Nuclear Chemistry Research Project
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan Details On August 6, 1945, during WWII, an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people.
The power of this new weapon forced Japan to surrender and brought the end of WWII Significance Details and Significance Details: The Three Mile Island accident was a partial nuclear meltdown which occurred in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania on March 28, 1979. Was caused by failures in the non-nuclear secondary system, followed by a stuck-open pilot-operated relief valve in the primary system, which allowed large amounts of nuclear reactor coolant to escape. Significance: Increased safety concerns among activists and the general public, resulted in new regulations for the nuclear industry, and has been noted as a contributor to the decline of a new reactor construction program which was put in motion in the 1970's Atomic Bombs The Three Mile Island Accident: Chemistry Research Project: Nuclear Chemistry Relation with Japan's Accident Both accidents highlight what human error can cause in the nuclear industry and the severity of not being prepared for anything. Both accidents have raised the awareness around nuclear reactors and have made society question whether nuclear power plants are the best thing for society or more of a danger. Information An atomic bomb is a weapon with great explosive power that results from the sudden release of energy upon the splitting, or fission, of the nuclei of such heavy elements as plutonium or uranium. Was created through the Manhattan Project which began in 1939 and ended with the creation of the atomic bomb in 1945. A ban on atomic bombs has been attempted with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty but has not yet been put in motion since 8 states have yet to sign, however a bomb hasn't been dropped since 1945.
The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki showed the dangers of nuclear weapons to the entire world. With the devastation shown on these horrific days, the world had an increase of nuclear research and raised the tensions of future wars.
The events which occurred at Nagasaki and Hiroshima brought forth the Nuclear Age. How Does It Work? An atom bomb works by initiating a nuclear chain reaction, which releases a huge amount of energy relative to conventional explosives. Per unit volume, an atom bomb may be millions or billions of times more powerful than TNT.
This resource is also part of the! This Nuclear Chemistry Class Blog Research Project is the greatest way to spark your students’ innate interest in learning about the many interesting and historical topics that fall under the umbrella of nuclear chemistry. Included is an introductory powerpoint on pop culture references to nuclear chemistry and radioactivity.this always elicits interest and hooks the students! (think Spiderman, the Hulk, the Simpsons, etc.!) For the blog project, students each choose a topic from a list of 25 topics that are related to the field of nuclear chemistry, including: dealing with nuclear waste, radioisotopes in medicine, Chernobyl, Fukushima and Three Mile Island meltdowns, food irradiation, radiocarbon dating, radioisotopes in spacecraft, nuclear disarmament, and many more!
Each student researches his or her topic and writes a detailed blog post to explain the topic to other students. The platform that I use to set up the class blog is EDUBLOGS.ORG.
Nuclear Chemistry Notes
I have experimented with other sites, but I think that this one is the best. I have included detailed instructions for setting up and customizing the blog so that it perfectly fits the directions, rubric, and follow-up activity for this project.Please note that it is FREE to set up a blog on Edublogs. However, in my instructions, I explain that for $7.95 for a month you can upgrade to the Pro version of the blog platform, which used to be necessary in order for your students to be able to upload videos/media onto their posts. What I would do is pay the $7.95 for a one month subscription and cancel it before the month is up (after my students have completed the project). However, according to the current Edublogs website, they have upgraded this feature for the Free version. This means that you may be able to facilitate this project without upgrading to the Pro version. Once each student has published his or her blog post, the students complete a follow-up activity that includes two parts: a 'blogquest' to search for specific information in other students' posts, and making positive comments and giving feedback to other students through the 'comments' function on the blog site.
As the administrator of the blog, you have complete control over what posts and comments get published, so there is no chance of someone writing something inappropriate! My students LOVE doing this project. They are innately interested in these topics and they tell me that they learn so much in this format!