Date | November 2019 | Marks available | 2 | Reference code | 19N.3.sl.TZ0.13 |
Level | SL | Paper | 3 | Time zone | TZ0 |
Command term | Explain | Question number | 13 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
Red supergiant stars contain carbon-12 formed by the fusion of helium-4 nuclei with beryllium-8 nuclei.
Mass of a helium-4 nucleus = 4.002602 amu
Mass of a beryllium-8 nucleus = 8.005305 amu
Mass of a carbon-12 nucleus = 12.000000 amu
State the nuclear equation for the fusion reaction.
Explain why fusion is an exothermic process.
Beryllium-8 is a radioactive isotope with a half-life of 6.70 × 10−17 s.
Calculate the mass of beryllium-8 remaining after 2.01 × 10−16 s from a sample initially containing 4.00 g of beryllium-8.
Markscheme
✔
NOTE: Do not penalize missing atomic numbers.
ALTERNATIVE 1
binding energy per nucleon is larger in carbon-12/product «than beryllium-8 and helium-4/reactants» ✔
difference in «total» binding energy is released «during fusion» ✔
ALTERNATIVE 2
mass of carbon-12/product «nucleus» is less than «the sum of» the masses of helium-4 and beryllium-8 «nuclei»/reactants
OR
two smaller nuclei form a lager nucleus ✔
mass lost/difference is converted to energy «and released»
OR
E = mc2 ✔
ALTERNATIVE 1
3 half-lives ✔
0.500 g «of beryllium-8 remain» ✔
ALTERNATIVE 2
✔
0.500 g «of beryllium-8 remain» ✔
ALTERNATIVE 3
λ = « »= 1.03 × 1016 «s−1» ✔
m = « » 0.500 «g» ✔
NOTE: Award [2] for correct final answer.