Name:_____________________________
Date: _____________________________
Chemistry
"Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie" WS 1
I.
Answer the following questions using information presented by the movie or found online:
1.
How much TNT was exploded in the Trinity scale test in May 1945?
100 tons
2.
What prompted FDR to begin the Manhattan Project?
a letter from Albert Einstein
3.
What scientific accomplishment was achieved by Enrico Fermi on December 2, 1942?
the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction
4.
Where was the first atomic bomb assembled?
Los Alamos, New Mexico
5.
Who is Dr. Edward Teller?
father of the hydrogen bomb
6.
What was the name of the first atomic weapon ever exploded? When was it exploded? What
radioisotope was it made of?
Trinity; July 16, 1945; plutonium
7.
Was Germany able to develop an atomic bomb?
no
8.
First atomic bomb dropped on Japan:
City:
Bomb Name:
Date:
9.
Yield:
# Killed:
15 kilotons (kT)
approx. 70,000
Yield:
# Killed:
21 kilotons (kT)
approx. 42,000
Second atomic bomb dropped on Japan:
City:
Bomb Name:
Date:
10.
Hiroshima
Little Boy
August 6, 1945
Nagasaki
Fat Man
August 9, 1945
What was the purpose of Operation Crossroads? What bombs were tested there?
test nuclear attacks on US forces; Able & Baker
11.
How were the islands at Enewetak Atoll prepared for Operation Sandstone?
evacuated, stripped of vegetation, graded and paved
12.
What was the yield for shot X-Ray, the first bomb to use “yield-boosting” technology?
37 kilotons (kT)
13.
What was Sandia Laboratories' primary purpose?
bring mass production techniques to nuclear weapons manufacturing
14.
What country detonated its first atomic bomb on August 29, 1949, five years earlier than
predicted?
The Soviet Union (USSR)
15.
Because of the high cost of testing in the Pacific, what US state became the site for atomic
weapons testing in 1951?
Nevada
16.
What was the purpose of shot Easy during Operation Greenhouse?
structural effects test
17.
What radioisotope of hydrogen was used to boost the yield of shot Item by more than double?
deuterium
18.
What was the yield of shot George, the first device to use thermonuclear technology? How
many times larger was George than Little Boy (Hiroshima)?
221 kilotons; around 10 times larger
19.
Why did Edward Teller feel we should continue developing nuclear weapons?
more knowledge was available, and Stalin was a dangerous threat
20.
Why was shot Ivy Mike called a “wet bomb”?
used liquid hydrogen
21.
What was the purpose of the long plywood tube leading from the Ivy Mike device?
filled with helium to better detect radiation
22.
What was the significance of Ivy Mike? What was its yield?
first full-scale hydrogen bomb; 10 megatons (MT)
23.
What was the purpose of Operation Upshot-Knothole?
to test new nuclear weapons designs
24.
What is a precursor?
a special kind of powerful shockwave that caused significant damage to drag-sensitive targets
Name:_____________________________
Date: _____________________________
Chemistry
"Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie" WS 2
I.
Answer the following questions using information presented by the movie or found online:
1.
What was the significance of shot Castle Bravo, a.k.a. “The Big One”?
largest detonation by the United States – 15 megatons
2.
When did the Russians detonate their first hydrogen bomb?
1955
3.
What was the purpose of shot Charlie?
test the fatal range of enemy subs
4.
How many nuclear tests were performed during Operation Redwing in 1956?
17
5.
What was the significance of shot Cherokee?
first aircraft deliverable H-bomb for the US
6.
Why were barges later used for nuclear tests?
running out of land, inexpensive
7.
How was radiation exposure measured in the human body?
a film capsule was swallowed and then removed from the stomach by a string
8.
How is strontium-90 similar to calcium? Why is it dangerous?
reacts the same way, absorbed into our bones & teeth; can cause bone cancer and leukemia
9.
How many nuclear tests were performed during Operation Plumbbob in 1957?
24
10.
What was the purpose of Operation Plumbbob?
tactical exercises
11.
What was the purpose of the Rainier event?
underground nuclear test
12.
How many nuclear tests were performed during Operation Hardtack in 1958?
34
13.
By this point, why were nuclear weapons tests criticized?
increased international tensions
14.
What did the Soviets do one year before Operation Hardtack that concerned the US?
launched the Sputnik satellite
15.
What was the significance of shot Teak? What was the result of shot Teak's EMP?
first high-altitude nuclear weapons test; silenced radio comm., caused blackouts, fried circuits
16.
What did the Soviets announce four days after Khrushchev took office?
suspending nuclear weapons testing, the ‘moratoreum’
17.
How large was the yield of the Soviets' “Monster Bomb”?
57 megatons (MT)
18.
What was the United States' response to the Soviets' detonation of their “Monster Bomb”?
outrage, more nuclear weapons tests, preparations for massive retaliation
19.
Approximately how many tests were conducted by the US soon after the nuclear test
moratorium?
around 100
20.
What was the purpose of high-altitude nuclear tests?
establish an electromagnetic shield to disable incoming nuclear weapons
21.
Which US President signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty in 1963?
John F. Kennedy
22.
What was the significance of shot Tightrope?
last atmospheric nuclear weapon test by the United States
23.
What is prohibited by the Limited Test Ban Treaty?
atmospheric nuclear weapons testing (anything above ground)
24.
How many atmospheric nuclear tests were conducted by the United States between 1945-1962?
331!
25.
How many countries signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty? What country violated the Limited
Test Ban Treaty just one year after signing it?
100; China