Noding my grandson's homework. Four sixth graders. Printed with permission of the Operations Director and Chief Architect, with the intent that it is for people less fortunate.
The Big Bang Theme Park is located in Reno, Nevada. We put it in Reno because there are mountains there and we want it to be located on a mountain. Our energy resource is nuclear energy. Also our roller coaster is called Radiation Mountain. Last, our car runs on nuclear energy.
We use nuclear energy because fossil fuels are not the most environmentally friendly to use. Oil is formed by decaying plants over time in the earth's crust. Most of it was formed in the Jurassic period about 150 million years ago. Coal was formed millions of years ago when there were a ton of swamps around. It was formed by heat and pressure on decayed plants way down in the ground. Natural gas is formed by pressure on decayed plants and animal matter in the earth's crust over millions of years. Fossil fuels are not the most environmentally friendly to use.
My energy resource is nuclear energy. It is a great alternative energy source to use. A bunch of uranium 235 is put into water, so that when its atom gets split, it generates a ton of heat. That makes steam that spins a turbine and powers a generator to create energy. Some times the fuel rods get extremely hot and melt. Uranium 235 has 235 protons in it. My energy resource is nuclear energy.
There are advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy. One advantage is it doesn't produce a lot of CO2. Another advantage is the technology is ready for us to use. The last advantage is you can generate a lot of electricity with one little bit of uranium 235. One disadvantage is it produces nuclear waste that doesn't go away for hundreds of thousands of years. The last disadvantage is no nuclear plants are 100% safe. There are advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy.
Having this Theme Park run on an alternative energy will make it a success because it will be able to run for a really long time. Also because we have an amazing nuclear energy roller coaster and car of the future. Since it's neighbors with Las Vegas, there will be a lot of people there. Last, our plant will be miles away so the park will be 100% safe. The Big Bang Theme Park will be the best theme park.
sources cited:
Nuclear Power: Promise or Peril by Michael J. Daley (book)
timeforchange.org (website)
Teacher's assessment: Everyone in the group was on task during all times during the research project. Team members worked cooperatively together and there were few conflicts among members. The group was able to complete each task on time. All presentation materials (rubric, research, approved sources, diagrams) turned in by given due date.