IB PHYSICS
DEVIL PHYSICS
BADDEST CLASS ON CAMPUS
Name: ____ ___________________
Period: ________ Date: ___________________
TSOKOS READING ACTIVITY
Section 6-3 (5 Points)
1. IB Assessment Statements for Topic 7.3., Nuclear Reactions, Fission and Fusion
Nuclear Reactions
7.3.1. Describe and give an example of an artificial (induced) transmutation.
7.3.2. Construct and complete nuclear equations.
7.3.3. Define the term unified atomic mass unit.
7.3.4. Apply the Einstein mass-energy equivalence relationship.
7.3.5. Define the concepts of mass defect, binding energy, and binding energy per nucleon.
7.3.6. Draw and annotate a graph showing the variation with nucleon number of the binding energy per
nucleon.
7.3.7. Solve problems involving mass defect and binding energy.
Fission and Fusion
7.3.8. Describe the process of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion.
7.3.9. Apply the graph in 7.3.6. to account for the energy release in the processes of fission and fusion.
7.3.10. State that nuclear fusion is the main source of the Sun’s energy.
7.3.11. Solve problems involving fission and fusion reactions.
2. Objectives for Tsokos Lesson 6-3, Nuclear Reactions:
a. Define the unified mass unit
b. State the meaning of the terms mass defect and binding energy and solve related problems
c. Understand the meaning of the graph of binding energy per nucleon versus mass number
d. Write nuclear reaction equations and balance the atomic and mass numbers
e. State the meaning of and difference between fission and fusion
f. Understand that nuclear fusion takes place in the core of the stars
g. Solve problems of fission and fusion reactions
3. Read section 6-3 in your textbook.
4. Answer the following questions:
a. What are unified atomic mass units (unified mass units) and what is the value of one of them?
b. What unit of mass is used on periodic tables?
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c. What is the mass of electrons, protons, and neutrons in both kilograms and unified mass units?
Kilograms
Unified Mass Units
Electron
Protons
Neutrons
d. What is mass defect?
e. What is the equation for finding the mass defect?
f. How can you account for the difference?
g. What is binding energy and how does it relate to Einstein’s famous formula, E=mc2?
h. How can you compute (roughly) the work needed to remove one nucleon?
i. How does binding energy relate to nuclear stability?
j. How much energy, in both Joules and electronvolts, is contained in one unified mass unit?
k. What is the approximate binding energy per nucleon for most nuclei?
l. What is the dividing point on the average binding energy per nucleon vesus nucleon number chart?
m. In terms of nuclear fission and fusion, why is
62
Ni important?
n. What is the guiding principle with respect to energy in a decay such as
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226
88Ra
→
222
86Rn
+ 42𝛼?
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o. Using Einstein’s formula of E=mc2, we find that there is more energy on the left side of the arrow
than on the right. Where did the extra energy go?
p. For a decay to occur, what relationship must exist between the mass of the decaying nucleus and the
decay products?
q. In spite of your answer in ‘n.’ above, a nuclear reaction can occur if the total mass on the left side of
the arrow is less than that on the right side. What is the prerequisite for this to occur?
r. The amount of kinetic energy needed for the reaction in ‘q.’ above must be greater than the mass
difference. How come?
s. Name the two types of energy-producing nuclear reactions?
t. What is nuclear fission?
u. What is one possible fission reaction for U-235?
v. Your reaction above required a neutron to get it started, but once the reaction occurred, it released
three neutrons. What do you suppose those neutrons are going to do and what is it called?
w. What is one of the requirements for ‘u.’ and’v.’ above to continue and what is it called?
x. Nuclear reactors must control the rate of reaction. What would happen if rate of reaction is too fast?
y. Why is a neutron used to start the reaction in ‘u.’?
z. What is nuclear fusion?
aa. What is an equation for a hydrogen fusion reaction?
bb. What would the energy released by fusion of a kilogram of deuterium ( 21H) be comparable to?
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cc. What is required for this type of fusion to take place and why is it required?
dd. The temperature needed causes the fusion material to turn into plasma. Plasma melts everything it
comes in contact with. So how can you contain it?
ee. How important is it for tokamak engineers to understand the right hand rule?
ff. What is a typical reaction that takes place in the core of a star?
gg. What does nuclear fusion do for a star?
hh. True or False. Stars are element factories that produce all the elements found in our bodies.
5. Answers may be typed or neatly printed. Drawings may be freehand, but try to make use of the ‘Shapes’
or ‘Insert Clipart” functions of MS Word. If you submit this assignment electronically, the filename
must be in the following format, “LastnameFirstinitialPerXReadActX-X”.
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