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What are the drawbacks of producing electric power by nuclear energy versus the cons of coal?

• Nuclear energy generates radioactive wastes while coal emits greenhouse pollutants.
• nuclear energy leaves a larger footprint in terms of land use while coal does not damage the landscape
• producing electric power by nuclear energy or coal is comparable.
• nuclear energy exposes short-term local risks for workers rather than the short-term risks coal miners take.

Per person energy consumption is increasing in developing countries as

• they improve their standard of living.
• domestic energy reserves are increasing.
• population growth is slowing.
• energy prices keep falling.

Why are world energy requirements expected to continue to rise during the 21st century?

• Developing countries will use more energy as their populations grow and as people become more affluent.
• Population in highly developed countries will continue to rise exponentially.
• Mass transportation, which uses more energy per person than personal automobiles, is expanding.
• Energy efficiency is decreasing due to a lack of innovation.

Which type of nuclear process requires an extremely high temperature (millions of degrees)?

• nuclear fusion
• chemical reaction
• alpha decay
• nuclear fission

Why is waste disposal an important aspect of nuclear waste management?

• because nuclear wastes remain radioactive for thousands of years
• because safe nuclear waste disposal requires finding large areas of the ocean for dumping
• because nuclear wastes are altering global climate patterns
• because nuclear wastes stay in the power plants after decommissioning

What is the most widely used fossil fuel?

• oil
• natural gas
• kerogen
• coal

The illustration below depicts

• a nuclear fission chain reaction.
• radioactive decay of a radioisotope.
• the process of nuclear fusion.
• enrichment of uranium ore for use in a nuclear reactor.

In the nuclear industry, what is a meltdown?

• At high temperatures, the metal encasing the uranium fuels melts releasing radiation.
• The sides of the containment building melt and radioactivity released by the core enters the environment.
• The nuclear waste melts the cases that contain it and release radiation.
• The water used to transfer heat boils away, contaminating the atmosphere with radioactivity.

Buried combustible geologic deposits of organic materials, formed from decayed plants and animals

• fossil fuel
• biomass
• kerogen
• coke

A nuclear power plant uses heat from nuclear reactions to generate electricity by

• boiling water to generate steam that drives a turbine.
• pumping neutrons through a turbine that runs and electric generator.
• running water through a fractionation tower that generates electric charge.
• riggering chemical reactions that drive electric generators.