Nuclear Energy Quiz

What term describes atoms that spontaneously emit subatomic particles and/or energy?

• isotopes

• nuclear energy

• radioactive

• fuel-rod

What are hollow metal cylinders filled with uranium fuel pellets used in fission reactors called?

• control rods

• fuel-rod

• radioactive waste

• isotopes

What term is used for spent nuclear reactor fuel or waste from the production of nuclear weapons that is still highly radioactive?

• low-level radioactive waste (LLRW)

• isotopes

• high-level radioactive waste (HLRW)

• nuclear fission

What term describes atoms that have different numbers of neutrons in their nucleus but the same number of protons?

• isotopes

• radioactive

• nuclear energy

• control rods

What term is used for material that has a low level of radiation for its volume?

• low-level radioactive waste (LLRW)

• high-level radioactive waste (HLRW)

• fuel-rod

• isotopes

What is the term for energy released when an atom is split (fission) or combines with another to form a new atom (fusion)?

• nuclear fission

• nuclear energy

• radioactive

• isotopes

What term describes a nuclear reaction that occurs when a neutron strikes the nucleus of an atom and breaks it into two or more parts?

• nuclear fission

• nuclear energy

• isotopes

• control rods

What are rods that absorb neutrons and slow the fission chain reaction called?

• fuel-rod

• control rods

• isotopes

• radioactive waste

What is the term for the time it takes for half of the radioactive isotopes in a sample to decay to a new form?

• radioactive half-life

• nuclear energy

• isotopes

• nuclear fission

Nuclear power plants use what to boil water and produce steam, which is then used to generate electricity?

• heat

• coal

• oil

• fossil fuels

• petroleum