8. The San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant (near San Diego, CA) was recently decommissioned. When it was operating, it produced about 2000 MW.

a. If the power plant ran for 24 hours a day, how many MWh did it produce each month (30 days)?

b. An average home uses 1000 kWh per month. How many homes did it provide electricity for in a month?

Sure! Let's solve the problem step by step:

### Part a:
Calculate the monthly production in MWh:

1. Identify the power produced by the plant:
The power plant produces 2000 MW (megawatts).

2. Determine how long the plant runs in a day:
The plant runs 24 hours a day.

3. Calculate the daily production:
Daily production = Power produced per hour × hours in a day
= 2000 MW × 24 hours
= 48,000 MWh (megawatt-hours) per day.

4. Calculate the monthly production:
Consider a 30-day month.
Monthly production = Daily production × days in a month
= 48,000 MWh/day × 30 days
= 1,440,000 MWh per month.

So, the power plant produced 1,440,000 MWh each month when operational.

### Part b:
Calculate how many homes the power plant could provide electricity for in a month:

1. Identify the average consumption of one home:
An average home uses 1000 kWh (kilowatt-hours) per month.

2. Convert the power plant's monthly production to kWh:
Since 1 MWh equals 1000 kWh,
the power plant's monthly production in kWh = 1,440,000 MWh × 1000
= 1,440,000,000 kWh.

3. Calculate the number of homes that could be powered:
Number of homes = Total production in kWh / average home consumption in kWh
= 1,440,000,000 kWh / 1000 kWh/home
= 1,440,000 homes.

Therefore, the power plant could provide electricity for 1,440,000 homes in a month.