Study questions for the third test
Updated weekly. Last updated: 11/17/03
Be sure you understand the answers to all the questions and
problems you did in class as group work. The following are study
questions; if you can answer all of them you will probably pass the
test.
- Define the following terms:
- solenoid
- electromagnet
- Van Allen belts
- cosmic rays
- aurora borealis
- magnetic bottles
- plasma
- armature
- commutator
- Faraday's law
- rectifier
- DC
- AC
- transformer
- pumped storage
- cogeneration
- topping and bottoming cycle
- Explain how each of the following works: swiping a credit card,
traffic sensor, reading a floppy disk, playing a cassette tape, the
pickup on an electric guitar, metal detector at an airport.
- What is the difference between and electric motor and an electric
generator in principle?
- How is the Power in = Power out equation on page 368 similar to
conservation of energy? How is it different?
- For a transformer you can get more voltage out than you put in so
why doesn't this break the conservation of energy?
- Why do we use transformers? Wouldn't it be easier to transmit
electricity without going to the trouble to boost the voltage when it
leaves the plant and then having to drop the voltage near your house?
- Discuss the evidence for and against the idea that EMF near power
lines cause health problems.
- Explain why it is very unlikely that EMF from the power grid is a
problem for living organisms but EMF from cell phones could be.
- Define the following terms:
- photo voltaic
- photoelectric effect
- doping
- n-type semiconductor
- p-type semiconductor
- amorphous silicon
- Czochralski process
- synchronous inverter
- feathering of a wind turbine blade
- PURPA
- Darrieus rotor
- amp-hour
- green power
- head (for hydropower)
- undershot wheel
- breast wheel
- overshot wheel
- micro-hydro
- penstock
- heliostat
- Make a list of advantages and disadvantages of photocells.
- Explain the photoelectric effect.
- The photoelectric effect assumes light
is a particle called the photon. In previous chapters we said light is
a wave. Explain.
- If we change the color of light so that the frequency doubles,
what happens to the energy of the photon?
- Light sensitive paper used to make photographs can be handled in
a darkroom where there is dim red light. Why would you expect less
sensitivity to red light than, say blue (hint: see page 108).
- How does a photocell work?
- What is the typical efficiency of a photocell? What are the
reasons for it being so low?
- Photocell efficiencies are low. Why is this not a problem?
- How are PV solar cells being put into use in developing countries?
- What percent of the US total electrical needs could be supplied
by wind? What is it currently?
- Why is wind power a good complement to solar power?
- The power that can be extracted from the wind is proportional to
the velocity cubed. Suppose a wind machine is operating and the wind
doubles. By how much does the power increase?
- Why is the support tower for a wind turbine constructed as tall
as possible?
- What is the maximum efficiency of a wind to electrical wind
turbine?
- What state in the US has the most wind generated electricity? How
much of this states electricity comes from wind?
- What kind of water wheel is most efficient? How efficient is it?
- About wat percent of the possible hydroelectric sites in the US
have already been developed?
- What are some of the environmental consequences of hydroelectric
power?
- What factors determine the power output of a hydroelectric system?
- What is the difference between solar thermal and solar PV?
- Define the following terms:
- Periodic table
- law of definite proportions
- radioactive
- cathode
- cathode ray
- anode
- alpha, beta, gamma
- quarks
- up, down, charm, strange, bottom, top
- atomic number
- diatomic
- molecule
- quantized
- atomic spectra
- deuterium
- tritium
- isotope
- half life
- nucleon
- transmutation
- Becquerels
- Curies
- nuclear binding energy
- electron volt
- MeV
- Van de Graaff accelerator
- fission
- chain reaction
- Describe the different behavior of alpha, beta and gamma
radiation in an electric field. Why do they behave differently?
- Gamma and visible light are both electromagnetic waves. Why is
gamma harmful but visible light not?
- What important modern day use is made of a cathode ray tube?
- How are quantized energy levels in an atom and atomic spectra
connected?
- Explain why the colors that neon gives off are unique to neon and
are not seen in any other element's spectra.
- List as many different ways you can think of to 'excite' an
electron into a higher energy level.
- How do we know the sun is mostly hydrogen with small amounts of
helium and other elements?
