During an emergency such as the Three Mile Island accident, neutron-absorbing rods are inserted into the reactor. What effect does this have on the thermal energy output of the reactor?
A) Radioactivity immediately ceases, reducing the thermal energy output, but fission keeps creating thermal energy.
B) All thermal energy output immediately ceases.
C) Thermal energy output is unchanged for a few hours because the chain reaction takes a long time to die out.
D) The chain reaction stops, reducing the thermal energy output, but radioactivity keeps creating thermal energy.
E) It has no effect on thermal energy output, because nuclear reactors create practically no thermal energy anyway.
Question 2
A block of ice sliding down an incline has one-quarter its maximum potential energy
A) one-quarter from the top.
B) one-quarter from the bottom.
C) three-quarters the way down.
D) need more information
Garbage Island
Distribution of Rods and Cones on the Retina
Mary Mattingly, Triple Island.