Deck 15: Nuclear Power

Question 1

The consequences to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 include

A)more than 12,000 fatalities from acute radiation exposure.
B)severe meltdown effects because no water was available to cool the damaged reactors.
C)Japan revising or cancelling its plans to build more nuclear power plants.
D)even a year after the disaster,there is no electricity to the plants and radiation release is increasing.

Answer 1

Japan revising or cancelling its plans to build more nuclear power plants.

Question 2

The number of reactants and products varies in fission and fusion reactions.

A)Fission begins with one reactant and yields two atomic products and a release of energy.
B)Fission begins with two reactants and yields one atomic product and a release of energy.
C)Fusion combines three reactants and yields one atomic product and a release of energy.
D)Fusion begins with one reactant and yields two atomic products and a release of energy.

Answer 2

Fission begins with one reactant and yields two atomic products and a release of energy.

Question 3

Nuclear bombs rely upon

A)a domino effect that causes the nuclear fission of uranium-235 in less than a second.
B)a domino effect that causes the nuclear fusion of uranium-235 in less than a second.
C)an instantaneous fission of uranium-235 under extreme pressures.
D)an instantaneous fusion of uranium-235 under extreme pressures.

Answer 3

a domino effect that causes the nuclear fission of uranium-235 in less than a second.

Question 4

In general,the global reliance on nuclear power to generate electricity

A)has declined annually since 1987.
B)has remained steady since about 1978.
C)has gradually increased at about 3% a year for the last decade.
D)has doubled in the last decade.

Question 5

Current U.S.plans for nuclear power production in 2030 are to

A)increase generating capacity by about 15%.
B)double generating capacity.
C)keep the generating capacity about the same.
D)shift to increased reliance on fossil fuels.

Question 6

Over the past 30 years in the United States,nuclear power production

A)has increased by more than 200%.
B)has increased by 50%.
C)has remained steady at around 100 plants.
D)has declined from nearly 100 to now about 70 plants.

Question 7

Compared to the generation of electricity using coal,nuclear power

A)contributes more to global climate change.
B)generates no sulfur dioxide or carbon dioxide emissions.
C)generates no sulfur dioxide but more carbon dioxide emissions.
D)will run out of fuel in about 40 years.

Question 8

Japan's 55 nuclear power plants are susceptible to tsunami damage because they

A)fail to meet basic structural criteria for safety.
B)are all located along coastlines for easy access to coolant water.
C)use nuclear fuels that are water soluble.
D)do not shut down either in response to the earthquakes or tsunamis.

Question 9

In a nuclear power plant,the amount of electricity that is generated is regulated by

A)moving the nuclear fuel in and out of water.
B)changing the water levels that surround the control rods.
C)releasing surplus heat out of cooling towers that are always part of nuclear power plants.
D)moving submerged control rods away from or between the submerged fuel rods.

Question 10

The use of nuclear power throughout the world is generally

A)uneven,ranging from 0 to 74 %,depending on the country.
B)uneven,ranging from 3-22% in different countries around the world.
C)consistent,with most developed countries generating most of the electricity with nuclear power.
D)steadily declining,with most countries planning on phasing out their nuclear plants.

Question 11

What event occurred in 1986 that caused a general public shift in interest in nuclear energy?

A)earthquakes impacting Japan's nuclear power plants
B)the Chernobyl nuclear accident
C)Global climate change due to burning fossil fuels was first well documented.
D)Solar and wind technologies were revealed that could replace nuclear technologies.

Question 12

Carbon-12 and carbon-14 are isotopes of carbon.These isotopes differ in the number of

A)protons.
B)neutrons.
C)electrons.
D)protons,neutrons,or electrons.

Question 13

Enrichment of nuclear fuel

A)increases the relative concentration of uranium-235 to only 3-5% to avoid any possibility nuclear explosion at higher percentages.
B)increases the relative concentration of uranium-235 to 30-50% to avoid a nuclear explosion at higher percentages.
C)decreases the relative concentration of uranium-235 from 60% to only 3-5% to avoid a nuclear explosion at higher percentages.
D)decreases the relative concentration of uranium-235 from 100% to 30-50% to avoid a nuclear explosion at higher percentages.

