7.2 Nuclear Reactions

(b)        If deuterium is combined using fusion, then the following reaction will occur: 

            The following data is given for this interaction: 

•    Binding energy per nucleon of deuterium : 1.12 MeV/nucleon
•    Binding energy per nucleon of tritium  : 2.82 MeV/nucleon

           Estimate the energy released from this fusion reaction.

Fission and fusion reactions release different amounts of energy. 

The image below shows how the binding energy per nucleon varies with nucleon number. 

Fission and fusion are two nuclear processes in which energy can be released. 

[1]

The mass of an  nucleus is 15.991 u. 

(i)

The mass difference, in kg, of the  nucleus.

 [2] 

(ii)

The binding energy, in MeV, of an oxygen nucleus.

[1]

Bismuth-214 () decays into Polonium-214 () by beta minus decay.

         Beta-minus decay is described by the following equation:

Show that the energy released in the decay of bismuth is about 2.35 MeV and state where the energy comes from.

If an additional neutron is accelerated into the Polonium-214 () to produce the isotope Polonium-215 (), use the following information to deduce the binding energy per nucleon of this new isotope.

         Mass of   nucleus = 3.571140 × 10⁻²⁵ kg

Polonium-215 () is radioactive and decays by the producing alpha radiation, which is known to be a particularly stable. 

• Mass of a Helium-4 nucleus: 4.001265 u

Use the data to determine the binding energy of deuterium in MeV.