Watt do you Know? Take our Energy Quiz!

Image Gallery Learning a few of the basics about electric power can help you make smart energy choices. ISTOCKPHOTO

To understand the power of conserving energy and using renewable energy instead of fossil fuels, it helps to know some of the basics about electricity. So do you know your kilowatts from your kilowatt hours? Your wind turbines from your hydroelectric power? Your megawatts from your terawatts?

Take this short quiz and find out if you know what's watt about electricity. The answer is directly below the question, so just scroll down to see it. Keep track of how many questions you get right, and give yourself one point for each correct answer. Then check out how you score at the end.

1. Your electric utility charges you based on how many of these you consume:

A. Volts
B. Watts
C. Amps
D. Kilowatt hours

Answer: D. Kilowatt hours. 

A kilowatt is equal to 1,000 watts, and a kilowatt hour is equivalent to one kilowatt of power used for one hour. This helpful page can help you figure out how the energy each of your appliances uses translates into the kilowatt hours on your bill.

2. In the United States, most electricity comes from:

A. Coal
B. Oil
C. Natural Gas
D. Nuclear