Non-renewable Energy: Exam Prep

What controls the reaction within a nuclear reactor?

• Control Rods

• Moderator

• Containment building

• Reactor Vessel

Three Mile Island differed from Chernobyl and Fukushima because...

• It wasn't a complete meltdown

• The core melted down

• Radiation was released

• Many people died

Which of the following is considered the worst nuclear disaster ever?

• The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Disaster

• The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster

• The Three Mile Island Partial Meltdown

• The bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima

Which of the following are often-cited reasons as the downsides, or "costs" of nuclear energy?

• long construction periods

• dependent on mining a finite resource (uranium)

• lots of safety concerns

• challenges with waste storage/management

• all of the above

Of the three most pre-eminent nuclear disasters known around the world, what was the common theme across the failed systems?

• Failure of cooling systems

• Explosion from fission

• Earthquakes and tsunamis

• Deaths from radiation

What is an advantage of nuclear energy?

• radioactive waste

• no pollution during the reaction

• we will never run out

• it is the safest way to make energy

Exactly how does a commercial nuclear power plant convert the energy of atomic nuclei into electricity?

• the heat produced by radioactive fission boils water, which drives a turbine generator

• spontaneous decay of radioisotopes creates a strong magnetic field

• thermoelectric cells in the core convert heat into electricity

• alpha decay emits electrons, which are collected by the control rods

Site of the worst nuclear accident in the United States

• nuclear energy

• nuclear fission

• nuclear fusion

• Three Mile Island

• Chernobyl

The main function of a coolant in a nuclear fission reactor is to

• slow down the speed of the neutrons

• absorb energy produced by the reaction

• shield the wall of the reactor from radiation damage

• adjust the number of neutrons available for reaction

Compared to a coal-fired power plant that produces the same amount of energy, a nuclear power plant generates more

• CO₂

• SO₂

• particulates

• thermal pollution