Use the average binding-energy-per-nucleon data given below to answer the questions…

PHYSICS · Multi-part · GCSE · Physics · Atomic Structure · Atomic Structure

Problem

Use the average binding-energy-per-nucleon data given below to answer the questions that follow. Deuterium (12H{}^{2}_{1}\text{H}): 1.1 MeV per nucleon1.1\,\text{MeV per nucleon} Helium-4 (24He{}^{4}_{2}\text{He}): 7.0 MeV per nucleon7.0\,\text{MeV per nucleon} Uranium-235 (92235U{}^{235}_{92}\text{U}): 7.6 MeV per nucleon7.6\,\text{MeV per nucleon} Typical fission fragment (A≈118A \approx 118): 8.5 MeV per nucleon8.5\,\text{MeV per nucleon} (a) Two deuterium nuclei combine to form one helium-4 nucleus. Estimate the total energy released in this fusion reaction. (b) A single (92235U{}^{235}_{92}\text{U}) nucleus splits into two equal fragments of mass number 118118 (ignore the few extra neutrons). Estimate the total energy released in this fission event. (c) Compare the energy released per nucleon in the two processes obtained above and comment on which process is more efficient as an energy source.

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