Doe/ne-0142 Teachers’ Edition U.S. Department of energy Office of Nuclear Energy Foreword The Harnessed Atom is a middle school science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum extension that focuses on nuclear science and energy. It is designed to provide students with accurate, unbiased, and up-to-date information on the roles that energy and nuclear science play in our lives. The curriculum includes essential principles and fundamental concepts of energy science. This update is based on the original 1985 Harnessed Atom curriculum from the U.S. Department of Energy. It has been developed with extensive input from science teachers across the country in pilot test reviews and workshops, as well as technical reviews from scientists and experts at universities, professional societies, and national laboratories. This update includes new science education standards, updated statistics, new experiments, and interactive games. It also provides information on careers in energy research and production that will help students consider coursework needed to achieve their career goals. It has been redesigned to be flexible so it can be tailored to fit within the schedule of classrooms everywhere. The Harnessed Atom includes the student edition, a teacher’s guide with the complete content of the Student Edition, plus the lesson plans, standards, instructor notes, interactive games, classroom activities, laboratory experiments, and outside resource suggestions. One responsibility of the U.S. Department of Energy is to keep the public informed about our Nation’s different energy sources, research, policies, and options. The Harnessed Atom helps meet this goal by providing students with factual information they need to make informed decisions about our nation’s energy options and future—and their role in it. Acknowledgments The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy gratefully acknowledges the following educators and subject matter experts for their guidance and suggestions in developing, pilot testing, and reviewing this update of The Harnessed Atom Middle School Edition. Teachers Maggie Marie Miklos, Conotton Valley Jr./Sr. High School, Bowerston, OH Sezai Hakan Armagan, Burke High School, Omaha, NE Stacey Militello, Oak Middle School, Shrewsbury, MA Nicole Buchman, Buffalo Middle School , Kenova, WV Douglas S. Morrison, Manistique Middle High School, Manistique, MI Mariano Buttitta, Linwood Middle School, North Brunswick, NJ Christie Orlosky, West Shamokin Jr/Sr High School, Rural Valley, PA Andrea Burns, Chestnutt Year Round Middle School, Fayetteville, NC Aaron Pickering, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge, TN Jamie L. Campbell, Pine City Jr/Sr High School, Kenya Reece, North Gulfport Middle School, Gulfport, MS Pine City, MN Melanie Retterer, Brookpark Middle School, Grove City, OH Kimberly Carroll, Central Middle School, Cheryl Robertson, Northwest Middle School, Knoxville, TN Wartburg, TN Tammie Schader, Cheney Middle School, Cheney, WA Janet Clarke-Green, Oak Crest Elementary School, Dawn Sinters-Rizika, Lakota Middle School, Landover, MD Federal Way, WA Jacqueline Collier, South Laurel Middle School, London, KY Eric Stansbery, Ooltewah Middle School, Ooltewah, TN Keith Cook, Severn River Middle School, Arnold, MD Tricia Swann, Maury Middle School, Dandridge, TN Richard A. Craig, Prairie School, Racine, WA Deitra Thomas, Hardin County Middle School, Savannah, TN Leonila Demiao, Charles Herbert Flowers High School, Erica Waggoner, East Literature Magnet School, Nashville, TN Springdale, MD Cheryl Williamson, Capshaw Middle School, Santa Fe, NM Eric Greenlee, Severn River Middle School, Arnold, MD Rachel Young, C. Vernon Spratley Middle School, Hampton, VA Eve Grichting, Mt. Bethel Christian School, Marietta, GA Advisory Review Panel Pamela Higgins, Holcomb Bridge Middle School, Carol Berrigan, Nuclear Energy Institute Alpharetta, GA Dr. Michael Corradini, President, American Nuclear Society, David Hundermark, Jefferson Middle School, University of Wisconsin-Madison Oak Ridge, TN Candace Davison, Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, Tamara Ingalls, Bull Run Middle School, The Pennsylvania State University Gainesville, VA Teri Ehresman, Nuclear Science & Technology, Tamora Jackson, Bellevue Middle School, Idaho National Laboratory Memphis, TN Melinda Hamilton, Education Programs, Sarah Kennelley, George Washington Middle School 1, Idaho National Laboratory Alexandria, VA DaNel Hogan, Physics Teacher, DOE Einstein Fellow David Robert Klingensmith, Granite Oaks Middle School, Sharon Kerrick, American Nuclear Society Rocklin, CA Lisa Marshall, NC State University Department of Brian Lowes, Kettering Middle School, Kettering, OH Nuclear Engineering Mildred Manulat, Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High