The Power of the Future?

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Author: Betsy Wilkening

Subject Nuclear Energy

Level High School

INTRODUCTION

$C:\\\\webquest\\power plant.jpg$ Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Fission, Nuclear Fusion are these the answers to the world's energy woes? Fossil Fuels supply greater than 90% of the world's energy, yet their supply is finite.
What is our energy future?
How is nuclear energy being used in our country today?
What is nuclear fusion, and how does it compare to nuclear fission?
Does nuclear energy have a place in the production of Hydrogen?

TASK

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Your job is to explore Nuclear Energy and report back to the class about it. You will need to create a written report and an oral presentation. The written report will be at least four pages long per group, or about one page per person on his or her topic. The presentation will be 5 minutes per person.

You will be working in groups of four for this topic. Each person will be responsible for reporting on one of the following topics.

Topics for Nuclear Energy are:

Fossil Fuels:
What are fossil fuels used for?
Supply facts:How much do we have? Who uses them? How long will they last?
What effects do fossil fuels have on our environment?
What is our existing nuclear power output in Arizona and California?
Is this going to change as the price of fossil fuels increase?

Nuclear Fission Reactors:
How does a nuclear fission reactor work?
What are light water, heavy water, and breeder reactors?
What are the safety concerns for Nuclear Fission?

Nuclear Fusion:
What is nuclear fusion?
How does it differ from Nuclear Fission?
Do we have any nuclear fusion facicilities in the U.S.?
Is this technology doable?
What are the safety concerns with nuclear fusion?
What types of fuel are used and what are the by-products?

Nuclear Energy to Produce Hydrogen:
What is hydrogen energy?
What are some advantages to using hydrogen?
What research is being done to use nuclear energy for hydrogen production?

PROCESS

$C:\\\\webquest\\dino_on_bike.jpg$ Decide which member of your group will be covering which topic. Break up the topic evenly. You may do your research together, and write one cohesive report that contains the four parts listed above. However, each member of the group must participate in the presentation. A starting point for your research is given below. If you would like to create a PowerPoint for your presentation that is optional.

Be Creative!

If your research takes you into a smaller subset of the topic, ask the teacher first, and then explore it for your presentation.

Have fun and learn about something that interests you!

RESOURCES

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Below are links to websites to help you start your research. Feel free to explore beyond these sites to get more information.
For the students using information from different agencies like Federation of American Scientists,International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),and Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) background on the agencies can be found on their homepages. It is usually an item listed at the bottom of the page labeled About Us.

Fossil Fuels Background HyNet from Europe - http://www.hynet.info/hydrogen_e/index00.html
Fossil Fuels Background California Energy Commission - http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter08.html
Facts about Palo Verde - http://www.nucleartourist.com/us/pvngs.htm
Nuclear Energy Revival - http://whyfiles.org/130nukes/index.html
Nuclear Energy Background California Energy Commission - http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter13.html
Uranium and explanation of nuclear energy - http://www.uic.com.au/uran.htm
How nuclear power works - http://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-power.htm/printable
What is Fusion? - http://fusioned.gat.com/what_is_fusion.html
Slideshow on fusion - http://fusioned.gat.com/slideshow.html
What is Hydrogen Energy? - http://www.hynet.info/hydrogen_e/index00.html
Nuclear & the Hydrogen Economy - http://www.usnews.com/usnews/tech/nextnews/archive/next041209.htm
Nuclear Energy & Hydrogen Production - http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/8237/8237nuclearenergy.html
Nuclear energy to produce hydrogen - http://www.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/production/high_temperatures.html
DOE News, Nuclear & Hydrogen - http://www.eurekalert.org/features/doe/2003-12/danl-nr031804.php
IAEA site Nuclear & Hydrogen - http://www.iaea.or.at/inis/aws/htgr/abstracts/abst_30027279.html
NEI site Nuclear & Hydrogen: http://www.nei.org/index.asp?catnum=2&catid=265

EVALUATION

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The papers and the presentation will be graded based upon four factors. They are each worth 25 points to give a total of 100 points.

Scientific Explanation:
Did the reports (oral and written) do a good job of explaining the science involved in nuclear energy?
Was it written to the level of the students in the class?
Did it include nuclear chemistry?

Research:
Did the student use the websites given?
Did the students find additional websites?
Were websites cited in the report?

Report:
Is the report written clearly?
Is proper grammar used?
Is it organized?

Presentation:
Was the presentation informative?
Did the student present clearly?
Was the presentation organized?

CONCLUSION

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Now that you've explored Fossil Fuels, Nuclear Energy, and Hydrogen, you should understand more about them. Nuclear chemistry provides us with energy now, and can be more important as our supplies of fossil fuels dwindle. Next time you hear or read a news story that speaks about fossil fuels I hope you have a better understanding of where the alternatives lie.

CREDITS

-The WebQuest Page at San Diego State University: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/
-Aula Tecnológica Siglo XXI: www.aula21.net
-Páginas dispersas: fresno.cnice.mecd.es/~avaler3

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