A student writes out an equation to represent a fission reaction. How can the student check that the equation is correctly written?(1 point) Responses The number of atoms of each element should be the same in the products and reactants. The number of atoms of each element should be the same in the products and reactants. The mass number of the products should be equal to the atomic number of the products. The mass number of the products should be equal to the atomic number of the products. The total number of atoms in the products should be equal to the number of atoms in the reactants. The total number of atoms in the products should be equal to the number of atoms in the reactants. The total mass number of the reactants should equal the total mass number of the products.

Answer 1

To check that the equation for a fission reaction is correctly written, the most appropriate response is:

The total mass number of the reactants should equal the total mass number of the products.

This ensures that the law of conservation of mass is upheld, which states that mass cannot be created or destroyed in a chemical reaction. In a balanced nuclear equation, both the number of protons (atomic number) and the total mass number should be conserved. However, it is important to remember that while the total number of neutrons and protons must be conserved, individual elements may change due to fission products.