Question 14

In nuclear power plants in the United States,near-pure water functions as

A)a moderator,heating up as it slows down neutrons,which triggers additional fission reactions.
B)a moderator,cooling down as it slows down neutrons that could cause fusion reactions.
C)an inhibitor,preventing neutrons from heating up and causing fusion reactions.
D)an inhibitor,preventing neutrons from cooling down and stopping the fission reactions.

Question 15

A loss-of-coolant accident is very dangerous because

A)without the surrounding water as a moderator,the fission reaction would turn into a fusion reaction.
B)without the surrounding water as a moderator,the fission reaction would increase in rate.
C)the fuel core could overheat from radioactive decay and lead to a meltdown.
D)the leaking coolant would quickly spread highly radioactive material over a large region.

Question 16

The actual fission reactions that release energy in a nuclear power plant are about

A)two-thirds from uranium-235 and one-third from uranium-239.
B)one-third from uranium-235 and two-thirds from uranium-239.
C)two-thirds from uranium-235 and one-third from plutonium-239.
D)one-third from uranium-235 and two-thirds from plutonium-239.

Question 17

Nuclear power plants in use today rely on

A)fission reactions to generate heat to boil water.
B)fission reactions to directly generate electricity.
C)fusion reactions to generate heat to boil water.
D)fusion reactions to directly generate electricity.

Question 18

Which one of the following energy sources can generate the greatest additional power without contributing significantly to global climate change?

A)solar technologies
B)hydroelectric power
C)nuclear energy
D)geothermal energy

Question 19

A self-amplifying reaction and a nuclear explosion in a nuclear power plant are prevented in large part by

A)the regular addition of uranium-239 to the fuel.
B)control rods that absorb extra neutrons.
C)the production of plutonium-239.
D)fuel rods that absorb tremendous amounts of heat.

Question 20

Fission and fusion reactions

A)convert a tiny amount of the mass of the nuclear materials to energy.
B)convert energy to the mass of the nuclear materials.
C)release energy without a change in the mass of the nuclear materials.
D)invest energy to generate nuclear materials.

Question 21

Riding along the road on your bicycle,you make a sharp right turn,hit some gravel,and tumble to the ground striking your shoulder.You are in a lot of pain.Worrying that you might have broken your shoulder blade or a rib,you walk your bike to the nearby hospital for emergency care.
If the radiation you received from your X-ray does pose a health risk,how can this radiation cause the greatest harm?

A)Your DNA in cells that were radiated may be damaged by causing mutations.
B)Enough of your blood cells in the irradiated region may have been killed to make you sick.
C)Your nerves in the irradiated region may have been killed,causing you to lose sensation and control.
D)Most of the cells in the irradiated region were heated and killed by the X-ray energy.

Question 22

About 17,000 Russian nuclear warheads have been

A)stored widely in the former Soviet Union where they remain today with minimal protection.
B)dismantled,but their nuclear waste remains in Russian facilities with minimal security.
C)dismantled,with the nuclear fuel purchased by the United States for its nuclear power plants.
D)concentrated in two centralized Russian locations with high levels of security,awaiting long-term storage.

Question 23

The Megatons to Megawatts program involves a U.S.-Russian agreement to

A)use uranium from Russian nuclear warheads as fuel for U.S.nuclear power plants.
B)use uranium from U.S.nuclear warheads as fuel for Russian nuclear power plants.
C)store high-level nuclear waste in common sites,buried in the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
D)convert uranium from nuclear weapons into fuel to power spacecraft.

Question 24

Radioactive substance A breaks down to substance B with a half-life of 1,000 years.If we start out with four kilograms of radioactive substance A,how much of those four kilograms of substance A will remain in 3,000 years?

A)250 grams
B)500 grams
C)1 kilogram
D)2 kilograms

Question 25

For most people living in developed countries,their greatest exposure to radiation is from

A)the natural environment.
B)dental X-rays.
C)X-rays of the bones of the body.
D)exposure to any sort of fossil fuels.

