The following questions are about the nuclear reactor of a power plant.

a) Which isotope of uranium produces the energy in the fuel rods?


b) Will the fuel rods last forever?


c) Is the energy produced by nuclear fission or nuclear fusion?


d) What is the purpose of using the graphite moderator ?


e) What is the function of boron rods in the nuclear reactor?


f) Why is liquid sodium (or carbon dioxide gas) pumped through the reactor?

a) Uranium-235 produces the energy in the fuel rods

b) No they won't last forever.


c) Energy is produced by nuclear fission.


d) In a nuclear reactor, a moderator is mixed with the uranium fuel to slow down the fast neutrons to the speed of thermal neutrons, which enables fission to occur in a controlled nuclear chain reaction.


e) Boron rods are used in nuclear reactors to control the fission rate of uranium and plutonium.


f) Liquid sodium or carbon dioxide gas is used as a 'coolant' to transfer the heat produced to heat exchanger for converting water into steam.


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