Problems

1. {"part_id"=>"1", "title"=>"Conceptual Questions", "questions"=>[{"id"=>"q1a", "type"=>"conceptual", "prompt"=>"What is the difference between a power plant's *capacity* (rated in MW) and the *energy* it generates over a day (measured in MWh)? Explain using an analogy.", "hint"=>"Think about a car's top speed (power) versus the total distance it can travel on a tank of gas (energy)."}, {"id"=>"q1b", "type"=>"conceptual", "prompt"=>"A core principle of grid management is that electrical supply must match demand *instantaneously*. Why can't the grid simply produce a lot of extra energy ahead of time and store it for when demand is high, similar to how a city stores water in a water tower?"}]}
2. {"part_id"=>"2", "title"=>"Grid Data Analysis", "data_source"=>"Texas power crisis data from `hexagon-labs-all-data.json`", "questions"=>[{"id"=>"q2a", "type"=>"data_analysis", "prompt"=>"On February 15, 2021, the peak electricity demand was 69,000 MW, but the available supply was only 46,000 MW. What was the power shortfall at the peak of the crisis? (Include units)."}, {"id"=>"q2b", "type"=>"data_analysis", "prompt"=>"Texas has a normal natural gas generation capacity of 46,000 MW, but 18,000 MW of that capacity went offline during the storm. What percentage of the state's natural gas power capacity failed?"}, {"id"=>"q2c", "type"=>"data_analysis", "prompt"=>"During the crisis, 11,000 MW of wind capacity was offline due to icing. In that same period, thermal sources (natural gas, coal, nuclear) had a combined 27,200 MW offline. Based on this data, was the popular claim that 'frozen wind turbines were the primary cause of the blackouts' accurate? Explain your reasoning with the numbers."}]}
3. {"part_id"=>"3", "title"=>"Energy Shortfall Calculations", "questions"=>[{"id"=>"q3a", "type"=>"calculation", "prompt"=>"On February 16, the power shortfall reached 25,000 MW. If a shortfall of this magnitude lasted for 8 hours, how much *energy* (in Megawatt-hours, MWh) was not delivered to consumers?", "hint"=>"Use $E = P \\cdot t$."}, {"id"=>"q3b", "type"=>"calculation", "prompt"=>"An average Texas home uses roughly 30 kWh of energy on a cold day. Convert your energy shortfall from the previous question into kilowatt-hours (kWh) and calculate how many average homes could have been powered for one full day with that amount of missing energy.", "hint"=>"Remember, $1\\ MWh = 1,000\\ kWh$."}]}
4. Calculate the total energy shortfall (in MWh) over the three worst days of the crisis (Feb 14-16), assuming the listed power shortfall was the average for a full 24-hour period each day.
5. {"part_id"=>"5", "title"=>"Challenge — Connecting to the Phenomenon", "questions"=>[{"id"=>"q5a", "type"=>"synthesis", "prompt"=>"The final report on the Texas grid failure noted 34 instances of 'circular dependency failures' (e.g., a natural gas facility shutting down because it lost the electricity needed to operate). Explain how this is an example of a **system failure**, not just an individual component failure. How does this interconnectedness challenge the stability of a complex system like the electrical grid?"}]}