Question 26

Radioactive wastes consist of

A)high-level direct products of fission.
B)low-level indirect products of fission.
C)high-level direct products of fission and low-level indirect products of fission.
D)the direct and indirect products of fusion.

Question 27

All solar energy on Earth is a result of a reaction of hydrogen atoms combining to form helium.This reaction

A)increases the combined mass of the products.
B)represents a fusion reaction followed by nuclear fission.
C)is the same general process that occurs in nuclear plants.
D)is fusion,while nuclear plants rely on fission.

Question 28

Globally,some of the worst radioactive storage leaks have been associated with

A)military facilities in the United States and Russia.
B)hospitals in Europe.
C)nuclear power plants in China.
D)university research facilities.

Question 29

Compared to a nuclear plant,a coal-fired plant

A)emits much less carbon dioxide.
B)requires much less mining and results in fewer mining deaths.
C)contributes to acid rain,and a nuclear plant does not.
D)releases more than 100 times more radioactivity because of radioactive elements in coal.

Question 30

Radiation exposure immediately around a properly functioning nuclear power plant is about

A)1% greater than the normal environmental background exposure.
B)double normal environmental background exposure.
C)10 times higher than normal environmental background exposure.
D)100 times higher than normal environmental background exposure.

Question 31

The chain reaction in this figure is a

A)self-amplifying chain reaction that is used in most U.S.nuclear power plants.
B)self-amplifying chain reaction that could lead to a nuclear explosion.
C)sustaining chain reaction using control rods,like that used in most U.S.nuclear power plants.
D)sustaining reaction without control rods,demonstrating the consequences of no control.

Question 32

Riding along the road on your bicycle,you make a sharp right turn,hit some gravel,and tumble to the ground striking your shoulder.You are in a lot of pain.Worrying that you might have broken your shoulder blade or a rib,you walk your bike to the nearby hospital for emergency care.
Just two X-rays are taken,and the time of exposure was quite limited.According the U.S.Nuclear Regulatory Agency,your radiation exposure for the X-rays was

A)below any level to cause harm.
B)minimal,but does pose a slight health risk.
C)harmless,because medical radiation is not the same dangerous energy as radiation from nuclear energy.
D)a different type of radiation that does not cause biological damage.

Question 33

If a nuclear reactor generates the expected amount of heated water but no electricity,it is most likely a problem with the

A)fuel rods.
B)control rods.
C)moderator.
D)turbogenerator.

Question 34

Radon is an odorless radioactive gas that you cannot taste or see.Exposure to this naturally occurring gas can be dangerously high in any home in North America.Homes must be specially tested for exposure levels for residents to understand their risks.If risks are high,venting systems can be installed to significantly lower indoor levels of exposure.The most likely health problem associated with long-term exposure to this radioactive gas is

A)a stroke or heart attack.
B)lung cancer.
C)elevated blood pressure.
D)obesity leading to diabetes.

Question 35

A loss-of-accident (LOCA),as in the Fukushima Daiichi plant

A)will result in a nuclear explosion,like a nuclear bomb,if not quickly corrected.
B)is not a safety hazard because the nuclear reactions in core are automatically shut down.
C)if not corrected could result in a meltdown of fuel rods leading to a steam explosion.
D)may cause a meltdown but never a release of radiation into the environment.

Question 36

If in the next decade,nuclear power plants were tripled in the United States,we would expect

A)oil prices to increase.
B)strip-mining of coal to decrease.
C)the price of natural gas to increase.
D)decreased interest in electric cars.

Question 37

Riding along the road on your bicycle,you make a sharp right turn,hit some gravel,and tumble to the ground striking your shoulder.You are in a lot of pain.Worrying that you might have broken your shoulder blade or a rib,you walk your bike to the nearby hospital for emergency care.
Your doctor orders X-rays taken of your upper chest and back.As you lay down and prepare for the X-ray to be taken,a lead blanket is rested over your lower abdomen.The assistant placed the lead blanket on your abdomen to

A)reflect the X-rays to your shoulder.
B)shield your gonads from irradiation.
C)push you firmly against the table for a clear photo of your chest.
D)steady you,so that you do not move as they take the X-ray image.

