Physics 30 PBL
Putting the clear in Nuclear!
OR
Yo shawty! U da (Nuclear) BOMB!
You are an independent organization, called the Community Issues Team, which provides an objective perspective to community issues. Nuke-O Power wants to set up a nuclear reactor to provide electricity to the province of Saskatchewan. The community around the proposed site has serious concerns regarding nuclear energy. Your initial assessment of the situation shows a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation within the community. Nuke-O Power obviously wants to build their reactor and the information presented thus far is accurate but obviously pushes their agenda and interests.
Your job is to present objective and factual information to the community so they can make the best decision for their community with the most accurate and objective information available.
Teacher’s notes
The big picture is for the students to understand and report on Radioactivity, Nuclear Fission, and Nuclear Reactors. The big idea is for the students to develop a position which either supports or rejects the use of nuclear energy using a solid knowledge base of all the outcomes.
Disclosure 1 (Outcome A 1 and Outcome C 1)
The community of Wadena, Saskatchewan has asked your organization to look into the proposed site of a nuclear reactor near their community, on the shore of Quill Lakes. The
Nuke-O Power company has had several meetings with community members; however, the community wants an objective opinion of the proposed project. Many of the community members are unfamiliar with the language used by the representatives of Nuke-O Power. Questions regarding radioactivity, isotopes, alpha and beta particles, gamma rays, dosimetry, absorbed dose, dose equivalent, quality factor, fission, moderator, nuclear mass defect, chain reaction, enrichment, control rods, nuclear reactor, and critical mass have left many people confused. The townspeople want clarification of these terms.
Name______Date______
Discussion Questions – Meet the Problem
1) What is the problem?
2) What do you KNOW about the problem? Brainstorm and list all your ideas.
3) What do you NEED TO KNOW?
4) Develop a Problem Statement
How can we…in such a way that…
ASK YOURSELF: Is the Problem Statement relevant to the problem?
5) What do you NEED TO DO? Who? How? Where? When?
Name______Date______
Information Gathering
1) Write down your findings – include all data and results (use separate sheets).
2) How is this information relevant to the problem?
3) What was your resource? Is it credible?
4) Share your information at the next session.
Name______Date______
Information Sharing – Group Session
Each team member will share his or her findings with the group; disclosure to follow.
1) What do you KNOW? Brainstorm and list all ideas.
2) What do you NEED TO KNOW? Brainstorm and list all ideas.
3) Revisit your Problem Statement considering what you now KNOW and what you still NEED TO KNOW.
ASK YOURSELF: Is the Problem Statement relevant to the problem?
What do you NEED TO DO? Who? How? Where? When?
Darron Wigglebottom
Wadena Elementary School
Box 777
Wadena, SK S0A 4J0
March 2, 2012
Community Issues Team
Box 327
Landis, SK S0K 2K0
Dear Community Issues Team:
Many of my science students have questions regarding Radioactivity. Could you please take the time to answer their questions?
· Is radiation man made or is it found in nature? (Sally Headsnark)
· My dad doesn’t have a job. He spends his day drinking diet Red Bull, eating corn chips, and working on his rusted-out 1983 Pontiac Firebird while wearing his favourite stained Whitesanke concert t-shirt. He says when he finally gets it running (he’s been unemployed and working on it for 6 years) “it’ll haul some serious butt!” I told him that his firebird maybe could go faster if it had a nuclear engine in it. My dad said that would be awesome! He’s building his fission engine in the garage right now using the empty Red Bull cans. So how much more energy is released in a fission reaction than burning gas? (Bubba Wimpknuckle)
· What kind of machines can detect radiation? (Bubba Borringhood)
· My Grandpa likes to spend the entire summer in the yard wearing nothing more than a leopard print Speedo that is 5 sizes too small. He’s fat and really tan. He looks like an old leather couch digging in the garden in a leopard print Speedo. Is there a safe amount of radiation you can be exposed to? (Jane Bumcuddle)
· Who discovered radiation? (Brent Bumblepookie)
· My sister dared me to eat some Mentos and then drink some Coke. All the kids at school told me it would explode my stomach if I did it so I told me sister no. My sister called me a smelly-pants baby so I punched her in the throat. But it got me thinking. Is it a danger to have a nuclear explosion in a nuclear reactor? (Cuddles Cheesewipe)
· Are their different types of radiation? (Timmy Baconcorn)
· Mr. Wigglebottom asked that class if we knew what nuclear and fallout meant. I told him that when my dad spends a long time in the bathroom, mom says that he makes the bathroom “nuclear” with a lot of “toxic radioactive fallout”. He said I was wrong but Mr. Wigglebottom hasn’t had to go in the bathroom after dad has used it. Can you tell me what radioactive fallout is? (Carmen Twitwipe)
· So how much energy is released in a fission reaction? (Stewie Twerpknocker)
· Can we use our 5 senses to detect radiation? Can we “feel” radiation?
(Randy Faceclown)
· What are alpha particles, beta particles and gamma rays? Can you compare their penetrating power, speed and potential danger for me? Thanks. (Simon Doofbone)
· What is the effect of radiation on human tissues? What happens if you are exposed to low levels of radiation? (Carmen Schnookiekins)
· Our teacher is making us measure stuff in science class. I pulled the hair that was growing out of my mom’s mole on her cheek and brought it to school. It was 17 cm long. It’s also 170 mm long. It weighed 1.1 g. Mr. Wigglebottom said it’s really gross and my mom is mad at me. She took away my DS for a week. Anyway, my question is what kind of symbols and units do you use with radiation? (Phoebe Grumbleloaf)
Again, thank you for your answering the student’s questions. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
DarronWigglebottom
Darron Wigglebottom
Teacher
Wadena Elementary School
Disclosure 2 (Outcome A 2-6, 8-10, 12-21, Outcome B 6, 7, 12 and Outcome C 5)
Your team has just received a letter from the Science teacher at Wadena Elementary School. The letter has questions from the students. The teacher, Darrol Wigglebottom, is not comfortable in answering the questions. Please answer the student’s questions from the attached letter.
Disclosure 3 (Outcome C 1-3, 6-8)
As you and your team are waiting for lunch in a local café in Wadena, you overhear the mayor and the town council talking about the meeting they just had with various companies who will be building the nuclear reactor for Nuke-O Power. You come to the realization that the mayor and town council have completely misunderstood the information presented to them by the various companies. You and your team realize you have to do the following based on what you overheard:
1. Provide a clear and accurate description on how a nuclear reactor works, preferably with visuals, videos, interactive materials, etc.
2. Identify the type of fuel used in a nuclear reactor and outline the fuel cycle, from the mining phase to the final storage of waste material.
3. Talk about the CANDU nuclear reactor, specifically the main features, the safety features and the role of heavy water.
Disclosure 4 (Outcome C 9-12)
Wadena has become a political powder keg! Demonstrators from all over the world have shown up in support or protest of the proposed nuclear reactor. Residents are being bombarded with propaganda from both pro and anti nuclear activists. The town is looking for you to provide the objective information they need that they are not getting from the protestors and activists. The town has asked you in your final presentation to provide the facts the supporters of nuclear energy use to defend their position. They also want you to address the concerns of using nuclear energy. The townspeople also want the environmental concerns of generating electricity using nuclear and non nuclear sources.