1. Miss Nelson SCIENCE ~ CHAPTER 12 ENERGY AND MATERIAL RESOURCES

2. Nuclear Energy SECTION 3

3. ANTICIPATORY SET What does an atom look like? What are the parts of an atom?

4. S 6.6.a- Students know the utility of energy sources is determined by factors that are involved in converting these sources to useful forms and the consequences of the conversion process S 6.6.b- Students know the different natural energy and material resources, including air, soil, rocks, minerals, petroleum, fresh water, wildlife, and forests; and know how to classify them as renewable or nonrenewable STANDARDS

5. What happens during a nuclear fission reaction? How does a nuclear power plant produce electricity? How does a nuclear fusion reaction occur? THE BIG IDEA

6.  Nucleus – the central core of an atom that contains the protons and neutrons  Nuclear fission – the splitting of an atom’s nucleus into two smaller nuclei and neutrons  Reactor vessel – the part of a nuclear reactor where nuclear fission occurs KEY TERMS

7.  Fuel rod –a uranium rod that undergoes fission in a nuclear reactor  Meltdown – a dangerous condition in which fuel rods inside a nuclear reactor melt  Nuclear fusion – the combining of two nuclei to produce a single larger nucleus and much energy KEY TERMS

8.  The center core of an atom that contains the protons and neutrons is called the nucleus  More than one nucleus = nuclei  Reactions that involve nuclei (called nuclear reactions) result in tremendous amounts of energy NUCLEAR ENERGY

9. There are two types of nuclear reactions:  Fission  Fusion NUCLEAR ENERGY

10. Nuclear reactions convert matter into energy NUCLEAR FISSION

11.  What matter is changed into energy, and enormous amount of energy is released  Albert Einstein developed a formula that described the relationship between energy and matter  E = mc 2  E – energy  M – mass  C – speed of light NUCLEAR FISSION

12. Nuclear fission is the splitting of an atom’s nucleus into two smaller nuclei FISSION REACTIONS

13.  The fuel for this reaction is a large atom that has an unstable nucleus  Such as Uranium-235 (U-235)  When the neutron hits the U-235 nucleus, the nucleus splits apart into two smaller nuclei and two or more neutrons  The total mass of all these particles is a bit less than the mass of the original nucleus  The small mass that makes up the difference has been converted into energy  A LOT of energy! FISSION REACTIONS

14. While this was happening…  The reaction has produced more neutrons!  If any of these strike another nucleus, the fission reaction starts over again  More neutrons, and more energy are released…  If there are enough nuclei around, the process starts a chain reaction  The amount of energy released increases dramatically with each new reaction FISSION REACTIONS

15. So what happens to all this energy?  If a nuclear chain reaction IS NOT controlled…  A HUGE EXPLOSION!!  Such as the explosion of an atomic bomb  If the chain reaction IS controlled…  The energy is released as heat, which can be used to generate electricity (nuclear power plant) ENERGY FROM FISSION

16. Read Nuclear Fission on pages 494-495 of your textbook NUCLEAR FISSION

17.  Controlled nuclear fission reactions take place inside nuclear power plants  Nuclear power plants generate as much of the world’s electricity  About 20 percent in the United States  About 70 percent in France NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

18.  The uranium fuel for nuclear power plants is refined from uranium ores  Uranium ore is fairly abundant  Since new uranium ore is not being created, uranium is considered a nonrenewable resource NUCLEAR FUEL

19. In a nuclear power plant, the heat released from fission is used to change water into steam The steam then turns the blades of a turbine to generate electricity ENERGY PRODUCTION

20. Read the specifics of Energy Production on pages 496 of your textbook ENERGY PRODUCTION

21.  Accidents at nuclear power plants have led to safety concerns  If the fuel rods in a power plant cause too much heat they can cause a meltdown  Another problem with nuclear power is the disposal of highly radioactive wastes  Nuclear plants also emit lots of heat to the air and nearby bodies of water  However, they don’t emit carbon dioxide, so they might not contribute to global warming PROS AND CONS

22. In nuclear fusion, two hydrogen nuclei combine to create a helium nucleus, which has slightly less mass than the two hydrogen nuclei. The lost mass is converted to large amounts of energy. THE QUEST TO CONTROL FUSION

23.  Nuclear fusion is the process by which the sun produces energy  On Earth, fusion is a promising future energy source  Fusion fuels are readily available  However, fusion can take place only at extremely high pressure s and temperatures  The construction of a practical fusion reactor is a major engineering challenge that may take many years to complete TO QUEST TO CONTROL FUSION

24. What is nuclear fission? Describe the steps that occur in a nuclear fission reaction? CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

25. What is nuclear fission? Nuclear fission is the splitting of an atom’s nucleus into two smaller nuclei. Describe the steps that occur in a nuclear fission reaction? In a nuclear fission reaction, a neutron strikes a U-235 nucleus, which splits into two smaller nuclei and releases two or more neutrons and energy. CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

26. What type of nuclear reaction produces electricity in a nuclear power plant? What are the steps involved? GUIDED PRACTICE

27. What type of nuclear reaction produces electricity in a nuclear power plant? The type of nuclear reaction that produces electricity in a nuclear power plant is a controlled nuclear fission chain reaction. What are the steps involved? The steps involved in a controlled nuclear fission chain reaction are thermal energy is released by fission reaction and used to boil water, which produces steam to turn the blades of a turbine which generate electricity. GUIDED PRACTICE

28. Complete Energy 12-3 Independent Practice INDEPENDENT PRACTICE