Question 38

Riding along the road on your bicycle,you make a sharp right turn,hit some gravel,and tumble to the ground striking your shoulder.You are in a lot of pain.Worrying that you might have broken your shoulder blade or a rib,you walk your bike to the nearby hospital for emergency care.
From the 1930s to the 1950s,an X-ray machine called a shoe-fitting fluoroscope was common in shoe stores.People would try on shoes,stand with their feet in the machine,and allow the salesperson to view live images of the bones of their feet in the shoes! Sometimes the salesperson would reach down and adjust the person's shoes for a better image.These machines used X-rays and exposed the feet of customers to 5-30 seconds of radiation.Further,lower doses of radiation exposure also occurred within about 10-15 inches of the outside of the machine.If you were looking for medical problems resulting from the use of these fluoroscopes in shoe stores,where would you expect the greatest harm?

A)customers who had their feet exposed to the X-ray device
B)the salespeople who operated the machine to sell shoes
C)salespeople who worked in nearby stores
D)the salesperson who worked behind the cash register in the store

Question 39

The two reactions indicated in this figure represent

A)fusion at the top and fission at the bottom.
B)fission at the top and fusion at the bottom.
C)two types of fission reactions.
D)two types of fusion reactions.

Question 40

Radioactive wastes consist of

A)the direct products of fission.
B)the indirect products of fission.
C)the direct and indirect products of fission.
D)the direct and indirect products of fusion.

Question 41

NIMBY is

A)a publicly perceived risk of siting a toxic or nuclear waste disposal facility near their homes.
B)the U.S.federal agency that oversees nuclear power facilities.
C)a U.N.organization in Geneva that directs the medical use of radioactive isotopes.
D)the deciding factor in the approval of theYucca Mountain disposal site in Nevada.

Question 42

Unlike corrosion,embrittlement results in the degradation of nuclear power plant materials from the

A)buildup up iron oxide after prolonged exposure to water.
B)rapid expansion and contraction of super-heated and ice-cold water through most of the pipes.
C)use of highly corrosive saltwater throughout most of the water pipes.
D)bombardment of materials by neutrons produced by fission.

Question 43

Head restraints on the back of the seats of most automobiles can prevent whiplash in an accident.Most of these head restraints are large enough that they function without any adjustment.These head restraints are an example of

A)inherent design flaws.
B)active safety.
C)passive safety.
D)reverse engineering.

Question 44

New Generation III nuclear plants such as the AP1000 Advanced Passive Reactor features

A)a combination of nuclear fusion and fission in a single design.
B)a pressurized water system with many new passive safety features to prevent a LOCA.
C)a design that uses a mechanical source of X-rays for power.
D)designs based on the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan.

Question 45

The Chernobyl nuclear accident about 25 years ago

A)resulted in only five deaths and the loss of less than two square miles of land.
B)spread large amounts of deadly radiation over thousands of square miles.
C)avoided a complete core meltdown because of heroic intervention by two men who later died from radiation exposure.
D)was cleaned up and the nuclear reactor rebuilt in 1994 and has been free of problems ever since.

Question 46

Yucca Mountain in the state of Nevada is

A)the location of a leaky nuclear power plant that will cost billions of dollars to clean up.
B)the only potential site for long-term commercial nuclear waste storage in the United States,rejected for safety concerns in 2009.
C)a military base that has accumulated low-level and high-level nuclear waste for many decades.
D)the site of a lake that received illegal dumping of nuclear waste in the 1960s.

Question 47

The nuclear reactor design indicated in this figure is an improvement on old designs because it has

A)water as a coolant.
B)control rods.
C)passive safety features.
D)fewer working parts.

Question 48

Incorporation of passive safety features in nuclear power plants would reduce the chances of a disaster by reducing the chances of

A)human error.
B)retraction of the control rods.
C)terrorist attacks.
D)design flaws.

