Test your knowledge on the Bowls of Wrath: Revelation 16

Quiz: Test your knowledge of nukes and the atomic age

Aug. 1 marks the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, which was the first law addressing the development and control of nuclear power in the United States.

The quiz below, from the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University, Ashland, Ohio, provides an opportunity for you to test your knowledge of the Atomic Energy Act, the history of nuclear power and weapons in the United States and the advent of the atomic age.

1) Which explosion of an atomic weapon ushered in what was referred to as “the atomic age”?

A. The Trinity explosion

B. The Hiroshima explosion

C. The Nagasaki explosion

D. The Castle Bravo explosion

2) What federal government organization was established by the Atomic Energy Act of 1946?

A. The Strategic Air Command

B. Department of Energy

C. Atomic Energy Commission

D. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

3) The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 was updated to allow for the development of commercial nuclear power in what year?

A. 1954

B. 1959

C. 1964

D. 1970

4) Which of the following famous American scientists was involved in nuclear physics?

A. Enrico Fermi

B. J. Robert Oppenheimer

C. James Rainwater

D. All of the above

5) Which of the following historic events brought the United States and Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war?

A. Falkland Islands War

B. Cuban Missile Crisis

C. Vietnam War

D. Strategic Arms Limitation Talks

6) In an effort to stem the spread of nuclear weapons, 62 countries, including the US, signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in what year?

A. 1960

B. 1968

C. 1995

D. 2007

7) The largest nuclear accident in the United States took place in 1979 at what nuclear plant?

A. Crystal River

B. Indian Point

C. Hoop Creek

D. Three Mile Island

8) Which of the following countries does not possess nuclear weapons?

A. Germany

B. China

C. Russia

D. Pakistan

9) Which U.S. president studied nuclear physics and was a trained nuclear engineer?

A. Gerald Ford

B. George W. Bush

C. Jimmy Carter

D. Barack Obama

10) As of 2021, how many commercially operating nuclear power plants are operating and in how many states?

A. 32 plants in 19 states

B. 46 plants in 24 states

C. 56 plants in 28 states

D. 93 plants in 34 states

ANSWERS: 1-A, 2-C, 3-A, 4-D, 5-B, 6-B, 7-D, 8-A, 9-C, 10-C

ABOUT THE WRITER: David Hadley is a member of the Ashbrook Center faculty. He wrote this for InsideSources.com