Video Transcript
Fill in the blanks. A nuclear power station converts
blank energy into blank energy.
Okay, so in this question, we wanna
figure out what words go in each blank. And to do this, we’ll want to
understand the energy conversion process that goes on in a nuclear power
station. We can recall that, true to its
name, nuclear power begins with energy that’s stored in the nucleus of atoms.
Say that we have a large atomic
nucleus made up of protons in blue and neutrons in green. The fact that all these masses are
so densely packed and bound together tells us that the nucleus has lots of
energy. And if it were to split apart, in a
process known as fission, then some of this energy would be released. This is exactly what takes place in
a nuclear power station. Atomic nuclei are split apart to
release energy. So, this tells us what kind of
energy a nuclear power station starts out with.
What word goes in our first
blank? Since the energy that these power
stations begin with is stored in the nuclei of atoms, that means it’s nuclear
energy. And when fission occurs, some of
this energy is released from the process as heat. In the context of a nuclear power
station, this heat energy is used to heat up water. Eventually, the water boils,
becomes steam. And this steam, which is at high
pressure, pushes against gigantic cylinders causing them to rotate.
It’s the rotation of these gigantic
cylinders that generates electrical energy. We could say then that the nuclear
energy in the atoms involved is converted to thermal energy. And then, that heat energy, stored
in the steam, is converted to kinetic energy as it causes the cylinders to turn. And those rotating cylinders power
the generation of the final form of energy the power station produces, electrical
energy. Now that the blanks are filled in,
our sentence reads, a nuclear power station converts nuclear energy into electrical
energy.
