The amount of energy produced in a nuclear generating plant is controlled by:?

Question

A) removing fuel rods from the reactor (which I highly doubt because once the reactor has been put in use the chemicals can kill from mere exposure)
B) Adding cooling water from the lake ( I think this cools off the uranium and produces steam so this would be a good educated guess)
C) Inserting control rods into the reactor (lethal once reactor is active)
D) Increasing the pressure in the reactor (I know this keeps the uranium from exploding but does it produce the energy??)

please help it is either B or D and I think the best answer is B but not positive

Answer 1

c) inserting control rods.

You are right that the fuel rods are highly toxic (and extremely radioactive!) and are left in for a decade or so at a time.

Cooling water is used in large amounts during routine operation as a "heat sink". To cool the steam that is generated and piped through turbines. The steam is condensed after passing through the turbines and water from a lake, river, ocean or those large cooling towers is what cools the steam. Emergency cooling water is another issue. There are pressurized tanks of water to cool the reactor core if the control rod system fails.

Back to an explanation of (C): a reactor is a critical mass (could explode) of Uranium and/or Plutonium and it is kept from "going critical" by graphite control rods. The graphite absorbs some of the neutrons that would otherwise trigger additional nuclear fission reactions. By regulating the position of the graphite rods, the rate of fission reactions is maintained. More fission leads to more heat being generated which heats more steam which turns the turbine during times when they have greater load on them (like when everyone turns on the A/C on a hot summer day).

The control rods are INSIDE the containment vessel so it isn't an addition of something new to the reactor - they are built in there from the start.

Much like a coal- for natural-gas-fired power plant maintains its power level (greater load on the line results in burning more fuel to produce more steam) - in a nuclear plant, more fuel is "burned" (fissioned) to make more heat to produce more steam. Retracting a few control rods increases the rate of the fission reactions.

Answer 2

This is a bit of a vague question, as the term "Energy" is not properly defined. If "Energy" is defined as the energy created during the nuclear reaction process, then:

The control rods are used to regulate the level of nuclear activity within the core. Thus, A would increase the level of energy produced (as rods are removed, the fission increases), and C would decrease the level of energy. Answer B and D pertain to the generation of electrical energy, thus are not applicable to this question.

If "Energy" is defined as electricity, then the answers would be all of the above. B would slow the creation of electrical energy, as cooler water introduced into the loop would lower the steam amount, and thus create less electricity. D would increase the steam pressure, thus would create more electrical energy. Since electrical energy is directly affected by the control rods controlling the rate of nuclear reaction, then A and C would also control this process.

Thus, for "Energy" being defined as Electrical Energy, the correct answer would be all of the above.

Again, the definition of "Energy" in relation to this question must be properly defined for the answer to be correct.

Answer 3

None of the answers are worth spit. The energy produced by ANY generating plant is exactly equal to and therefore controlled by the energy it delivers to the power grid divided by the efficiency of the generating unit. The details of how reaction rate is controlled is a completely different question.

Answer 4

IT'S C-It is not lethal once the reactor is active and it is the only way to absorb free particals and slow down the chain reaction.

Answer 5

A and C are both correct. Control rods can be inserted to reduce output, and removed to increase output.