Nuclear FISSION

Question 1

What is ‘Nuclear Fission’?

Answer 1

• The splitting up of uranium atoms

Question 2

What type of reaction is ‘Nuclear Fission’?

Answer 2

• It is a nuclear reaction that is used to release energy from uranium atoms, e.g. in a nuclear reactor

Question 3

What is used with Nuclear Fission?

Answer 3

• A chain reaction, which releases huge amounts of energy

Question 4

What is the first process of the chain reaction?

Answer 4

• A slow moving neutron is fired at an isotope of uranium-235

Question 5

What then happens to this neutron? (2)

Answer 5

• The neutron is then absorbed by the nucleus which causes the atom to become unstable and causes it to split

Question 6

Describe what happens when the U-235 atom splits

Answer 6

• It forms two new lighter elements called daughter nuclei

- This releases thermal energy

Question 7

What can Uranium split into?

Answer 7

• Lots of different pairs of atoms

- All these nuclei are radioactive because they have the ‘wrong’ number of neutrons in them

Question 8

What is the last process of a Chain Reaction?

Answer 8

• When a uranium atom splits up, it gives out two or three neutrons which can then hit other URANIUM NUCLEI
• This then causes them to split which then carries on, which is the chain reaction