It is possible to make a model of a fission chain reaction with mousetraps and table tennis balls, with the balls placed on an armed trap. Which statement bebst explains why this is a good model?

Question

The table tennis balls represent neutrons that are released when the nucleus splits and cause other nuclei to split.
The table tennis balls represent nuclei that are split by protons ans release energy
the table tennis balls represent nuclei that are split by neutrons and release energy
The table tennis balls represent protons that are released when the nucleus splits and cause the other nuclei to split

Answer 1

The best statement that explains why using table tennis balls and mousetraps is a good model of a fission chain reaction is:

The table tennis balls represent neutrons that are released when the nucleus splits and cause other nuclei to split.

This is because in a fission chain reaction, when a nucleus splits (fissions), it releases neutrons. These neutrons can then go on to trigger the fission of other nearby nuclei, sustaining the chain reaction. The mousetraps can represent the nuclei that are being split, with the table tennis balls acting as the neutrons that initiate further fissions.