Dr. Kenneth Lee Peddicord, Nuclear Engineering Senior School, Baltimore, MD Associate Dean, Texas A&M University Jeanette McNally, Miamisburg Middle School, Dr. Kathryn McCarthy, Deputy Associate Laboratory Miamisburg, OH Director, Nuclear Science & Technology, Timothy R. Micheli, Compass Public Charter School, Idaho National Laboratory Meridian, ID Chuck Vincent, American Nuclear Society Table of Contents Pretest Lesson 1 - Energy Basics Lesson 2 - Electricity Basics Lesson 3 - Atoms and Isotopes Lesson 4 - Ionizing Radiation Lesson 5 - Fission, Chain Reactions Lesson 6 - Atom to Electricity Lesson 7 - Waste from Nuclear Power Plants Lesson 8 - Concerns Lesson 9 - Energy and You Lesson 10 - Review Posttest Pretest Student Version The Harnessed Atom - Pretest Directions: Circle the letter of the answer that best completes each statement. 1. The two basic states of energy are ______________ and ______________. a. potential and kinetic b. potential and chemical c. chemical and mechanical d. electrical and radiant 2. Energy sources that cannot be replaced are called _____________________________. a. renewable b. secondary c. primary d. non-renewable 3. The flow of electrons is __________________________________. a. radiation b. electricity c. magnetic force d. nucleus 4. In the United States, most electricity is produced by using steam to turn the blades of a __________. a. condenser b. generator c. turbine d. flywheel 5. Atoms of an element with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons are _____. a. isotopes b. electrons c. gamma rays d. radioactive Pre-test - 1 6. The main difference between a nuclear power plant and other kinds of power plants is that at a nuclear power plant ______________________________. a. steam is used to turn the turbine b. electricity is made by the generator c. the heat used to make steam is produced by splitting atoms d. water is used for cooling 7. Alpha, beta, and gamma are types of ________________________________________. a. atoms b. molecules c. radiation d. elements 8. Radioactive atoms throw off particles and/or rays in a process called _________________________. a. half-life b. decay c. fission d. fusion 9. Distance, shielding, and time affect the amount of exposure to _____________________________. a. electricity b. molecules c. elements d. radiation 10. In 2012, more than half of the electricity made in the U.S. that did NOT release carbon dioxide (CO2) was from _________________________________. a. wind farms b. solar farms c. geothermal power plants d. nuclear power plants 11. Splitting the atom to release energy is called ___________________________________________. a. fusion b. fission c. generation d. division 2 - Pre-test 12. An atom is identified by the number of _______________ in its nucleus. a. protons b. electrons c. protons and neutrons d. neutrons 13. The element now used as fuel in most nuclear power plants is ______________________________. a. cadmium b. uranium c. thorium d. helium 14. Greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are associated with _______________________. a. radioactive decay b. half-life c. climate change d. nuclear chain reactions 15. About 20 percent of electricity used in the United States is generated by using _________________. a. coal b. nuclear fission c. wind energy d. solar cells 16. The _______________ of an atom contains protons and neutrons. a. nucleus b. isotope c. electron d. molecule 17. The kind of energy released by unstable isotopes is ______________________________________. a. electricity b. static c. motion d. radiation Pre-test - 3 18. The reason that we isolate nuclear waste from the environment is that it ____________________. a. could release greenhouse gasses b. is expensive c. is radioactive d. is biodegradable 19. At a nuclear power plant, fission takes place in the _____________________________________. a. steam-generator b. reactor c. control rods d. turbine 20. The coolant/moderator of a nuclear power plant slows down ____________________________. a. neutrons b. protons c. electrons d. nucleus 21. In the United States, most of the low-level radioactive wastes come from _____________________. a. hospitals and industry b. nuclear power plants c. fossil fuel power plants d. NASA’s space program 22. When the control rods are inserted into the core of a reactor, ______________________________. a. more neutrons are available to cause fission b. the nuclear chain reaction slows or stops c. the nuclear chain reaction speeds up d. the temperature in the core increases 23. After being used in the reactor, nuclear fuel is __________________________________________. a. not radioactive b. slightly radioactive c. highly flammable d. highly radioactive 4 - Pre-test 24. Our natural environment is the source of