Question 49

At present,the total number of long-term,commercial,below-ground nuclear waste depository sites in use in the United States is

A)zero.
B)7)
C)23.
D)over a hundred.

Question 50

The longevity of nuclear power plants has averaged about

A)20-25 years due to unexpectedly high levels of corrosion and embrittlement.
B)40-50 years,longer than imagined,because neutrons tend to stabilize the building materials.
C)10 years,only about 25% of their expected life,due to the need for new government-mandated safety designs.
D)40 years,as expected,due to routine maintenance and the replacement with new longer-lasting materials.

Question 51

This is a photograph of what remains of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant that was destroyed in 1986.This reactor exploded primarily because of

A)a terrorist attack.
B)the overuse of the fuel rods.
C)human operating error and design flaws.
D)increased demand for electricity.

Question 52

The more than 100 nuclear power plants planned 30-40 years ago were never built in large part due to

A)increasing incidents of terrorism directed against nuclear plants.
B)decreased demand for electricity and increased costs of safety features in construction.
C)pressing demand for electricity,which required simpler coal-fired power plants that could be built faster.
D)budget constraints stemming from the 2008 recession.

Question 53

The nuclear power accidents at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island are less likely in most modern U.S.nuclear power plants today because of

A)the use of different types of fuels in the nuclear cores that cannot cause a total meltdown.
B)increased reliance on robots to avoid human errors.
C)additional design features that provide more layers of safety.
D)new nuclear power plant designs that require only 1% of the nuclear fuel.

Question 54

The general U.S.government response to possible terrorism at nuclear power plants since 2001 has been

A)limited to a few unenforced regulations.
B)to convert nuclear facilities to military installations with state of the art security.
C)enhanced security at plants and at spent fuel storage pools.
D)nothing,because of budget cuts brought about by the 2008 recession.

Question 55

Security of nuclear resources and the safe storage of nuclear wastes

A)remain a global challenge.
B)have been improved by concentrating these in four secure locations throughout the world.
C)have now been addressed by UN task forces who guard resources that are subject to terrorist attacks.
D)remain a problem only outside of the United States and Canada.

Question 56

Long-term storage of military nuclear waste

A)remains unresolved,as nuclear materials continue to accumulate on U.S.bases in many regions.
B)will be combined with commercial nuclear waste when a suitable storage facility is constructed.
C)is no longer an issue as methods to convert this waste into nuclear fuel has addressed this problem.
D)has been shipped to a central location in New Mexico for more than a decade.

Question 57

The Obama administration's commission on nuclear power waste disposal recommended

A)the process of site selection should be kept secret from the public.
B)a private for-profit corporation should be engaged to choose and construct the facility.
C)that the sites should be spread over dozens of freshwater lakes in the northern United States.
D)there is an immediate need to develop temporary geological storage sites until a permanent one is located.

Question 58

Throughout the world,there is general agreement that the safest place to store long-term nuclear waste is

A)in the major oceans.
B)in space.
C)in high security above ground buildings.
D)deeply underground.

Question 59

The worst case scenario of a disaster at a nuclear power plants is the

A)injury or death of the people working within the power plant.
B)destruction of the costly nuclear fuel used in the plant leading to a thermonuclear explosion
C)destruction of the entire nuclear power plant and loss of electrical generating capacity.
D)large scale meltdown,release and fallout of radioactive particles over thousands of square miles.

Question 60

One of the major problems associated with long-term,high-level nuclear waste storage is

A)selecting an environment that will remain stable for more than 10,000 years.
B)determining a cost-effective way to shoot waste into space.
C)figuring out how to contain the material so that it does not leak into the ocean.
D)creating a secure environment to protect the material from terrorists.

Question 61

Good stewardship of nuclear power is best promoted by

A)government oversight and international cooperation.
B)independent decisions of the countries of the world.
C)oversight provided by the companies that own the facilities.
D)limiting regulations and requirements.

Question 62

The energy released from the sun and other stars comes from

A)the fusion of helium into hydrogen.
B)the fusion of hydrogen into helium.
C)the fission of helium into hydrogen.
D)the fission of hydrogen into helium.

