HW #13

Control is maintained in a nuclear reactor by control rods that

absorb excess neutrons

Relative to a fossil-fuel plant, a nuclear power plant produces

all of these( more electricity. less heat and smoke. less pollution)

The energy output of a typical nuclear reactor is via

all of these(heating water to form steam. directing steam to a turbine. spinning a turbine to generate electricity.)

The disadvantages to fission power plants include

all of these(radioactive waste disposal. production of plutonium for possible weapons proliferation. risk of accidental release of radioactivity)

Radium (Atomic number = 88) transmutes to radon (Atomic number = 86) by

alpha emission.

A nuclear power plant is very similar to

any conventional power plant, but with uranium as fuel.

Energy released by the Sun results from the process wherein atomic nuclei

combine

When two light atoms fuse together, mass (choose all that apply)

converts to high-energy gamma radiation, converts to kinetic energy

Carbon-14 is produced in the atmosphere principally by

cosmic-ray bombardment.

In the fissioning of uranium, a chain reaction is caused by

ejected neutrons.

Nuclear reactors that produce consumer power in present times are powered by

fission

What does a breeder reactor "breed?"

fissionable isotopes from a non-fissionable isotopes

The nuclear process having by-products with least radioactivity is

fusion

Plutonium is extremely rare in natural ore deposits because it

has a short half-life compared with the age of Earth.

The balance between electrical and nuclear strong forces is more tenuous in

heavier elements.

The nucleus that has the least mass per nucleon is

iron

Compared with the sum of isolated-nucleon masses, their collective mass in a composite nucleus is

less

Compared with the mass of a uranium nucleus before splitting, the split fragments have

less mass.

Compared with the energy produced by fissioning a gram of uranium, the energy produced by fusing a gram of deuterium is

more

A chain reaction progresses when the average number of liberated neutrons that cause further fissions is

one or more.

The kinetic energy of fission fragments in a nuclear reactor

superheats water and produces steam

The term critical mass refers to the least amount of mass that can

sustain a chain reaction

Sustained energy output by fusion is a daily occurrence in

the Sun