- Nuclear Energy
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Objectives:
- To be able to explain how a nuclear power station works
- To be able to explain how a generator works
Timing: 2 lessons
Last year you looked at how electricity is generated from fossil fuels. You will now look at how it is generated using nuclear fuel.
Find out what is meant by nuclear fission using: http://library.thinkquest.org/3471/nuclear_energy.html, http://www.aecl.ca/kidszone/atomicenergy/. What's the difference in this process in a nuclear reactor and a nuclear bomb?
Now explain step-by-step how a nuclear power station generates electricity, using: http://www.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-power.htm. What are the disadvantages of nuclear power?
Last year you looked at how moving a wire in a magnetic field, induced an electrical current in the wire and a voltage across it. What happens when you reverse the direction of the magnetic field? How can you increase the induced voltage? Now you need to look in more detail at how a generator works. Label the parts of a generator on the worksheet: "a.c. generator (dynamo)" and make sure you know how it works and what each bit does. What was the difference between a generator and a dynamo?
Try the activity at: http://target.raf.mod.uk/students.
Remind yourself what the frequency of mains electricity is in the UK. Is it AC or DC? What determines the frequency?
There are some quizzes on the following site if you didn't do them last year: http://www.bnfleducation.com/games/index.html.
You could do the following worksheet:
