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Unit 1: Thermal, nuclear and electrical physics
Quick questions on Nuclear fission and fusion (QCE Physics Unit 1)
4short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is saying fusion is the opposite of fission?Show answer
Both release energy by moving toward iron on the binding-energy curve. Fusion combines light nuclei, fission splits heavy ones. They are different routes to the same peak.
What is forgetting that mass is "lost"?Show answer
Mass defect converts to kinetic energy of the products. The total relativistic mass-energy is conserved.
What is treating $E = mc^2$ as requiring high speed?Show answer
$E = mc^2$ applies to rest mass. Speed enters through the relativistic mass-energy formula, which is the Unit 4 extension.
What is confusing the chain reaction with the energy release?Show answer
The chain reaction is the multiplication of fissions; the energy per fission is set by the nuclear physics and is not affected by the chain.
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