B Reactor

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/b-reactor

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is B Reactor known for?First large-scale reactor, first water-cooled reactor, first to experience xenon poisoning
2. What is the year it achieved criticality?September 26, 1944
3. What is the location?Hanford Site, near Richland, Washington, USA
4. What was the B Reactor and why was it important?The B Reactor was the world’s first large‑scale nuclear reactor built during the Manhattan Project. It produced plutonium‑239, which was used in the first nuclear bomb and helped end World War II.
5. How did the B Reactor make plutonium?Inside the reactor, uranium fuel was bombarded with neutrons. The neutrons turned some uranium‑238 into plutonium‑239, which was later separated in the T Plant.

Nuclear Fission: The process of splitting an atom's nucleus, releasing energy.
Neutron Activation: The process of bombarding a material with neutrons to make it radioactive.
Transmutation: The process of changing one chemical element into another.
Chain Reaction: A self-sustaining series of nuclear fissions.