Manhattan Project

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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/manhattan-project

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 the official project commencement?August 13, 1942
2. What is the primary scientific director?J. Robert Oppenheimer, leading the Los Alamos Laboratory
3. What was the Manhattan Project and why did the United States start it?The Manhattan Project was a secret U.S. program during World War II to build a powerful bomb. It began after scientists warned that Germany might develop atomic weapons, so the U.S. wanted to stay ahead.
4. Who warned President Roosevelt about the danger of atomic weapons?Scientists like Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard told President Franklin D. Roosevelt that nuclear fission could be used to make powerful weapons.

Nuclear Fission: The splitting of an atomic nucleus, releasing substantial energy and subatomic particles.
Critical Mass: The minimum amount of fissile material required to initiate and sustain a nuclear chain reaction.
Isotope Separation: The process of isolating specific isotopes of an element, crucial for obtaining fissile materials like U-235.
Atomic Age: The historical period characterized by the development and use of nuclear weapons and nuclear power.