Asked by kelvin calin
Which statement describes why energy is released in a nuclear fission reaction based on mass-energy equivalence?
For large nuclei, the mass of the original nucleus is greater than the mass of the products.
For large nuclei, the mass of the original nucleus is less than the mass of the products.
For small nuclei, the binding energy of the lighter nuclei is greater than the binding energy of the heavier nucleus.
For small nuclei, the binding energy of the lighter nuclei is less than the binding energy of the heavier nucleus.
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
"For large nuclei, the mass of the original nucleus is greater than the mass of the products."
Explanation: In fission a heavy nucleus splits into lighter fragments whose total mass is slightly less than the original. The missing mass Δm is converted to energy (E = Δm c^2). This happens because the fission fragments have a higher binding energy per nucleon than the original heavy nucleus, so the system’s mass-energy decreases and the difference is released.
Explanation: In fission a heavy nucleus splits into lighter fragments whose total mass is slightly less than the original. The missing mass Δm is converted to energy (E = Δm c^2). This happens because the fission fragments have a higher binding energy per nucleon than the original heavy nucleus, so the system’s mass-energy decreases and the difference is released.
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