uses. Thought the working biocell is only a few years old, some scientists feel that it will one day produce power cheaply as is now being done by other methods, and that the biocell will use materials that would otherwise be considered a waste. Early biocells were powered with sugar, but a wide range of fuels can be used. Work is being done using sea water to feed the bacteria.
Electricity from living cells is no new idea. Man experienced the strange 'shock' produced by some fish even before electricity was really discovered. Then in time, there were other discoveries. Benjamin Franklin found that lightning in the sky was electricity. Luigi Galvani found some electricity in the muscles and nerves of animals. Bust the African catfish produces far more electricity than most other living creatures. And another fish, the electric eel, well named, for it has an even greater electric charge. Research works also discovered that even humns produce small amounts of electricity in their bodies. Our hearts produce a very small amount that can be measured, so do our brains. The biocell is completely new in the field of power production and, as yet, no mass-produced models have begun to replace the older types of batteries. It might be wondered, then, what the excitement is all about.
Adapted from The Department of English (1988) Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife: The Use of English Text
The inventors of biocell justified the need for it by saying that it would
- A.develop ways for changing biocells into fuel for use
- B.yield a source of energy without much spending
- C.produce electricity for all types of machines
- D.produce signals to guid all ships and other vessels
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: B (yield a source of energy without much spending)
Explanation
Scientists believe the biocell will 'one day produce power cheaply' and use materials that would otherwise be waste. That is energy without much spending.