- How can we identify the chemical make-up of any substance by
examining the light given off when the substance is heated?
- What is the difference between a nuclear reaction and a chemical
reaction?
- Why are the atomic masses of most elements not whole numbers?
- Explain the significance of the equation E = mc2.
- How does the equation E = mc2 fit with conservation of
energy?
- What is the significance of the fact that carbon 14 has 8 protons
and carbon 12 only has 6 protons?
- Suppose you have 40 g of a radioactive isotope with a half life
of 3 days. How much of this isotope will have decayed after 12 days?
- Explain how radiometric dating works. Use carbon 14 as an example.
- About how many cases of lung cancer a year are caused by radon?
- How is fission different from alpha, beta or gamma decay?
- For the following nuclear reactions, fill in the missing atomic
and mass numbers of the daughter products.
- 13153I to 12751Sb
+ ?
- 6027Co to 6028Ni +
?
- 23392U +10n to 13754Xe
+ 9038Sr + ?
- 23592U alpha decay to Th
- Th beta decay to Pa
- Pa alpha decay to Ac
- Define the following terms:
- breeder reactor
- A- bomb
- hydrogen bomb
- Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- chain reaction
- critical mass
- control rods
- moderator
- BWR, LWR, PWR, RBMK, CANDU, LMFBR, HTGR
- gaseous diffusion
- laser enrichment
- high, medium and low level radioactive waste
- actinides
- NIMBY
- decommissioning
- rem
- probabilistic risk assessment
- Rasmussen report
- What country supplies 77% of it's electrical capacity with
nuclear energy?
- Why does uranium have to be enriched in order to be used in a
reactor or a bomb? How much does uranium have to be enriched to use in
a reactor? In a bomb?
- Can a nuclear reactor explode in a nuclear explosion like a bomb?
Why or why not?
- Why do reactors need a moderator?
- Why has the US decided against reprocessing whereas France has
not? What are some advantages and disadvantages of reprocessing?
- Where does the largest amount of radioactive waste come from in
this country?
- List some of the options for disposal of nuclear waste and
discuss each.
- What are three options for decommissioning a nuclear power plant?
- Which radioactive fission products are gasses? What is done with
these fission products?
- What can happen in a loss of coolant accident?
- Discuss the Chernobyl and Three mile island accidents.
- What countries were most affected by radiation fallout from the
Chernobyl accident?
- What is the weak link in reactor safety?
- What are the differences between BWR, LWR, PWR, RBMK, CANDU,
LMFBR, HTGR, 'passively safe' and breeder reactors?
- How does one go about doing a probabilistic risk assessment?
- Discuss the pros and cons of a plutonium economy.
- Discuss table 14.6 and the points made in the book about the
relative costs of nuclear versus coal generated electric power. Which
is more expensive in terms of cost and lives?
- Define the following terms:
- X-ray, gamma ray, visible, uv, ultraviolet, radio, TV
- rad
- ionizing radiation
- rem
- gray
- roentgen
- quality factor
- curie
- becquerel
- sievert
- leathal dose
- LD-50
- linear response dose
- radon
- cosmic rays
- radioisotopes
- half-value
- Thermoluminescent dosimeter
- Why are is the QF different for different kinds of radiation?
- What are the effects of high radiation doses?
- What are the parts of the body which are most sensitive to
ionizing radiation?
- Why is the linear response dose model probably wrong for
radiation (and other carcinogens)?
- What was learned about the effects of radiation on humans from
Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
- What other sources of information on the carcinogenic nature of
radiation on humans are available?
- Exposure to the EPA standard of 4.0 pCi/L corresponds to about
how many chest X-rays per year?
- List and discuss the types and amounts of radiation received by
individuals in the US.
- What are internal natural radionulides?
- What radioactive gases are emitted by nuclear power plants? What
does does a typical person receive as a result?
- List some radioisotopes and their uses.
- Does radiation of food make it radioactive? Explain.
- List some things you would do to decrease your exposure if you
were locked in a laboratory with a radioactive source.
- How are radioactive sources used to measure thickness in industry?
- What else are radioactive sources used for in industry besides
measuring thickness?