Question 63

One argument opponents to constructing new nuclear power plants use is that

A)construction costs are very low now but will increase in decades to come.
B)there is a major problem in disposing of nuclear wastes and with possible terrorist attacks.
C)there is no demand for nuclear power with coal and natural gas so plentiful and cheap.
D)nuclear power plants are major contributors to global climate change.

Question 64

Compared to standard fission reactors,fast-neutron reactors are

A)less expensive to build.
B)less expensive to operate.
C)more efficient in fuel use.
D)safer,requiring less security.

Question 65

Much of the recent increased interest in nuclear power is related to

A)the limited supply of coal to generate electricity.
B)the limited supply of natural gas to generate electricity.
C)increasing costs of oil and gasoline.
D)concerns about global climate change.

Question 66

A much greater use of breeder or fast-neutron reactors would pose a greater safety risk because fast-neutron reactors would generate greater amounts of

A)heavy water,which can easily leak out into the local community near nuclear power plants.
B)radon gas,which over many years can greatly increase the risk of cancer in the region surrounding a nuclear plant.
C)plutonium,which is more easily used to construct nuclear weapons.
D)lead,which is widely used in the creation of bullets and other ammunitions.

Question 67

In the near future,the number of nuclear power plants in the United States and throughout the world will most likely

A)decline.
B)hold steady.
C)increase.
D)depend upon the price of oil.

Question 68

Reprocessing of nuclear fuel

A)requires the heavy use of lead and iron ore.
B)eliminates the need for nuclear power plants.
C)requires additional mining of uranium.
D)reduces and reuses the stockpile of nuclear waste.

Question 69

Breeder or fast-neutron reactors generate more fuel than they use because

A)these reactors capture the energy of extra neutrons released by 235U fissions.
B)the Second Law of Thermodynamics does not apply to nuclear reactions.
C)of solar collectors that invest the energy of the sun into new fuel.
D)the heat that is usually released in standard reactors is mostly recaptured.

Question 70

Nuclear fusion reactions

A)were used in the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945.
B)require conditions that are not yet cost-efficient for the generation of electricity.
C)are widely used today in nuclear power plants.
D)can only occur in the special conditions of the sun and stars.

Question 71

In the United States and many countries in Europe,there is renewed interest in nuclear power plants because of

A)a worldwide shortage of coal.
B)the spotty availability of natural gas.
C)concern about global climate change.
D)the greatly reduced costs associated with generating electricity using nuclear power.

Question 72

Today,we are able to use nuclear fusion to

A)power a hydrogen bomb.
B)generate electricity efficiently.
C)produce hydrogen for fuel cell cars.
D)power jets and ships.

Question 73

Looking at the number of nuclear power plants under construction in 2010,

A)the largest numbers have been in the United States,Canada,and France.
B)China,the Russian Federation and India are in the lead.
C)nuclear power is on the way out globally,with coal-fired plants rising steeply.
D)the IAEA predicts that the current trend will be reversed.

Question 74

Which of the following is a clear advantage in the use of nuclear power instead of fossil fuels?

A)Nuclear plants are cheaper to build than power plants that burn fossil fuels.
B)Nuclear power can be used today to power most forms of public transportation.
C)Nuclear power contributes less to global climate change.
D)Nuclear power generates fewer wastes with lower health risks.

Question 75

Over the past 50 years,interest in nuclear power

A)rose,decreased,and now is increasing again.
B)decreased,rose,and now is decreasing again.
C)has remained high around the world.
D)was high but then declined and continues to decline worldwide.

Question 76

Nuclear power plants are especially expensive because they

A)require the highest levels of security.
B)usually cost as much to decommission as they did to build.
C)have so many parts that must be coated in gold.
D)are constructed of many thick layers of concrete.

Question 77

In Japan today,the greatest risk associated with the use of nuclear power is

A)an earthquake and/or tsunami.
B)a terrorist attack.
C)the lack of sufficient nuclear fuel.
D)the generation of mutations in nearby plants and animals.