Introduction to Nuclear – Starter Pack

Summary

This starter pack provides a complete nuclear energy quiz and vocabulary resource to reinforce key terms from the video. Students will learn essential vocabulary such as proliferation, radioactive, spent fuel, and cooling tower. The quiz and cloze notes assess student understanding of the core concepts, including nuclear fuel’s power and the challenges associated with the technology.

Bell Ringer

Instructions: Answer the prompt provided by your teacher.

Vocabulary

Instructions: Watch the Introduction to Nuclear video and listen for the vocabulary words.

Word	Definition	Example
Proliferation	noun; the rapid spread or reproduction of something	“Another challenge is proliferation. Could terrorists turn this waste into a bomb?”
Radioactive	adjective; radioactive elements give off particles and energy that can be harmful if not handled safely	“It still has a huge amount of energy in it, which means it’s hot, and it’s radioactive.”
Spent fuel	noun phrase; used up nuclear fuel that can’t be used, but is still very hot and dangerous	“Handling this spent fuel is a major challenge of nuclear . . .”
Cooling tower	noun phrase; a tall structure where water is cooled and evaporated by exposing it to air	“That’s steam coming out of the cooling tower; water is evaporated to cool the plant.”
Emissions	noun; solid, liquid or gas particles that are released from an object or when a substance is burned	“Nuclear [makes electricity] with zero emissions.”
Pellet	noun; a small, solid piece of something – like a tiny fuel capsule	“One uranium pellet weighs a quarter of an ounce.”
Equivalent	adjective; the same amount or value as something else	“That’s equivalent to one ton of coal.”
Robust	adjective; very strong and able to hold up under tough conditions	“To contain all that energy, the plants must be incredibly robust.”
Opposition	noun; people who disagree with something and try to stop it	“That means public opposition, lawsuits, more time, and more expense to build a plant.”
Plant	noun; a large building where electricity or other products are made	“They’re much more expensive than, say, a natural gas plant.”
Uranium	noun; a naturally radioactive metal element used as fuel in nuclear energy	“One uranium pellet weighs a quarter of an ounce.”

Quiz & Cloze Notes

Instructions: Circle the correct answer based on what you learned in the Introduction to Nuclear video then fill in the blanks using the word bank.

Q1. How much coal would be needed to produce the same amount of energy as one pellet of uranium?

One pound
One hundred pounds
One ton
Ten tons

Q2. Select the statement about nuclear energy that is true.

Nuclear energy has a better safety record than other sources of energy.
Nuclear energy is cheaper to implement than other sources of energy.
Nuclear energy produces more emissions than other sources of energy.
Nuclear energy is more common in the US than other sources of energy.

Q3. What are the two biggest challenges to adopting nuclear energy?

Safety and CO₂ emissions
Fuel availability and stability
Cost and public perception
Efficiency and security

Q4: What happens to nuclear fuel after it can no longer efficiently produce electricity?

It is no longer radioactive.
It is discarded as regular waste.
It still contains a large amount of energy and is radioactive.
It is converted into gas.

Word Bank

challenge	cost	electricity	hazards
kilowatt	nuclear	powerful	safety record

_________________________ supplies about 10% of the _________________________ in the world. The fuel is plentiful and very _________________________ making the cost per _________________________ very cheap. Nuclear has potential environmental _________________________, but the _________________________ has been very good. The _________________________ is the huge _________________________ to build a plant.

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