Asked by twin
Compared to the energy released per gram during a typical chemical reaction, which of the following best describes the amount of energy released per gram during the decay of a radioisotope?
A.
It is less.
B.
It is about the same.
C.
It is a little more.
D.
It is much greater.
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
D. It is much greater.
Reason: nuclear decays release MeV (10^6 eV) of energy per nucleus whereas chemical reactions release eV (1–10 eV) per atom or bond. Converting to energy per gram gives nuclear processes about 10^5–10^7 times more energy per gram than typical chemical reactions (e.g., combustion ≈ 10^4–10^5 J/g vs nuclear ≈ 10^9–10^11 J/g).
Reason: nuclear decays release MeV (10^6 eV) of energy per nucleus whereas chemical reactions release eV (1–10 eV) per atom or bond. Converting to energy per gram gives nuclear processes about 10^5–10^7 times more energy per gram than typical chemical reactions (e.g., combustion ≈ 10^4–10^5 J/g vs nuclear ≈ 10^9–10^11 J/g).
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