Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A nuclear power plant makes MW of heat in its core, and its efficiency in making electricity is . Each fission releases MeV. Find the electric power and the number of fissions each second. Find the mass of uranium-235 that fissions in one year ( s). Find also the mass of coal, at J/kg, that would give the same heat in that year.
One fission of uranium-235 releases about MeV, and J. The number of nuclei in a mass is , with and g/mol. The power is the energy of one fission times the number of fissions each second. A chain reaction with a multiplication factor grows as after generations.
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. The electric power. MW.
Step 2. The rate. .
Step 3. The uranium. In a year there are fissions. The moles are mol, and the mass is kg.
Step 4. The coal. The heat in a year is J. The coal is kg.
Answer: MW, , kg of uranium-235 and kg of coal.
Check. A coal plant needs more than two million times the mass. It fits.
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