SCH4U - Chemistry 12 (2024-25) - A

SCH4U-25A

**What Sank the Kursk Reaction Rate Investigation 3-4

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What Sank the Kursk Reaction Rate Investigation

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What Sank the Kursk Reaction Rate Investigation

http://www.rsc.org/education/teachers/resources/aflchem/resources/34/index.htm

Resources

  1. News Timeline
  2. Kursk Image
  3. Seismic Data Table
  4. Peroxide Power in Torpedoes

Instructions:

  1. Give each student a copy of the News Timeline to read and give 15-30 mins for students to read, so that they have an answer to the question ‘What sank the Kursk nuclear submarine?’
  2. Ask what they have found from reading the News timeline. Note: Many points arise here but they should include that the sinking of the Kursk involved hydrogen peroxide.
  3. Project or display the Seismic Data Table.
  4. Arrange students in pairs and ask the pairs to write down what information they can deduce from the table.  Answer: There were two explosions at roughly the same place in quick succession, the second more powerful than the first.
  5. Give a copy of Peroxide Power in Torpedoes to each student. They are to read the three reports and to answer the questions that follow.

  6. Circulate and support the students while they:

    • work in groups
    • share their answers
    • agree a group answer
    • write down what they have learned about extracting information from an unfamiliar piece of text.

As a class discuss the answers to the questions,.

Peroxide power in torpedoes ANSWER KEY

  1. Why did HMS Sidon sink? 
    A torpedo exploded accidentally because a stainless steel pipe carrying HTP burst, spraying the inside of the torpedo with superheated water, pure oxygen and hydrogen peroxide under pressure, causing an uncontrolled reaction.
  2. Why did the Royal Navy stop using HTP-powered torpedoes?  
    They were considered too dangerous after the Sidon incident.
  3. What type of torpedo was Kursk carrying according to The Red Star? 
    The Red Star stated that the Kursk was carrying torpedoes involving potentially dangerous liquid fuel.
  4. Why was the Kursk carrying this type of torpedo?
    The Kursk had been refitted in a ‘modernisation’ programme designed to save money.
  5. Why was the story removed from The Red Star's website?
    The story was probably removed because it was too near the truth and at that time the Russian navy didn’t want to admit this.
  6. What does the torpedo designer think about the Kursk and Sidon accidents?
    The torpedo designer thinks that the Kursk and Sidon accidents were caused by the same thing ‑ leakage of HTP followed by an explosion due to build up of gas