Nuclear Reactions (DP IB Physics: SL)

The image below shows a simplified version of the binding energy per nucleon E of nuclei versus the nucleon number N. Which of the following positions represents nuclei that are the most stable?

The rest mass of a nucleus of Boron-11 () can be considered as m_B. The rest-masses of a neutron and proton can be considered as m_N and m_P respectively. Which of the following equations is the correct representation for the binding energy of Boron-11?

Which statement about nuclear binding energy is correct?

The binding energy per nucleon is 7.98 MeV for an atom of . Approximately how much energy would be needed to completely separate the nucleons of this atom?

The mass defect for Helium-4 is 5.04 × 10^–29 kg. What is the binding energy of Helium-4 closest to?  

Which of the following isotopes releases the least amount of potential energy during nuclear fission?

Two identical nuclei of mass m fuse to form a single heavier nucleus (with no other products) with mass M. Which of the following statements is correct?

Alchemists investigated the process of transmutation of mercury into gold. This can be represented by the following equation:

The sum of the rest masses of deuterium and mercury is 202.60 u and the sum of the rest masses of gold and helium are 200.97 u.

Take the energy equivalent of 0.001 u to be 1 MeV.

Which of the following can be determined from the information provided?

Nitrogen-14 can be transformed into Oxygen-17 by bombardment with high energy alpha particles, as described in the nuclear reaction equation below:

The total rest mass of the reactants is 18.006 u and total rest mass of the products is 18.007 u.

Which of the following statements about this reaction is correct?

The graph below shows how the average binding energy per nucleon varies with nucleon number for stable nuclei.

Approximately how much energy is released when the nucleus  forms?

A nucleus has a mass M. 

Which of the following expressions correctly represents the binding energy per nucleon of this nucleus in terms of the speed of light c, the mass of a proton m_p and the mass of a neutron m_n? 

A nuclear reaction can be written in the form:

Energy is released during this reaction. 

Which of the following is correct regarding the masses m and the binding energies b of the nuclides?

	Binding energy	Mass
A.
B.
C.
D.

One possible fission reaction for uranium−235 is:

The proton number of barium is 20 more than the proton number of krypton. The measured mass of this nucleus is M.

Which expression gives the mass defect associated with the krypton nucleus?

The mass of a nucleus of rutherfordium−254 is 254.1001u.

Which of the following is not equal to the energy of this nucleus?

Fusion of hydrogen can be simply modelled within the Sun by using the following reaction:

This reaction releases about 30 MeV of energy.

If the Sun has a power output of 3.9 × 10²⁶ W, approximately how many of these fusion reactions are occurring every second?

Following the development of the atomic bomb, scientists discovered that they could create elements heavier than uranium by bombarding nuclei with neutrons. These reactions, where smaller nuclei are combined to form a heavier nucleus are called fusion reactions.

Fusion reactions are balanced in exactly the same way as radioactive decay equations. Two incomplete examples are given below:

Reaction 1.

Reaction 2.

What are the missing products of these fusion reactions?

	Reaction 1	Reaction 2
A.
B.
C.
D.

Nuclear power stations use a fission reactor to create a nuclear reaction. A nucleus absorbs one neutron, leading to a reaction where more than one neutron is released. These neutrons in turn will set off more reactions in a process called a chain reaction.

Which one of these decay processes would be suitable to create a chain reaction?

A stationary uranium-238 nucleus decays by alpha-emission, as shown in the equation below:

This decay generates a total energy E. 

Which of the following statements is correct regarding the kinetic energy of the alpha particle?

Which of the following shows a possible reaction caused by bombardment by an alpha particle?

A certain reaction is:

Which process is demonstrated by this reaction?