Misconception: Rusting causes a decrease in mass.

Explanation: Students often think rusting is a change in which mass decreases, due to an intuitive notion of rusting being similar to a decay process. Rusting is an example of oxidation - a chemical change in which electrons from the iron atoms are transferred to the oxygen atoms, resulting in the formation of a new compound. The oxygen in the air chemically combines with the iron. As a result the additional mass from the oxygen is added to the mass of the iron that is rusting to form a new compound, iron oxide. Although the appearance of the metal makes it look as if it is breaking down, it is actually gaining mass as it changes from iron to iron oxide. !f the metal were kept in a closed system and the mass determined was that of the total system, then conservation of mass would be observed and the mass would not change.

ADVANTAGES:

Nuclear power plants don't require a lot of space - they have to e uilt on the coast! ut do not need a lar"e plot li#e a wind far$% &t doesn't contri ute to carbon emissions - no '() is "iven out - it therefore does not cause "lo al war$in"% &t does not produce smoke particles to pollute the at$osphere% Nuclear ener"y is y far the $ost concentrated form of energy - a lot of ener"y is produced fro$ a s$all $ass of fuel% This reduces transport costs - *althou"h the fuel is radioactive and therefore each transport that does occur is e+pensive ecause of security i$plications,% &t is reliable% &t does not depend on the weather% -e can control the output &t is relatively easy to control the output - althou"h the ti$e factor for alterin" power output is not as s$all as for fossil fuel stations% &t produces a small volume of waste *althou"h that waste is radioactive - see elow,

D&SADVANTAGES:

Disposal of nuclear wast e is very e+pensive% As it is radioacti.ive it has to e disposed of in such a way as it will not pollute the environ$ent% Decommissioning of nuclear power stations is e+pensive and ta#es a lon" ti$e% *&n fact we have not ever deco$$issioned one/, Nuclear accidents can spread radiation producin" particles over a wide area! This radiation har$s the cells of the ody which can $a#e hu$ans sic# or even cause death% &llness can appear or stri#e people years after they were e+posed to nuclear radiation and "enetic pro le$s can occur too% A possi le type of reactor disaster is #nown as a meltdown% &n a $eltdown! the fission reaction of an ato$ "oes out of control! which leads to a nuclear e+plosion releasin" "reat a$ounts of radioactive particles into the environ$ent% See 'herno yl%

Advantages of nuclear power

"urrently, about a third part of the energy produced in #urope comes from nuclear energy, this means that no longer issued $%% million tons of "&' and other pollutants that would be generated from the burning of fossil fuels. "urrently more fossil fuels which are produced so that in the not too distant future these resources will be exhausted or the prices would rise while inaccessible to most consumed of the population. Another advantage is in the amount of fuel needed( little fuel with large amounts of energy are obtained. This saves on raw materials but also in transport, handling extraction nuclear fuel. The cost of fuel is '%) of the cost of energy generated. *roduction of electric energy is continuous. A nuclear power plant is generating electricity for almost +%) of the hours of the year. This reduces the price volatility that exist in other fuels such as petrol. The fact that is also conducive to continuous electrical planning as no such dependency in natural aspects. ,ith that the ma-or disadvantage of renewable energy in the hours of sun or wind does not always coincide with the hours of greatest energy demand is solved. As an alternative to fossil fuels need not consume as much of carbon fuels like oil, so therefore the problem of global warming, which is believed to have reduced one more important influence on climate change on the planet. .y reducing the consumption of fossil fuels also improve the /uality of the air we breathe with all that this implies in the decline of disease and /uality of life.

Disadvantages of nuclear power

&ne of the advantages discussed above and agencies in favor of nuclear energy is used regularly reduced consumption of fossil fuels and thus reducing global warming. This is a half truth. Although today only nuclear energy is used to generate electricity. 0es consumption of fossil fuels would be reduced, but only those that are consumed to generate electricity. 1uch of fossil fuels comes from road transport use in internal combustion engines 2diesel cars, petrol ... etc..3. The use of nuclear energy for conversion into mechanical energy is very low. The main drawback and what makes it great is that security in their use remains the responsibility of individuals. Although there are many automated safety systems at nuclear power plants, people can make wrong or irresponsible decisions. A series of bad decisions led the worst nuclear accident in "hernobyl. &nce an accident has occurred, the way how it is managed is also dependent on the decisions made by people who are in office. !n this case the example we have is with the 4ukushima nuclear accident where the accident management was /uestioned. *robably the most alarming problem is the use that can be given to nuclear power in the defense industry. !nterestingly, nuclear debuted in front of the world as two bombs dropped on 5apan at end ,orld ,ar !!. A civil level, a ma-or drawback is the generation of nuclear waste and the difficulty to manage and it takes many years to lose its radioactivity and danger.

6uclear reactors, once constructed, have an expiration date. After this date must be dismantled, so that in the main countries producing nuclear energy to maintain constant the number of operating reactors should be built about 7% new nuclear reactors the next ten years. *recisely because nuclear plants have a limited life. The investment for the construction of a nuclear plant is very high and must be recovered in no time, so this raises the cost of electricity generated. !n other words, the energy generated is cheap compared to the cost of fuel, but having to repay the construction of the nuclear plant8s significantly more expensive. 6uclear power plants are targets for terrorist organi9ations. 6uclear power plants generate external dependence. Shortly countries have uranium mines and not all countries have nuclear technology, so both have to be hired abroad. "urrent nuclear reactors work by fission nuclear reactions. These chain reactions occur so that if the control systems should fail every time more and more reactions would occur to cause a radioactive explosion that would be virtually impossible to contain.